Indigenous Peoples Solidarity Fund by CanadaHelps

This Fund stands in solidarity by highlighting Indigenous-led charities and qualified donees to share the transformational work done daily. Indigenous Peoples represent nearly 5% of the Canadian population, and they are the fastest-growing population in Canada. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, discriminatory actions and government policies^1,2,3 contributed to marked inequalities in Indigenous communities compared to other communities in Canada, including access to safe water, differential health treatments and outcomes, access to education, mental health crises for young people, and economic inequality. The COVID-19 pandemic has further challenged many First Nations, Inuit and Métis Peoples and their collective ability to deliver services that their communities depend on.

Indigenous-led organizations are critical to the communities they serve, and they are leading the way with solutions to long-standing challenges. These solutions include a focus on physical and emotional healing from the traumas of colonialism; rebuilding traditional culture, language, and intergenerational transfer of knowledge that was lost or damaged through government-led assimilation practices; offering services or supports founded in Indigenous knowledge and practices in communities and in urban settings; and uplifting an emerging generation of leaders through a resurgence of culture and sustainable relationships with their lands and waters.

You can stand with Indigenous Peoples by supporting Indigenous-led ingenuity and providing funding directly to Indigenous communities and the people they support. Indigenous-led organizations provide a frontline perspective and nimbleness to facilitate grassroots philanthropy based on trust, networks, and collaboration as essential elements of solidarity. Financial support enables these groups to incorporate the self-sustaining social capacity to act on issues and priorities.

This Fund includes more than 40 Indigenous-led charities from across Canada. These organizations have a range of focuses, from social services to arts and culture. These charities have identified themselves as Indigenous-led based on four criteria:

• Indigenous leadership at all levels – board & executive
• Indigenous cultures & languages central to daily operations
• Formal protocols with Indigenous communities
• Programs delivered by Indigenous People

These criteria were originally established by Indigenous peoples working in the charitable sector advised by Elders. Since not every organization will meet all four criteria depending on their structure, inclusion was heavily weighted towards Indigenous leadership at all levels and Indigenous cultures & languages central to daily operations.

To ensure donations reach charities easily and efficiently, charities in this Fund must also be one of the more than 20,000 charities registered to receive funds electronically from CanadaHelps. Funds will be transferred quarterly, subject to a minimum of $10 per charity.

We regularly update the list of charities in this Fund. To see the latest list of charities included in this Fund, you can view the list here.

If you represent an Indigenous-led registered charity or qualified donee that would like to be included in this fund, please get in touch.

If you represent a company interested in partnering with CanadaHelps to match or make a major gift in support of the Indigenous Peoples Solidarity Fund, contact us at partners@canadahelps.org.