Aboriginal Philanthropy in Canada: A Foundation for Understanding

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ABORIGINAL PHILANTHROPY IN CANADA: A Foundation for Understanding The Relationship Between Philanthropy & First Peoples To understand Aboriginal philanthropy in Canada, we first have to consider philanthropy in Canada. In its simplest definition, philanthropy is altruistic concern for humankind, often as manifested by charitable acts or donations. In terms of specific funding patterns, philanthropy in Canada is largely directed to specific groups and endeavours. In general, as one respondent stated, funding trends are dismal for marginalized groups and grassroots community causes. A 2007 report published by The Offord Group reported the areas supported by charitable organizations in Canada. 2005 giving by categories of 60,871 registered and charitable organizations in Canada 13 Religion 49% Welfare 27% Arts & Culture 9% Education 9% Health 9% Religion represents the largest sector receiving investment, with 49 per cent of charitable funding in 2005. The second largest sector is welfare, which includes disaster funds, protection of animals, charitable trusts, service clubs and community organizations. Any amount given to support sustained social change is so small as to be insignificant. The relationship between religion and philanthropy is important for several reasons. First, it may speak to what many of the foundations referred to as the conservative nature of many foundations. In a recently published paper from Ryerson University Faculty of Business, Ida Berger states: “Religious affiliation and self-perceived religiosity appear to be important as influences on philanthropic variance. Those who are non-religiously affiliated are the least philanthropic, while those who identify themselves as conservative Protestants are the most philanthropic.” 14 Second, the close relationship of religion to philanthropy may illuminate one aspect of the disconnect between foundations and First Peoples. Among the three types of foundations that exist in Canada – public foundations, private foundations and charitable organizations – private foundations control considerable assets. According to Philanthropic Foundations Canada, the top 20 private (mostly family) foundations control assets that total $6.1 billion, and overall, private foundations control more assets than public foundations ($19.4 billion compared to $16.8 billion) 15 . One foundation representative described private foundations as follows: “foundations are family driven and often have small Boards. Most Boards are old hybrids of family and non-family. They are made up of private wealth – decisions are made based on emotion. The decision making is spiritual and emotional – it’s what grabs people.” The informant no doubt meant “spirit” in the secular sense, but we can also connect “spiritual” in this context to the foundation’s religious affiliation, as is often done within the Christian world view. That worldview, which dominates philanthropic giving, differs significantly from Aboriginal worldviews and spirituality. On the topic of spirituality, religion and philanthropy, Native American author Jo-Anne Stately writes, “I must confess to a perceived and yet real reluctance even to speak about spirituality. Spirituality is something that is interwoven to all aspects of my life. Without spirituality I would not and could not continue.” She ties her spirituality as an Indian woman (and the spirituality of American Indians) to the very survival of the culture of Native Americans. There is, she states, “no separation between our concept of a power that is greater than we are ‘two legged,’ or human, and all those things in creation that we cannot understand or explain.” Stately’s holistic perspective on spirituality is one part of the Indigenous world view that conflicts with traditional, or dominant, forms of philanthropy. Another key informant corroborates this key point. When asked “what are some of the challenges in foundations and First Peoples working together?,” a foundation respondent stated: 21
“The worldview, which is dominant in the sector (but not exclusive to it). A notion of doing charity, a lack of understanding of roles and responsibilities to each other and the planet, a lack of understanding of the necessity of both giving and receiving, an attitude that there is something wrong with Indigenous peoples or something we lack as opposed to seeing that we all have some spiritual growing to do. That Indigenous peoples are victims that need to be helped or supported by people who somehow know better than [them] rather than looking at true partnership. “A lack of understanding of history, the ongoing nature of colonialism; there is still a belief that underlies a lot of work that suggests Indians just need to be more like Europeans to be better off – teach [them] entrepreneurial skills, for example, without a clear analysis that those models of business are basically what got us into this situation to begin with. Where did wealth in Canada come from to begin with? It is made by exploiting lands and resources of Indigenous peoples.” Spirituality and religion are deeply important to many foundations and to Aboriginal peoples – yet their understandings of spirituality and religion differ significantly. An open, respectful dialogue about the role of religion in philanthropy must be part of building understanding between foundations and Aboriginal peoples. “Philanthropy gives to issues, but a more holistic approach is needed.” 13 The Offord Group (2007). Perspectives on Canadian Philanthropy. Retrieved June 27, 2010 from www.theoffordgroup.com. 14 Berger, Ida. (2006). 15 Philanthropic Foundations Canada website, http://pfc.ca/en/ The Circle on Philanthropy & Aboriginal Peoples in Canada 22
Page 1 and 2: ABORIGINAL PHILANTHROPY IN CANADA:
Page 3 and 4: Table of Contents Aboriginal Philan
Page 5 and 6: Aboriginal Philanthropy: A Call to
Page 7 and 8: 1.1 THE CIRCLE ON PHILANTHROPY & AB
Page 9 and 10: 1.2 THE REPORT The following report
Page 11 and 12: AMR, The Circle and United Way of W
Page 13 and 14: 2.2 LITERATURE REVIEW The literatur
Page 15 and 16: 2.5 CASE STUDY A case study allows
Page 17 and 18: 3.0 Report on the Findings 3.1 CONT
Page 19 and 20: Wendy Scaife, in answer to the ques
Page 21: 3.2 INTEGRATED ANALYSIS This resear
Page 25 and 26: Priorities - Who Says? Closely rela
Page 27 and 28: Across the Divide: Bridging Gaps in
Page 29 and 30: Respondents described some of the k
Page 31 and 32: Addressing Myths, Knowledge Gaps &
Page 33 and 34: The inequity in funding is plainly
Page 35 and 36: Unique Positioning of Foundations t
Page 37 and 38: 4.0 Case Study: Niigon Project Moos
Page 39 and 40: Deer Point. A tour of the facility
Page 41 and 42: Community Perspectives Seven key st
Page 43 and 44: 5.0 Conclusions There is an exquisi
Page 45 and 46: The following lessons pertain to cr
Page 47 and 48: 6.1 THE CIRCLE The Circle on Philan
Page 49 and 50: 6.2 FOUNDATIONS The following recom
Page 51 and 52: Hanselmann, C. (n.d.). Shared Respo

Aboriginal Philanthropy in Canada: A Foundation for Understanding

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