Multicultural Fundraising

Determining inclusive plans and strategies to engage our ever changing Canadian donor demographic is a hot topic in the philanthropic world.

It’s always been accurate to define Canada as a ‘country of immigrants’ and so, in many ways, the issue of reaching out to new Canadians is nothing new. However, over the past few decades the characteristics of our ethnic communities have evolved. Prior to the 1970s, most Canadian immigrants originated from Europe. Since that time, an influx of people from developing countries around the globe has resulted in a substantial demographic shift. Today, the sheer size and number of diverse ethnic communities has created an increasingly inescapable reality for many organizations across the country that seek to resonate with the people living in their regions.

In the process, there’s been a lot of misunderstanding, confusion – and downright fear – when attempting to reach out to sizeable community ethnic groups. We tend to think there must be some ‘magic bullet’, precise rule book or roadmap we should be following to access these unique donor markets. Not knowing how to start or what to do, combined with the fear of making a mistake, is preventing many of us from going forward

In this article, we explore the realities and challenges around multicultural marketing, fundraising and relationship building. We’ll also share success stories from organizations that have taken the plunge and ‘done it right’.