Reconciliation

Thanks to the courage of Survivors of the residential school system, their families and their communities, and the work of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, we can act for reconciliation. The significance or the reach of our work is only possible because of their courage. The living legacy of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and its 94 Calls to Action, as well as the Philanthropic Community’s Declaration of Action, inform the McConnell Foundation’s work with partners and communities to contribute to a reconciliation economy in relationship with both Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples.

Reconciliation is a personal, organizational and systemic journey. Our learnings are grounded in wise practices, ceremonies and Elders & Knowledge Keepers’ teachings, for which we thank our Indigenous and non-Indigenous partners.

We place a high value on how we engage with existing and potential partners. We aim to co-create a respectful path to build relationships, whether the outcome is funding or not.

Our guiding principles in how we meet potential partners, assess a project, initiate a partnership or build relationships are:

• Weaving Indigenous and Western knowledges.
• Healing by recognizing that trauma underlines many Indigenous peoples’ lived experiences.
• Ensuring that Indigenous cultures and values inform all aspects of an initiative or project.
• Facilitating Indigenous solutions and innovation.

Our funding prioritizes partnering with Indigenous-led organizations and Indigenous communities. Our contributions aim to address – and redress – the socioeconomic gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples through building prosperity with and by Indigenous peoples.  

Our reconciliation funding is focused on the transition to a reconciliation economy, emphasizing the importance of building respectful relationships with partners and prioritizing Indigenous-led solutions. The purpose of these strategies is to build prosperity through prioritizing collaborative models with Indigenous-led organizations and Indigenous communities in a good way. We recognize that social, political and financial harms are profound and complex and have been enacted through systematic efforts to erase Indigenous peoples from these lands.  

• Indigenous-led solutions to activate the NIES Calls to Economic Prosperity: we seek to support Indigenous communities and organizations to lead efforts in advancing the National Indigenous Economic Strategy (NIES) Calls to Economic Prosperity (CEP). For your funding application, we will invite you to indicate specific CEP and explain how your project is linked. We will fund organizations implementing projects working to achieve one or many of the CEP. Additionally, some of the CEP require organizations to advocate for policies that encourage governments, institutions and corporations to fulfill their responsibilities. If your project advocates for policy change, please indicate this in your application. 
• Indigenous-led collaborative funding projects that prioritize Indigenous ways of being and knowing, and work to redistribute power to Indigenous communities can create more effective, equitable, and sustainable outcomes. A funding collaborative can link smaller-scale local initiatives to funders without the funder having to assess small proposals one by one. We fund collaboratives that pool and redistribute resources to support projects led by Indigenous communities, prioritizing collaboratives that also have Indigenous leadership.

To learn more about the questions and criteria for all three focus areas, please read our sample application form. You can also learn about our updated strategy in our 2023 Reconciliation webinar, slides and summary of Q&A, detailing our approach.