Beyond Perceptions: Reflections from PFC's Conference, One Year Out

Beyond Perceptions: Reflections from PFC’s Conference, One Year Out

New Power Labs

Guest Posts

3 mins read

September 5, 2025

A Guest Post by PFC Partner New Power Labs

Philanthropic Foundations Canada’s 2024 Conference, held last September in Ottawa, gathered philanthropic and foundation leaders across Canada. Working together, New Power Labs and PFC aimed to broaden the sector’s perspective on how capital is directed toward historically underrepresented leaders and communities. Our team conducted a poll of approximately 80 philanthropic leaders and staff to gauge their perceptions of funding diverse communities, and to understand what’s needed to expand resources for those who remain underfunded.

The poll showed that 44% of respondents believe their organizations “significantly” fund leaders from overlooked communities. The poll also indicated a limited awareness of the actual capital flowing to diverse leaders and communities.

When asked how much of philanthropic funding went to Black, Indigenous, and People of Colour, most participants answered 1%. Available data shows that 0.7% of funding goes to Indigenous communities, and 0.16% to Black-led initiatives. The sector does not collect data on philanthropic capital to People of Colour.

When asked how much of Canadian philanthropic capital went to women and gender diverse communities, most participants answered 17.3%. The sector does not collect this data. As a proxy, in 2020, 1.81% of total US charitable giving went to women’s and girls’ causes.

When asked how much of global philanthropic capital went to anti-LGBTI organizations, most participants answered $500 million. In fact, in 2021-2022, the three biggest anti-LGBTI organizations in the U.S. reported a combined income of over $1 billion.

When asked how much of impact investing went to Black, Indigenous, and People of Colour, most participants answered 5%. The sector does not collect this data. For the full result, see here.

Without better data, Canada’s philanthropic and impact investment landscape is unmapped, and what appears to be progress may be little more than perception.

Board support and increased risk tolerance were ranked first as the most crucial for expanding funding to diverse communities. Surprisingly, participants ranked ‘disaggregated demographic data’ as the least important factor in unlocking capital for underfunded groups.

Good intentions don’t move the dial – data and execution do. It’s time to bridge the gap between perception and reality to unlock more capital.

With a majority of respondents feeling that they are well-equipped and have the power to unlock capital for diverse leaders and communities, now is the time to take deliberate, coordinated action.

Explore the future of capital for underfunded leaders and communities at New Power Labs’ Capital Unlocked 2025 Summit on November 12-13, 2025 in Toronto, Ontario.