Are We Really Making Progress? A Conversation on Diversity, Equality, Inclusion, and Canadian Fundraising.

It was May, 2021, when a team equipped with a ground-penetrating radar announced a horrifying discovery. At the historical site of Kamloops Indian Residential School, they uncovered the graves of 215 indigenous children, victims of a horrifying system that stole them from their homes, forbid them from speaking their language, and forced them to convert to Christianity.

Now, you might be asking: What does this tragedy have to do with fundraising? Well, it marks the moment many Canadians began to reconsider not just the past, but what they can do to improve the future. And it’s apparent the charitable sector is thinking likewise.

Many organizations are revaluating how they can engender a more diverse workplace and how they can be greater agents of change in their community. However, we have to ask: Are we really making a difference? Or are we just saying we are?

Recently, we at hjc asked ourselves this very question. So, we went to the people who matter the most to this topic — our staff members, who come from all over the globe and from a variety of cultures and demographics.

42% of our staff hails from outside of Canada. 33% speaks English as a second language. And 100% were hired based on their fields of expertise, talent, and most importantly; their passion for creating a social and humanitarian impact in people’s lives through fundraising.

We sat down and chatted to share our experiences in the fundraising world, hear each other’s perspectives, and consider ideas on how we can improve. And now, we want to share our findings for the betterment of our entire industry. But before we go in-depth, it must be explicitly stated: hjc’s goal is not to signal virtue via our staff members. Our objective is solely to illuminate what our industry (including us) is doing right, doing wrong, and to uncover ways to improve our sector as a whole. Here are our findings…

The Good News: Inherent social mindfulness.

Across our conversations, we found all our staff members have had a generally good experience while working in fundraising. No one has felt prejudiced against or unfairly treated based on who they are, though some did state they have heard from people working at other organizations that they felt their ethnicity was playing a negative role in their workplace experiences.

For the sake of those affected, it’s hard to extrapolate more information without knowing who and where. But the consensus over our conversations was that our sector’s inherent empathy for others makes it a more socially-minded place to work, as all charitable organizations in one form or another strive to help people and often due so without thought of race, sex, or gender.

The Bad News: The lip service.

Though our staff do feel our industry generally treats all people fairly, many did discuss the notable uptick in webinars around terms like “Power-Sharing,” “Decolonization,” and “DEI” (Diversity, Equality, and Inclusivity). This has led many to feel there is more talk than action. And for some, it feels even like it’s a “trendy topic” after the discovery in Kamloops last May.

In all, it’s important organizations walk the proverbial walk. Think about your organization and consider if it’s implementing changes that produce real, positive results for the future. Luckily, the following findings may reveal new ways you can do exactly that.

The pitfall of self-selection and barriers to entry for New-Canadians.

For many who come from abroad, there is often an extra barrier to entry in Canadian fundraising. Many can only find employment through internship programs. And usually only after completing post-secondary education in Canada.

Of course, obstacles like language comprehension exist. But many feel their credentials from abroad are undervalued. So, when looking for new talent, be sure to look beyond domestic work experience and education. Adopting ideas and ways of thinking from outside Canadian culture could make a monumental difference in your philanthropic endeavours!

Revaluating the Canadian ethos.

When discussing differences in culture, it’s been revealed that Canadian fundraisers may want to reconsider some of their views — or at least how they communicate them. Some have pointed out that Canadian fundraisers more openly discuss, and at times flaunt, how much money they raise rather than sharing the effect that money has had.

Yes, raising funds is the namesake of fundraisers. But perhaps it’s time we consider adjusting our perspective. Did the hundred thousand dollars raised from a campaign get used effectively? Did it buy new innovative medical tools for a hospital? Did it change a child’s life? Of course, the bottom-line metric of success is revenue. But it’s important that this metric doesn’t overshadow the real-life impact it has.

Our recommendation is increasing conversation internally about the effect your staff is having. When a goal is reached or important progress is made, be sure to share the news with your staff, either in a meeting or a mass thank-you email. You may be pleasantly surprised by the boost in morale it creates!

When reaching out to specific demographics, either do it all or not at all.

It was also pointed out that fundraisers seem only interested in targeting demographics they see a monetary opportunity in it. Where one demographic (for example; Chinese-Canadians) is being focussed over another demographic (say; Indian-Canadians), it comes off to many as disingenuous. Why market to one group, but not another?

It’s important that as fundraisers we don’t exclude in our efforts to create a real social impact for whatever cause we strive to support, as we might disenfranchise people in the process. For many, it’s advised to reach out to everyone with your fundraising. Remember, charitable giving is a human convention. We all experience the same dopamine rush when we selflessly donate, so be sure to present opportunities for everyone to participate.

The bigger the organization, the greater the emphasis on DEI.

It’s been noted that the larger the organization, the more emphasis is placed on engendering a more diverse, equal, inclusive workplace. We dug deeper and asked why this was and the general consensus from our team is that when an organization is larger, the more barriers people perceive are between them.

The solution to this is obvious; break down the silos. Move people around in your organization so they can work with people in different departments. Let your staff get to know coworkers and volunteers who they wouldn’t usually work close to, and the result will likely be an increase in understanding, camaraderie, and even productivity!??

Learn from other countries and verticals.

With so much conversation around DEI and power-sharing, our conversations often led us to ask: How come we aren’t connecting and learning from fundraisers in other countries more? Or how come we aren’t looking at how other verticals are creating more inclusive workspaces?

It seems many of us Canadian fundraisers are only looking internally for how we can change, rather than externally. We implore you to change that. Look at causes similar to yours, but in other nations. Learn about them. Study how they fundraise differently from you. Maybe even get in touch with them for a meeting where both organizations can trade knowledge.

Or look at verticals other than fundraising for inspiration. Look at industries like shipping or banking who do business on a global level. Learn how they work with a number of different nationalities and cultures and incorporate that into their business. This could unlock huge ideas that lead to game changing insights!

What about mental health?

While there’s so much conversation about creating more inclusive workspaces and communities, many feel it’s only based on what our eyes see. It came to light in our chats that improvements need to be made in how Canada handles mental health, as many feel it’s socially acceptable to take a day off for a cold or migraine, but not to take a mental health day.

This is problematic. Our brain — the most important organ in our bodies — is still stigmatized to the point where people are willing to sacrifice its wellness. Obviously, this is a difficult topic to broach with your staff as it’s such a personal matter, but we advise your organization openly communicates that mental health days are acceptable sick days and don’t require explanation. And with the ongoing difficulties of COVID-19, now is the perfect time to implement these changes!

Conclusion

Through all our conversations, it’s clear that Canada’s charitable sector has done a good job for the most part in welcoming all people into their ranks of social impact creators. But there are still outstanding stigmas, and more prominently a lack of innovation in changing our ways of thinking to create an industry that’s more diverse, mindful, and integrated.

We hope this article has illuminated areas of success — or areas that can be improved — and will help guide your organization, staff, and the people affected by your efforts to a brighter, more beautiful future free of the stigmas, stereotypes, and tragedies of the past.

What are your experiences?

Aside from what our conversations have uncovered, we’d love to know what your thoughts and experiences have been on diversity, equality, and inclusion in the fundraising sector? Do you believe our sector can improve? If so, let us know by leaving a comment on the post you came to this article from — or by tagging us in your own post.

And if you’d like to speak with us on any of your fundraising needs, please contact us at: [email protected].

Thank you for reading!