About Us
OUR VISION — Vibrant communities for all through permanent legacies
Founded in 1999, the Parksville-Qualicum Community Foundation works with donors to build endowments, grants funds to local organizations and initiatives, and brings neighbours together to strengthen community philanthropy. Donations received and Foundation earnings continue to get invested locally—helping to enhance quality of life in our communities.
The Foundation serves the area incorporating Deep Bay to Nanoose, inclusive of Errington and Coombs. It is one of more than 200 similar organizations located across Canada. We are members of Community Foundations of Canada, a national voice for this movement to use local resources and local stakeholders to find local solutions.
For more information on how the Foundation was formed, read our History.
Mission Statement
To improve the quality of life in our communities through grants for charitable purposes from earnings of funds gifted in perpetuity.
Our Purpose
We work with donors to build endowments funds that ensure vibrant futures for our communities and neighbourhoods
We grant funds to the widest possible range of organizations and initiatives to meet community needs
We bring neighbours together from all parts of our communities to stimulate new ideas, build participation and strengthen community philanthropy.
Our Impact
What started with a small group of citizens and a dream to make a better place to live has grown into an established and respected Community Foundation managing over $8 million in 30 endowment funds. The income earned on these funds contributes more than $135,000 in grants and scholarships back to the community every year!
Since 1999, the Parksville-Qualicum Community Foundation has distributed over $2.1 million to charitable organizations and initiatives in the Oceanside region.
Land Acknowledgement and Our Commitments
Parksville Qualicum Community Foundation serves communities across Parksville, Qualicum Beach, Regional District of Nanaimo (RDN) Areas E, F, G and H, and Xwe’etay/Lasqueti Island. In the RDN, these areas include Nanoose Bay; Coombs, Hilliers, Errington, Meadowood and Whiskey Creek; French Creek, San Pareil, Little Qualicum, Dashwood and the Englishman River area; and Bowser, Qualicum Bay and Deep Bay.
We respectfully acknowledge that our service area lies within the homelands and waters of Coast Salish Peoples, including the territories of the Qualicum First Nation and Snaw-naw-as (Nanoose) First Nation, with enduring ties to K’ómoks First Nation and Snuneymuxw First Nation across parts of our region’s lands and waters. We also serve Xwe’etay/Lasqueti Island, known in Coast Salish languages as Xwe’etay, which holds deep connections with multiple Coast Salish Nations.
With this acknowledgement, we affirm our responsibilities and the obligations we will strive to uphold as we put reconciliation into practice. PQCF commits to delivering on and being guided by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Calls to Action and the implementation of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples in British Columbia and Canada. This is a living commitment – and we will continue learning from and with local Nations, follow proper protocols including inviting a Welcome to Territory where appropriate, and align our governance, granting and partnerships with these frameworks. We will invest in building reciprocal relationships, designing trust-based, accessible grants and reporting, using accurate Nation and place names as guided by local partners, providing fair honoraria and prioritizing Indigenous-owned vendors where possible, and reporting each year on our reconciliation actions and results.