The FISA is a non-profit society registered with the Corporate and Personal Property Registries office, Ministry of Finance of BC, Victoria, British Columbia, under the provisions of the Society Act of BC.
Independent schools are understood to be those schools, not owned and operated by the province which are regulated by the Independent School Act. The Federation of Independent School Associations, established in 1966, is an umbrella organization for independent school groups in British Columbia.
The Federation is the voice for its members in British Columbia, and as a liaison between the schools and the government, and other educational institutions. The FISA is dedicated to assisting independent schools in maintaining their independence while seeking fair treatment for them in legislative and financial terms.
The advantage of membership in the FISA lies in belonging to a community that shares a commitment to freedom of choice in education. This community allows common approaches to be worked out and precludes the use of divide and conquer techniques by those who do not share FISA objectives.
In practice the Federation is committed to non partisan political activity executed in a non-contentious way. All its activities have been carried out with unanimous or near unanimous membership support because differences were resolved prior to public action.
