BC's Top Employers (2026) Magazine - Magazine - Page 22
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BC’S TOP EMPLOYERS (2026)
Uplifting stories nourish BC Cancer Foundation staff
E
arly in Sarah Roth’s
nearly 10-year tenure
as president and CEO
at the BC Cancer
Foundation, a guest
at the charity’s first Lunar New
Year dinner asked her to pose for
a photograph with him and his
10-year-old son. He had brought
the boy along to show him that
there was an organization working
to see that cancer patients in
the future did not face the same
outcome as his mother, who had
died of the disease earlier that year.
“I have that photo framed on my
desk as a reminder of why we need
to keep doing what we’re doing,”
Roth says.
The foundation has grown and
evolved in the decade Roth has
been there, more than doubling
its revenue. In addition to helping
fund BC Cancer (the province’s
cancer control and research
agency), it contributes to research
at the University of British
Columbia and elsewhere. It also
supports advances in treatments
and families affected by cancer.
BC Cancer Foundation focuses on innovation while supporting employee growth and well-being.
Every day, you have
interactions that
remind you why we’re
doing what we do.
— YuWing Gao
Officer, Donor Experience and
Development
Once known for events like
an annual gala and the Tour de
Cure bike ride, the BC Cancer
Foundation has turned to smaller
events, more widely dispersed
across the province, that offer
a better return on investment.
It’s also putting more emphasis
on estate planning, which Roth
says presents a huge opportunity
considering the trillions of dollars
projected to be handed down by
baby boomers in North America
over the next two decades.
Among the changes Roth
introduced at the foundation was
“the gift of time.” She extended
vacation for all employees to a
minimum of four weeks, removed
the limit on paid sick days, closed
the office over the Christmas to
New Year break and instituted half
days off in advance of every long
weekend.
YuWing Gao, who gave birth to
her first child last year, has come to
appreciate how rare the BC Cancer
Foundation’s policy of topping up
maternity leave pay for up to 27
weeks is in the non-profit sector.
The officer, donor experience and
development, likewise appreciates
the half days off before long
weekends. “Sometimes, when
you’re trying to catch a ferry over to
the Sunshine Coast, that makes a
world of difference,” she says.
Gao also values the foundation’s
two-way communication and
engagement with employees,
including weekly leadership
updates and one-on-one meetings
with her manager, monthly staff
meetings and “pulse checks” using
anonymous surveys.
Gao is taking advantage of
the foundation’s partnership
with education portal Coursera
to further her professional
development too. “I’m working
through an online course on best
practices using generative AI in
fundraising,” she says.
Like Roth, Gao is driven by the
knowledge of her work’s impact.
