Donate - BC Search and Rescue Association

Support The BC Search & Rescue Association

Help Us Deliver Search & Rescue Programs Througout BC

Donating To BCSARA

What Do Your Donations Do?

Donations to BCSARA help us fulfil our mandate of supporting the activities of search and rescue groups throughout British Columbia. Your support will be used to deliver training, assistance and equipment grants to SAR groups in communities large and small, urban and rural, all over BC. Your contribution can help make our job safer and in turn save the lives of lost and missing people.

Donate via Direct Financial Assistance

The BC Search and Rescue Association also accepts donations in the form of cheque or money order by mail. Tax receipts will be issued for amounts over $20.

BC Search and Rescue Association
P.O. Box 2176
Sidney, B.C.
V8L 3S6

Donate via Victoria Foundation

BCSARA also accepts donations through the Victoria Foundation. Donations through the foundation take the form of an endowment to provide a lasting legacy for the BC search and rescue community.

Donating to BCSARA through the Victoria Foundation is simple – either online (click on British Columbia Search and Rescue Association in the drop down box), or call the Victoria Foundation at 250-381-5532.

Donate to the John MacGregor Memorial Award Fund

Through the Victoria Foundation donations are accepted for the John MacGregor Memorial Award Fund.

The intent of the John MacGregor Memorial Award is two-fold: to raise awareness of the man and keep alive the memory of his valorous contributions to Canada’s role in WW1; and to recognize in his name the contributions of the similarly selfless and brave volunteers who serve as members of the British Columbia Search and Rescue Association (BCSARA).

For more about the award and the man it is named after click here.

Donate Online

The easiest way to donate is to complete the donation form below. BCSARA partners with CanadaHelps which is a charity. Here you can use your credit card to set up a one time or ongoing donation. Tax receipts are issued by CanadaHelps.

Donate via Vancouver Foundation

BCSARA also accepts donations through the Vancouver Foundation. Donations through the foundation take the form of an endowment to provide a lasting legacy for the BC search and rescue community.

Donating to BCSARA through the Vancouver Foundation is simple – just follow the link to the BCSARA page on their site. You will find a “Donate” button there.

Donate Cryptocurrency through CanadaHelps

BCSARA is delighted to be piloting a new donation option through CanadaHelps. Bitcoin and Ethereum will be accepted by CanadaHelps and, right away, it will be sold so there’s no room for fluctuations. CanadaHelps is also partnering with CarbonX to supply an initial 100 carbon credits to offset 100 MtCO2eq of carbon emissions. CanadaHelps will continue to purchase carbon offsets on an ongoing basis to cover the emissions of each cryptocurrency transaction that they process. The minimum donation must be $100 or more as this ensures every cryptocurrency donation made using CanadaHelps is carbon neutral and results in a meaningful charitable gift. Click here to donate cryptocurrency.

WARNING: BC GSAR Groups DO NOT Solicit Funds By Phone!

Community-based search and rescue (SAR) groups use many ways to raise funds to support their training and equipment needs. Before making any donations/pledges to phone solicitations, please ask the caller to provide, by mail, written evidence that the request for a donation is in fact for the local community search and rescue group. If in doubt, contact your local police detachment for verification as to the existence of a local search and rescue group and their name.

Each year the British Columbia Search and Rescue Association (BCSARA), the sssociation representing and supporting the 78 ground and inland water search and rescue groups in British Columbia, receives numerous phone calls from citizens and businesses who have been contacted by an organization soliciting funds for ‘search and rescue’.

These solicitations may suggest the funding is for recognized search and rescue groups, or organizations that represent and support the groups.

Neither the BCSARA nor the search and rescue groups recognized by the province solicit funding by telephone.

BCSARA recommends that anyone who is contacted by an organization seeking funding for search and rescue question the caller as to the organization’s name and charity registration number. Should a member of the public have concerns, or not receive tax receipts for a donation, they should contact the Canada Revenue Agency at:

Email: CharitiesComplianceDivisi.LPRA@cra-arc.gc.ca
Phone: 1-800-267-2384
Fax: 613-954-8037

Address: Charities Directorate
Canada Revenue Agency
Ottawa, ON
K1A 0L5

SAR groups in BC do require your support. You can contact them directly or donate to BCSARA on their behalf.

Click here for a complete listing of the ground and inland water search and rescue groups.