Governance

Trust. Transparency. Leadership.

Meet our Board of Directors, read our annual reports and review our financial statements.

Backpack Buddies is a Five-Star, Top 100 Charity

You can read our full report on Charity Intelligence.

Board of Directors

Meet our experienced Board of Directors who are passionate about feeding hungry children across BC.

Geoff Pedlow

CHAIR OF THE BOARD

Geoff is a business lawyer at the Vancouver office of a major international law firm practicing in the areas of corporate and technology law. He advises entrepreneurs, start-ups and venture-backed technology companies, from ideation through business organization, capital raising and exit. In 2015 Geoff started attending Backpack Buddies events and eventually became more involved with the organization’s legal needs and governance. Geoff finds it immeasurably rewarding to play a part in filling the weekend hunger gap for children across the city.

Shari Gale

Board Member

Shari, a seasoned Operations Executive, brings more than two decades of expertise in the telecommunications sector. Her extensive experience in spearheading transformative initiatives has consistently yielded significant enhancements in customer satisfaction, business performance, and team development. She also demonstrated her leadership as the sub-committee chair on the TELUS Vancouver and Coastal Community Board for four years. Dedicated to community service, Shari has actively engaged in global volunteer efforts, including her recent involvement with Backpack Buddies, where she contributes her time to pack bags in the warehouse.

Richard Butterworth

Board Member

More info coming soon.

Kathy Bright

Board Member

More info coming soon.

Community Impact Reports

We want you to know the impact of every dollar you give and invite you to explore our recent community impact reports.

  • Community Impact Report 2022/23

    Community Impact Report2022/23 FROM OUR EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR & CO-FOUNDERDear Backpack Buddies Community,We are excited to share our 2022/23 Community Impact Report with you, and show you the difference you have made helping to feed hungry kids across BC this past year. It has been a challenging year in our communities, for our province and country. It…

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  • Community Impact Report 2021/22

    Community Impact Report 2021/22Putting hope on the table From Our FoundersHi There!Through your support of Backpack Buddies you have put hope back on the table for thousands of families across BC this past year.When you gave, you helped provide hungry kids with a backpack full of food every Friday to last them the weekend and…

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  • Community Impact Report 2020/2021

    Community Impact Report 2020/2021In a year of uncertainty around the world, we were deeply rooted in community and overwhelmed by generosity. https://vimeo.com/547948521?embedded=true&source=vimeo_logo&owner=91265432 Welcome to our new Community Impact Report!This past year, amidst unprecedented circumstances and uncertainty, you stood firmly with us and helped to get Backpack Buddies into the hands of hungry kids across BC.Check…

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  • Community Impact Report 2019/20

    Community Impact Report 2019/20An agile, compassionate response to an unprecedented year. Hi There!What a year this has been for us all – especially for hungry children across the province. The start of the 2019/2020 school year saw a nearly 50% increase in our weekly deliveries to children throughout Metro Vancouver. At the same time, we also…

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  • Community Impact Report 2018\2019

    Community Impact Report 2018\2019We’re excited to tell you all about what you made possible. Welcome to our 2018/19 Annual Report.Thanks to the generous support of people like you, 2018/19 was a banner year here at Backpack Buddies. Together, we raised more funding to deliver more bags of food to more students than ever before. It…

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  • Community Impact Report 2017/18

    Community Impact Report 2017/18Here’s the difference you helped to make in the lives of hungry kids Hi There!A LETTER FROM OUR CO-FOUNDER, JOANNESomeone asked us recently what Backpack Buddies was all about. Without a moment of hesitation, I said, “Community.”Whether it’s students packing bags of food for their peers at the next school over, or…

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HOW WE PUT YOUR GIFTS TO WORK

Financial Reports

Below you’ll find our most recent financial statements as well as some of the most frequently asked questions about our finances.

2022/23 Financial Statements

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2021/22 Financial Statements

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2020/21 Financial Statements

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2019/20 Financial Statements

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2018/19 Financial Statements

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2017/18 Financial Statements

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2016/17 Financial Statements

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2015/16 Financial Statements

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2014/15 Financial Statements

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DIG INTO OUR FINANCIALS

Financial FAQs

Want to learn more about our financials? Explore our FAQ below to discover how we approach fiscal responsibility, transparency and sustainability.

  1. We believe it is possible for every child in BC to have enough food to eat.
  2. We believe that when we promise to provide food for a child, they can count on us for as long as they need us.

These two principles guide the use of every dollar we raise. It means that we manage every dollar with great care. We invest in the health of our organization so that good people stay with us for the long term and we have a stable organization that families can count on to be here for years to come. It means that we invest in fundraising and the care of our donors so that we can continually grow to reach more and more children. We make sure to speak for children that cannot speak for themselves, encouraging governments, large companies, and our communities to support the most vulnerable children. It means we must keep reserve funds on hand so that we can keep our promise to children to support them, as long as they need us, no matter what unexpected financial storms arise. We make sure that every dollar provides food security for children in our program today and helps us reach more children across BC every year.

We make sure every dollar helps to geWe make sure every dollar helps to get food into the hands of BC’s most vulnerable children. When you make a $25 donation to Backpack Buddies:

  • $13.47 pays for food
  • $7.35 pays for the warehouse, vehicles, and people that get the food into the hands of children
  • $3.17 helps to raise more money so we can help even more children
  • $1 makes sure we fulfill our responsibilities like providing tax receipts and managing our finances properly

We make sure that every dollar provides food security for children in our program today and helps us reach more children across BC every year.

* Based on our 2023/24 financial statements

Families, companies, foundations, and government have stepped up to help vulnerable children have enough to eat. We are grateful for all our generous supporters.

  • 67% of our funding comes from individuals and companies
  • 33% of our funding comes from grants

* Based on our 2023/24 financial statements

Children in the Backpack Buddies program live in food-insecure families – they do not have enough food to eat and struggle with the devastating and lifelong impacts of hunger and nutritional deprivation. When Backpack Buddies steps in, we offer our promise that we will be there for them, providing a source of food every weekend that they can count on as long as they need us. Keeping this promise means establishing financial stability in our organization to weather financial fluctuations that could otherwise threaten our ability to support children counting on us.

Our goal is to hold a cash reserve equivalent to 12 months of the cost of food for our program and 6 months of operating expenses, ensuring that children in our program will not be affected by fluctuations in donations from month to month.

Today, there are nearly 160,000 children in BC who are going hungry. One day, we hope to be able help them all.

About Backpack Buddies

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