Aboriginal Philanthropy in Canada: A Foundation for Understanding

Wendy Scaife, in answer to the question of why giving to
Indigenous causes warrants special interest, states that
firstly, Indigenous needs are some of the deepest in society
and span funding arenas as diverse as conservation, health,
youth, education, housing, economic development, poverty,
world peace, human rights, arts, employment, sustainable
development and social justice. Further, from an impact
perspective, the world’s 350 million Indigenous people spread
across 90 countries contribute largely to the world’s cultural
diversity, and some 80 per cent of the world’s remaining
biodiversity is found within their lands (International Funders
for Indigenous Peoples 2006; Funders Network 2006) 11 .
According to Statistics Canada, in 2007 Canadians donated
$10 billion dollars to charitable institutions 12 . Yet little of this
funding finds its way to Aboriginal communities, in spite of
the obvious need and regardless of the responsibility that
government, business and philanthropy share for the wellbeing
of Aboriginal peoples and communities. This is the
unrealized opportunity that we seek to understand and to
introduce into the dialogue between Aboriginal Peoples and
foundations. The time is ripe to change the relationships
between foundations and Aboriginal communities. A growing
number of philanthropic foundations in Canada want to
learn about and deepen their engagement with Aboriginal
communities. This includes community foundations, which
operate at a local and typically urban scale, as well as
corporate, private and family foundations, which
operate at regional, national or even international
scales. Change at every level is within our reach.
“Decisions are
made based
on emotions.”
11
Scaife (2006), page 1.
12
Hall, Lasby et al (2009).
The Circle on Philanthropy & Aboriginal Peoples in Canada 18