Open Letter from Canada’s Nonprofits and Charities to Corporate and Philanthropic Funders

The time is now to advance trust-based community investment, not slide backwards.

Nonprofits and charities, including grassroots community groups, collectives, and associations, and the communities they serve across Canada, are encountering unprecedented challenges in the face of a rapidly shifting social, political, and economic landscape. Canadians are worried and struggling to meet their basic needs, putting pressure on nonprofits and charities to do more with less.

In this uncertain yet critical moment, trust-based philanthropy has the power to drive transformational change in communities. This is an approach to funding that prioritizes equity, transparency, and trust-centred partnerships between funders and the organizations they support, as well as the communities they serve.

The time is now for community investment where corporate and philanthropic resources align with the needs and strengths of communities, ensuring that investments advance shared well-being.  

While many corporate funders are making meaningful strides toward trust-based philanthropy, there is still work to do together. Some current practices can create barriers to community-led impact or put public benefit missions at risk. This is a shared opportunity to deepen trust, shift power, and co-create approaches that truly center community well-being.

This open letter from nonprofits and charities across Canada is a call to all corporate and philanthropic funders: to commit to and demonstrate trust-based philanthropic funding practices now. 

One-sided funding practices harm communities

When funding priorities shift suddenly, quickly, in the middle of funding cycles, and with little to no notice or communication, critical community infrastructure begins to crumble. Nonprofits may be forced to pause, scale back, or shut down programs and services and/or let go of or reduce hours for staff and volunteers. This creates a domino effect, most often leaving equity-deserving communities with gaps in support.

When funding organizations do not align with their stated or implicit relational values, trust between funders, organizations they support, and communities erodes. Trust is a critical success factor in driving impact in communities. Without it, grants are unlikely to achieve their intended outcomes.

Moving forward together

Corporate and philanthropic funders are a critical part of Canada’s social impact ecosystem, especially when they cultivate transformational relationships with the organizations they support.

Moving forward, we urge all Canadian funders to join the many existing and emerging efforts to commit to funding practices that advance trust-based philanthropy. 

Key practices include:

• Timely and clear communication and transitional support when funding priorities shift.

• Flexible, multi-year funding that enables decent work and volunteerism.

• Clear and ongoing communication with grantees, particularly when they initiate communication. 

• Administrative burden-free applications and reporting tools that do not collect unnecessary information.

• Data practices that establish reciprocal data relationships with grantees.

• Cultivating opportunities for and engaging in thoughtful dialogue with grantees on shared concerns spanning the sector and community.

• Collaborating with the social purpose ecosystem to mobilize financial and non-financial resources (e.g. networks, data, information, and relationships) of support. 

Canada’s nonprofit and charitable sector holds communities together, during and beyond crisis, while delivering enormous economic value. We are a strategic partner in building a resilient, inclusive Canada rather than just recipients of charitable dollars. 

We ask that you work with us to commit to trust-based philanthropic practices that enable this vital work to continue.

Sincerely,

For Organizations

Join a growing movement of funders, nonprofits, charities, and community groups across Canada championing trust-based philanthropy. By adding your organization’s name, you’ll be part of a movement for funding practices for deeper impact and lasting change. Fill out the form below to add your name and stand with us. It may take a day or two for your organization's name to appear on this list.

For Individuals

Even if you are not signing on behalf of an organization, you can help amplify this call. Share this letter with your networks and add your voice to the conversation about trust-based philanthropy in Canada. To make it easy, we’ve included graphics below that you can post on your own channels. Together, we can build momentum for more equitable and community-centred funding practices.