Vancouver Holocaust Education Centre

What Vancouver Holocaust Education Centre does

The Vancouver Holocaust Education Centre (VHEC) is a registered Canadian charity (Vancouver Holocaust Centre Society For Education and Remembrance; Charity No. 119261063 RR 0001) founded in 1994 by Holocaust survivors as a teaching museum. Operating from the lower level of the Jewish Community Centre at 50–950 West 41st Avenue in Vancouver, BC, the VHEC functions as Western Canada's leading Holocaust education organization, serving approximately 25,000 students and teachers annually alongside Holocaust survivors, descendants, and the broader public. Its core offerings include in-person museum exhibitions and tours, school programs (workshops, survivor speakers, symposia), educator professional development (Shafran Teachers' Conference, Kron Sigal Award), loanable classroom resources (Discovery Kits and Book Sets), and the Zachor magazine.

The VHEC's technology footprint is centered on a digital collections database (collections.vhec.org) running CollectiveAccess 2021, which aggregates the centre's library, museum artefacts, archives, and Holocaust testimony recordings into a searchable online catalogue. This is extended by a portfolio of bilingual online exhibitions — Open Hearts – Closed Doors, Enemy Aliens, Nuremberg, Rhodes, More Than Just Games, Fragments in Focus, and In Focus: The Holocaust Through the VHEC Collection — distributed in part through the Virtual Museum of Canada platform. Recent 2026 additions include thematic programs on football/history/society and Holocaust education in the modern stadium, indicating curricular expansion beyond traditional classroom delivery.

VHEC's revenue model is donation-led and diversified across individual donations, legacy/bequest giving, securities gifting, an annual membership program, museum admissions, retail (VHEC Book Shop and Summit Ice Apparel), and fees/contributions tied to educational resources and professional development. Major institutional funders include the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany, the Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver, The Diamond Foundation (Faces of Survival exhibition), the Province of British Columbia (BC150), Western Economic Diversification Canada, and Library and Archives Canada. Distribution occurs through single-site physical visits in Vancouver, direct school outreach across British Columbia, and globally accessible digital exhibitions and collections.

Name

Vancouver Holocaust Education Centre

Legal name

Vancouver Holocaust Centre Society For Education and Remembrance

Website

https://vhec.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1994

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The Vancouver Holocaust Education Centre is a Canadian registered charity and teaching museum, founded in 1994 by Holocaust survivors, that delivers Holocaust education, school programs, and survivor testimony resources to approximately 25,000 students, educators, survivors, and the public in Western Canada each year.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Holocaust Education Museum Services

NAICS

Museums, Historical Sites, and Similar Institutions (712), Educational Support Services (611710), Libraries and Archives (519210), Educational Services (611)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200), Miscellaneous Publishing (2741)

akta.pro primary industry

Open Courseware & Course Modules (OCW) (EDAGAJAB)

Keywords

• Holocaust education
• Museum exhibitions
• Teacher professional development
• Survivor testimony archives
• Antisemitism education

Headquarters

HQ city

Vancouver

HQ country

Canada

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Donations and Fundraising: The VHEC relies on donations from individuals, foundations, and organizations. The website prominently features donation options, tribute cards, monthly donations, legacy giving (leave a will bequest), and securities gifting.
2. Membership Program: Annual membership program offering benefits to supporters who join as members of the organization.
3. Museum Admissions: Revenue from museum visitors paying admission fees for in-person exhibitions and tours at the Vancouver Holocaust Museum.
4. Retail - Book Shop and Summit Ice Apparel: Sale of Holocaust education books through the VHEC Book Shop and Summit Ice apparel merchandise, with proceeds supporting the centre.
5. Educational Resources: Discovery kits and book sets available for borrowing by classrooms, and professional development programs for educators.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

The Vancouver Holocaust Education Centre (VHEC) operates as a teaching museum that delivers Holocaust-based anti-racism education and commemoration through in-person museum visits, school programs reaching approximately 25,000 students and teachers annually, survivor speaker engagements, professional development for educators, online exhibitions, and a digital collections database covering library, archives, museum artefacts, and Holocaust testimony holdings. It also provides survivor services, descendant programming, and publishes Zachor magazine.

Product overview

The Vancouver Holocaust Education Centre (VHEC) operates as a teaching museum offering a comprehensive portfolio of educational products and services focused on Holocaust education and remembrance. The core offerings include the physical museum with in-person exhibitions and tours, an extensive digital collections database powered by CollectiveAccess software, and multiple online exhibitions including 'Open Hearts – Closed Doors,' 'Rhodes and the Holocaust,' 'Nuremberg,' 'More Than Just Games,' and 'Enemy Aliens.' Educational products encompass school programs reaching approximately 25,000 students annually, borrowing resources (Discovery Kits and Book Sets), professional development for educators, and publications including Zachor magazine. Support services include survivor services, descendant programming, and the VHEC Book Shop. The centre functions as Western Canada's leader in Holocaust education, engaging students, educators, and the broader public through both digital and physical channels.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Zachor Magazine: VHEC's publication covering BC writing about the Holocaust and its continued relevance.
• Summit Ice Apparel

