The Notary Foundation’s mandate is found in the provisions of British Columbia’s Notaries Act. Generally speaking, the Foundation supports legal aid, legal resources and legal education in British Columbia.
The Notary Foundation was established under the Notaries Act in July of 1985. The mandate is found in s.52 of the Act. The Foundation receives a negotiated amount of interest from financial institutions that maintain the trust accounts of BC notaries public.
The Notary Foundation receives and distributes the funds earned each year in accordance with its legislated mandate and the strategic objectives set by its Board of Governors. A majority of the money is paid to Legal Aid BC to provide legal aid in the province. In addition, The Notary Foundation provides funding for law libraries, legal education projects, research and organizations and the maintenance of education programs for notaries public in the province. The governors meet regularly to review applications for funding and determine where to direct funds.
The Notary Foundation accepts grant applications that meet the current strategic objectives of the Foundation and the legislated mandate of the organization. All grant recipients must report to the Foundation periodically in accordance with their approved grant agreement. In addition to grants, the Foundation has agreements with several institutions to regularly fund scholarships and/or bursaries for individuals undertaking specified law-related courses.
The success of The Notary Foundation relies upon cooperation with partner financial institutions to ensure a reasonable amount of negotiated interest is paid on the funds held in trust at those institutions as directed by notaries. Those payments allow the Foundation to support the good and important work of many community organizations throughout the province.
Day to day operation of the Foundation is overseen by its Executive Officer.