Founded in 1980, VGH and UBC Hospital Foundation is the fundraising arm of Vancouver Coastal Health. It raises funds for Vancouver General Hospital (VGH), UBC Hospital, GF Strong Rehab Centre, Vancouver Coastal Health Research Institute, and Vancouver Community Health Services. VGH is the largest hospital and one of two Level 1 Trauma Centres in BC. Half of its patients come from outside Metro Vancouver for advanced treatment available only at VGH. UBC Hospital specializes in non-life-threatening emergencies and services. These include urgent care, day surgeries, diagnostic imaging, bladder care, brain research, sleep disorder treatment, and neurology clinics. In Newsweek's 2020 ranking of Canadian hospitals, Vancouver General Hospital ranked 7th in Canada. 

In F2021, VGH and UBC Hospital Foundation granted $39.4m to Vancouver Coastal Health and $138k to Urban Indigenous Health and Healing Cooperative. It provides grants in four main areas: equipment and capital projects, research, patient care and other, and education.

Equipment and capital projects represented 33% of grants in F2021. VGH and UBC Hospital Foundation raises funds to buy new surgical and diagnostic equipment. The charity reports that its hospitals treat 60% of BC’s adult trauma cases and perform 30,000 surgeries each year. In 2016, it launched its $60m Future of Surgery campaign to upgrade VGH’s surgical facilities and reduce wait times. Since the start of the campaign, VGH and UBC Hospital Foundation reports that it has opened 16 new operating rooms and a 40-bed care unit for surgical patients. As part of the campaign’s next phase, the charity plans to renovate 14 existing operating rooms.

Research was 33% of grants in F2021. VGH and UBC Hospital Foundation launched a new research fund in 2020 to support covid-19 research projects. It helped to fund the CONCOR-1 clinical trial, which tested blood plasma from recovered covid-19 patients for antibodies. The study involved 58 health centres across Canada. VGH and UBC Hospital Foundation also funds research projects in areas such as cancer treatment and physical trauma. According to its most recent annual report, it funded two new research chair positions in 2019, one for precision medicine and one for breast reconstruction among cancer patients.

Patient care and other made up 31% of grants. The charity reports that VGH is the only hospital in BC that offers lung, liver, and pancreas transplants. Between 2018 and 2019, VGH performed 50% of all organ transplants in the province, including 50 double lung transplants. VGH also runs a unique Canine Scent Detection Program to identify and prevent cases of clostridium difficile (C. diff) in the hospital. C. diff is an antibiotic-resistant germ that frequently infects immunocompromised patients staying in hospital units. Between 2016 and 2019, VGH’s detection dogs searched 1,241 hospital areas, raising alerts in 45% of units searched.

Education represented the remaining 4% of grants. In 2019, VGH and UBC Hospital Foundation helped to deliver 835 educational sessions to 3,468 staff members.

VGH and UBC Hospital Foundation is a Major 100 charity, one of Canada’s largest charities in terms of donations. It received $49.2m in donations in F2021. It also received $1.1m in government wage subsidies during the year. Administrative costs are 17% of revenues (less investment income) and fundraising costs are 2% of donations. This results in total overhead spending of 19%. For every dollar donated to the charity, 81 cents go to the cause. This is within Ci’s reasonable range for overhead spending.

VHG and UBC Hospital Foundation has $351.7m in funding reserves. This includes $129.6m in endowment funds, but the charity’s audited financial statements do not separate donor-endowed funds from internally-endowed funds. Total reserves can cover annual grant costs for 8.9 years.

The charity’s funding reserves contributed $33.6m in investment income in F2021, at an estimated rate of return of 12% ($1.1m at a rate of return of 0.4% in F2020). Over the last nine years, Ci estimates that VHG and UBC Hospital Foundation's investment returns have averaged 6%.

VHG and UBC Hospital Foundation discloses related party transactions. In F2021, it received $749k in donations from directors and officers, which Ci classified as other income. It granted $39.4m to Vancouver Coastal Health during the year.

Charity Intelligence has sent this update to VGH and UBC Hospital Foundation for review. Changes and edits may be forthcoming.

Updated on July 27, 2021 by Eric Zhao.