Products and services

• VHEC Museum Western Canada's leading Holocaust education museum offering in-person exhibitions, public tours, school tours, and access to extensive collections including library, archives, museum artefacts, and Holocaust testimony. Located at 50-950 West 41st Avenue, Vancouver, BC.
• School Programs Educational programs engaging approximately 25,000 students and teachers annually, including school tours, workshops, survivor speakers, symposia, and exhibition tours designed for K-12 and post-secondary classrooms in British Columbia.
• Collections Database Online searchable database powered by CollectiveAccess 2021 software providing digital access to the VHEC's library, museum artefacts, archives, and Holocaust testimony holdings. Accessible globally via collections.vhec.org.
• Online Exhibitions Multiple online exhibitions including Fragments in Focus: A History of the Holocaust; Open Hearts – Closed Doors: The War Orphans Project (bilingual English/French); Rhodes and the Holocaust: One Survivor's Story; Nuremberg: Justice in the Aftermath of the Holocaust; More Than Just Games: Canada and the 1936 Olympics; and 'Enemy Aliens': The Internment of Jewish Refugees in Canada, 1940–1943. Bilingual teaching exhibitions with multimedia resources.
• Faces of Survival Exhibition Commissioned series of 40 portraits of Holocaust survivors by Pulitzer Prize-winning photojournalist Marissa Roth, depicting volunteer VHEC board members and Holocaust survivor speakers. Funded by The Diamond Foundation.
• Discovery Kits Loanable educational resource kits available for classroom use covering various Holocaust education topics, available for borrowing by classrooms across British Columbia.
• Book Sets Curated sets of books available for borrowing to support Holocaust education in classrooms across British Columbia.
• Zachor Magazine Annual publication featuring BC-focused writing about the Holocaust and its continued relevance, available in PDF format.
• VHEC Book Shop Online and in-person bookstore offering books related to Holocaust history and education, with proceeds supporting the centre.
• Survivor Services Services supporting Holocaust survivors including programming, assistance, and community connection.
• Descendant Programming Programming for descendants of Holocaust survivors including Generations After (grandchildren) and Second Generation Group (children), as well as Programming for Spouses & Partners of Holocaust survivors.
• Professional Development Professional development opportunities for educators including the Shafran Teachers' Conference and the Kron Sigal Award for Excellence in Holocaust Education.

Quantifiable outcome

• Reaches 25,000 students and teachers annually through educational programs
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Sandra Bornstein Holocaust Education CentercoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 6 April 2026Collaborating on a joint tour titled 'Revolutions in Survival: Jewish and AAPI Histories of Resistance and Cultural Preservation' with the AAPI History Museum, selected for the 2026 AASLH/NCPH Joint Conference. This partnership connects Jewish and Asian American/Pacific Islander histories of resistance and cultural preservation.
• Jewish Federation of Greater VancouvercoreGTM or Marketing PartnerProudly partnered organization supporting the VHEC's mission and educational programs in the Greater Vancouver Jewish community.
• Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany (Claims Conference)coreGTM or Marketing PartnerProudly partnered organization providing support for Holocaust education and survivor services through the Claims Conference.
• IHRA (International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerInternational exchange partnership working together for Holocaust education between Serbia and Vancouver. The VHEC participates in international Holocaust remembrance initiatives with IHRA.
• ENCATEminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership in international exchange for Holocaust education between Serbia and Vancouver.
• TerraformingminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerInternational Holocaust education partnership working together between Serbia and Vancouver, supporting interconnected remembrance work across countries and generations.
• Virtual Museum of CanadacoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorHost partner for VHEC online exhibitions including Open Hearts – Closed Doors, developed in partnership with the Virtual Museum of Canada. Makes educational content available through the national Virtual Museum platform.
• Canadian Jewish CongresscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHistorical and ongoing partnership related to Holocaust survivor support, War Orphans Project, and Jewish community education initiatives.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Illinois Holocaust Museum & Education Center: Large US Holocaust museum with school programs, exhibitions, and survivor testimony. Comparable in operating model as a teaching museum serving school and general public audiences.
• Simon Wiesenthal Center / Museum of Tolerance: Combines Holocaust education with broader human rights and tolerance programming through a museum and school outreach. Comparable in educational mission and target audience, with significantly greater scale.
• Holocaust Museum Houston: Mid-sized US Holocaust education museum offering exhibitions, school programs, and educator training. Comparable in scale, museum-education hybrid, and reliance on donor and community support.
• Holocaust Education Resource Center (Toronto): Toronto-based Holocaust education organization providing teacher training, curriculum resources, and survivor testimony programs. Comparable mission and Canadian educator audience, with no physical museum.
• Montreal Holocaust Museum: Canadian Holocaust education museum operating exhibitions, school programs, and survivor testimony collection. Directly comparable in mission, audience (Canadian schools and public), and museum-and-education hybrid model.
• Toronto Holocaust Museum: Recently opened Holocaust museum in Toronto delivering exhibitions, educational programming, and survivor testimony. Comparable in mandate and Canadian school audience; competes for donor and educator mindshare in the Canadian Holocaust education ecosystem.
• Sandra Bornstein Holocaust Education Center: Rhode Island-based Holocaust education center with survivor testimony, school programs, and educator resources. Directly comparable in non-profit teaching-museum model; already an active co-development partner with VHEC.

Broad incumbents

• Yad Vashem: World center for Holocaust remembrance with extensive archives, exhibitions, and international educator programs. A broader incumbent whose digital and curricular resources are widely adopted and inform best practices at smaller centers like VHEC.
• United States Holocaust Memorial Museum: The flagship Holocaust museum and education institution globally. Operates exhibitions, vast digital archives, and national educator training that overlap with VHEC's offerings, setting standards and providing benchmarks for digital Holocaust education.

Others

• Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver: Community umbrella funder and outreach partner, not a direct competitor. Relevant as a primary funding and distribution partner for VHEC's programs and as a regional benchmark for Jewish community funding flows.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/thevhec
• Facebookfacebook.com/theVHEC

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

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M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Vancouver Holocaust Education Centre