GIVING MENTORING AN EARLY START

Five matches and their families, from two of our programs, joined us on a chilly November day in a cozy Gastown studio in downtown Vancouver. It was a fun-filled event where we, Big Brothers of Greater Vancouver (BBGV) staff, got to meet our Littles, Bigs and their families while they in turn got to meet and mingled with each other!

Throughout the day, the two girls couldn’t contain their joy. They continually filled the room their contagious giggling and ear-to-ear smiles.

Typically in their virtual one-on-one sessions, Cora and Gisele love playing word puzzle games and drawing magical creatures, but on this day the two stepped into their modeling shoes and took the stage.

Though only a teenager herself, Gisele is already no stranger to giving back to her community. She first began volunteering in our Teen Mentoring program three-years-ago after hearing great things about it from older peers in school who previously took part in the Teen Mentoring program.

The experience Gisele had mentoring was even more positive than she had initially anticipated.

For one match in particular this was an extra-special day.

Little, Cora, and her Big, Gisele, are from our Teen Mentoring program have been matched for two years.

“We’ve been meeting virtually and this is our first time meeting in-person,” Gisele said.

It was an exciting moment for the two girls to meet for the very first time face-to-face. The pair naturally stepped right into playing with our blue and yellow balloons like they were long-time siblings reuniting at a family reunion.

“It was a really, really good program and I really enjoyed my first year,” she said, adding it motivated her to continue in the program in the following year with another mentee.

“That’s how I got matched with Cora in the second year. Overall, I have to say it has been such a memorable experience because I have learned a lot,” Gisele said.

“You learn new lessons along the way in terms of communicating, having fun, and respecting and listening to each other.”

Big Brothers of Greater Vancouver is a communitysupported organization that raises funds from multiple sources in order to meet the growing needs of the children and families we serve throughout the Lower Mainland. We received funding for 2022 fiscal year totaling $2,253,814. Our primary sources of funding are from donations, and government grants.

Our expenses for the year increased compared to last year primarily due to inflation, the return to in-person programs and a resumption of certain volunteer recruitment and outreach efforts which were on hold during the uncertain periods of the COVID-19 pandemic. Although we continued to feel the financial pressures the COVID-19 pandemic had on our fundraising events, and the ability of our related parties to provide funding, we recognized there was a need to continue growing our services in our communities and worked towards rebuilding our programs and partnerships to reach more children in need of mentors. Overall expenses increased by approximately 9%. General and Administrative (G&A) costs increased by approximately 34% from last year, due to our concerted efforts to reduce costs in Administration during uncertain financial times

Revenue

TOTAL $2,253,650

82% — $1,857,000 Grant from Big Brothers of Greater Vancouver Foundation [raised through various fundraising initiatives]

14% — $308,329 Other grants/donations [including Community Gaming and municipal governments] in 2021. When compared to our G&A expenses prior to the pandemic, the increase is only 8%, mainly attributable to the increase in cost of living. We continue to monitor our Administrative costs closely to ensure as much of our funding goes directly to program costs as possible. Recruitment and Community Outreach expenses increased by 24% as we invested in outreach programs in order to rebuild our volunteer pool which were negatively impacted during the pandemic.

?% — THIS SHOULD BE 4%?

As we progress through a new year, we will continue to develop our funding relationships with existing and new partners and will work with our community for new funding opportunities. In 2023, we will look to utilize our funding to continue rebuilding our programs to reach more children in need of mentors.

Mark Quinlan, CPA, CA Treasurer

Expenses

TOTAL $2,194,428

77% — $1,691,326 Direct Services to Children & Youth

15% — $327,521 Administration

7% — $163,253 Recruitment and Community Outreach

1% — $12,328

Training and Development