Why Reciprocity, and What We’re Learning?

Note: This blog post follows the author’s earlier publication entitled: Why Reciprocity, and Why Now?

Over the past year into recent weeks and days prior to the conference, many people have asked how Philanthropic Foundations Canada is bringing to life the theme of ‘Reciprocity’ as embodied in the very name of our 2026 National Conference. 

The answer is both simple and complex. Ahead of our conference opening, it is important to share some thoughts on our approach, our learnings throughout the planning, and what to expect.   

We chose reciprocity because it represents a challenge, a responsibility, and an aspiration. At a time when many institutions, including philanthropy, are being called to examine all sorts of power, relationships, accountability, and trust, reciprocity felt like an invitation to challenge ourselves instead of a destination we believed we have reached. 

We also recognized that the ideals, actions and outcomes of reciprocity carry weight and expectations.   

Stepping into this work will be imperfect, yet through this process we, as an organization and as a community, have an opportunity to learn, be guided, teach, and move forward together. 

As we prepare to gather, we recognize that reciprocity carries different meanings for different people. For many Indigenous Peoples and communities, reciprocity is embedded in longstanding systems of relationship, responsibility, and mutual obligation. We approach those teachings with humility and recognize that philanthropy continues to have much to learn. 

Our ongoing goal for the PFC National Conference is to create space for learning, relationship-building, and challenging assumptions. We also seek to create space for difficult questions about how philanthropy can reshape its approach to working with communities, partners, and movements it seeks to support. 

That is the spirit in which the design of this conference was approached. 

How We Are Trying to Bring Reciprocity to Life 

We recognize that a conference cannot create reciprocity through a theme alone. If the concept is to have meaning, it must be reflected in the choices we make, the voices we elevate, the relationships we build, and the experiences we create. 

This year’s conference has been informed by a diverse Host Committee whose members have challenged assumptions, brought different perspectives, and have made very important suggestions for this year’s program.  

Indigenous voices, perspectives, and leadership are woven throughout the conference experience. Almost all of our plenary sessions feature Indigenous speakers, including three led entirely by Indigenous voices. Participants will hear from Indigenous leaders speaking about relationship-building, philanthropy’s role in reconciliation, community priorities, and pathways forward. 

In addition to plenary stages, Indigenous leaders, practitioners, and community voices are woven throughout sessions on housing, grantmaking, the future of philanthropy, regional collaboration, and relationship-building.  

At the same time, our intention was to explore reciprocity across the many interconnected relationships, histories, dynamics, and communities that shape philanthropy. This theme challenges us to consider how philanthropy shows up in relationships with communities and organizations that have often had less power, influence, or access to resources, and whose knowledge, leadership, and lived experience are essential to creating meaningful change. 

Increasingly, philanthropy is being challenged to move beyond transactional relationships and toward deeper partnership, shared learning, and accountability. Communities are not passive recipients of resources. They are leaders, knowledge holders, innovators, and partners. 

That thinking influenced how we designed this conference. 

Across the program, we have intentionally increased opportunities for facilitated dialogue, peer exchange, and collaborative exploration. While lived perspectives remain important, we wanted fewer moments of “sage on the stage” and more opportunities for participants to learn with one another. Reciprocity, in this sense, is not only about what is presented from the front of the room. It is also about what emerges through conversation, listening, relationships, and mutual learning. 

What We Are Learning Along the Way 

As we prepared for this conference, we also received important feedback asking whether the conference is doing what it intends to do. We heard that feedback, and it matters deeply to all of us involved in creating this conference.  

Over the past decade, philanthropy has been influenced by social movements, calls for Reconciliation, conversations about equity and justice, and growing recognition that power and wealth continue to be distributed and accessed unevenly in our society. Many organizations, including our own, are attempting to navigate these realities while learning how to work differently. 

Along the way, one lesson has become increasingly clear: intention and impact are not the same thing. 

Good intentions do not guarantee positive outcomes. Those outcomes are shaped by the language we use, the processes we create, and the relationships we build. 

And when organizations seek to engage in complex concepts such as Reconciliation, reciprocity, equity, or justice, there is a responsibility to ensure our actions are advancing those commitments, not simply referencing them. 

As part of this conference journey, we have experienced moments that reminded us of that responsibility. We have received feedback on language choices, conference planning decisions, and situations where consultation should have happened earlier or more deeply. In some instances, we moved too quickly. In others, our intentions were not fully reflected in our actions. 

We also acknowledge that our desire to be ambitious, brave, or innovative does not eliminate the possibility of causing harm. 

In philanthropy, we often encourage experimentation and risk-taking in pursuit of change. Yet risk is not experienced equally. Those of us who carry privilege, influence, platforms, or resources have a responsibility to consider who may bear the consequences when our actions miss the mark. 

Reciprocity requires more than the sharing of resources. 
It also requires the sharing of responsibility. 
Perhaps most importantly, it requires humility. 

Looking Beyond 

A conference can create moments of reflection, conversation, challenge, and connection. It can create opportunities to learn from one another. It can encourage us to reconsider assumptions and explore new ways of working. 

We will measure this conference by whether participants leave with a deeper understanding of the relationships that sustain their work, a greater appreciation of responsibility, and new ideas for how reciprocity can take shape in practice 

As PFC, we will be paying attention to what resonates, what falls short, what surprises us, and what participants ask of us next. As individuals, we hope people leave with new questions as much as new answers. As a sector, we hope this gathering helps us continue exploring what more reciprocal relationships can look like in practice. 

Our 2026 National Conference is not the destination. 

It is simply the next step.