Producing the 2025 Vancouver Foundation Magazine
Read the 2025 Vancouver Foundation Magazine
Services: Project management, writing, editing, proofreading
Overview
Vancouver Foundation produces an annual 28-page magazine mailed to households and donors across Vancouver near the year-end giving season. The magazine is a storytelling piece that introduces new readers to the philanthropic foundation’s impact.
The project brought together stories from across the Foundation’s granting, community and donor work. It also involved a large production ecosystem: internal communications and donor services teams, writers, photographers, designers, grantees as well as donors.
Alongside producing and editing the publication, a major part of my role was strengthening the process behind it. The goal was to create a smoother, more coordinated production experience and strengthen relationships with those featured in the magazine.
Approach
Producing a magazine involves a lengthy list of ever-moving pieces. For an organization, it’s also a major touchpoint with some of its most important relationships — grantees, donors, and partners — all taking the time to open up about personal experiences. I had to meet deadlines without giving the impression of urgency.
For this magazine, the stories had to be both compelling without being exploitative, while also serving the brand. I also managed a team of writers, photographers, and illustrators who needed to be briefed quickly and thoroughly on the story, as well as its context within Vancouver Foundation’s brand and communications strategy.
As project manager, I gave contributors and subjects a clear picture of the time commitment from start to finish, including photography, review, and approval timelines. This helped people feel more prepared and encounter fewer surprises.
For sensitive or complex stories, I conducted pre-interviews before assigning the story to a writer. These pre-interviews helped gather basic information, key nuances, and no-go topics, and informed detailed story briefs that gave writers stronger starting points. These briefs included organizational context, background information, jargon explanations, and potential story angles. As a result, writers spent more interview time exploring moments and details that made stories feel distinct.
Outcome
Inspiring and resonant stories are the core of any publication. But when you’re profiling your relationships, the systems that create the stories matter too.
Thoughtful processes and project management created the conditions for better stories, while also improving the experience for everyone involved. Contributors reported having the clarity needed to write a compelling story while honouring brand language.
Behind the scenes, the project also became more manageable for the Vancouver Foundation team. 2025 was the first year an external team had a fully integrated production process and handled all aspects of producing a story, allowing the communications team more capacity to focus on broader priorities.
