For many people working in philanthropy, Cultural Safety & Humility can feel like an emerging concept. Many organizations have Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion frameworks that appear in strategic plans, reconciliation commitments, and start meetings with land acknowledgements, but what does cultural safety and humility mean when cultivating relationships with donors, funders, nonprofit organizations, and First Nations communities?
Across British Columbia, First Nations communities continue to lead the way in defining health and wellness on their own terms, grounded in culture, language, connection to land, and self-determination. Supporting these priorities requires more than funding. It requires meaningful relationships and a commitment to reconciliation, both of which must be rooted in cultural safety and humility.
As the only foundation of its kind, the First Nations Health Foundation is a bold model of philanthropy and partnership that bridges funding and knowledge gaps to accelerate equitable and culturally safe health and wellness for First Nations people across BC through ongoing listening and partnership.
For me, cultural safety is not determined by the intentions of an organization or any one individual but by the experience of the person receiving a service, participating in an activity, or engaging in a relationship. It asks whether people feel respected, valued, and free from bias, discrimination, or power imbalances.
Cultural humility, on the other hand, complements this by recognizing that no one can become experts in someone else’s culture or life experience. Instead, it is a lifelong commitment to self-reflection, curiosity, accountability, and learning.
The First Nations Health Foundation works with the First Nations Health Authority, with Nations directly, and with supporters to fund work that is First Nations-led and community-driven. This is vital to the work myself and my team do every day. That includes Chief Executive Officer Nathania Fung.
“Rather than begin with determining funding priorities, we begin with listening. Rather than defining impact on behalf of communities, we create space for communities to define success for themselves, and we communicate that to our partners,” Fung explains.
For First Nations communities, health and wellness are often understood wholistically, with the whole person in mind. Whole-person health and wellness are connected to culture, language, family, community, land, identity, and self-determination. As a result, meaningful philanthropy is to be measured beyond conventional outputs and outcomes. The most important result may be strengthened relationships, renewed cultural connection, increased community leadership, or the creation of spaces where healing can occur on a community’s own terms.
This shift requires more than awareness. It requires humility.
It means recognizing that colonization, residential schools, the Indian Act, systemic racism, and the disruption of families and cultures are not distant chapters in history. Their impacts continue to shape institutions, relationships, and experiences today.
Awareness may feel uncomfortable, but discomfort fosters growth, and growth means recognizing that we are all on a different reconciliation journey and that we have a shared responsibility to engage thoughtfully and respectfully.
For fundraising organizations seeking to advance reconciliation, Cultural Safety & Humility is not about having all the answers. It is about asking better questions, accepting that learning is ongoing, and being willing to adapt. It encourages us to move beyond transactional approaches to fundraising and toward relationships rooted in respect, reciprocity, and trust.
Ensuring that philanthropy is aligned with First Nations values is about recognizing that First Nations communities already possess deep knowledge, resilience, and strength. The role of philanthropy is not to lead but to listen, partner, and invest in First Nations-led priorities and solutions.
In this way, Cultural Safety & Humility are not simply concepts to learn. They are practices that invite philanthropy to become something more relational, more accountable, and more aligned with the goals of reconciliation. And perhaps that is the greatest lesson: meaningful change begins not with what we know, but with our willingness to listen, learn, and walk alongside one another.
One of the ways the Foundation advances this work is through education and relationship-building. Recognizing that many individuals and organizations want to contribute meaningfully but may not know where to begin, the Foundation offers Cultural Safety & Humility (CS&H) Training. This training supports organizations seeking to deepen understanding, strengthen workplace culture, and move reconciliation commitments into meaningful action.
The First Nations Health Foundation’s CS&H Training is informed by the Cultural Safety and Humility Standard, a standard jointly developed by the First Nations Health Authority and the Health Standards Organization. CS&H Training supports organizations to advance culturally safe systems through practical, respectful learning. The workshop is designed as a learning space. Participants are encouraged to approach the experience with curiosity, openness, and a willingness to reflect on their own assumptions, biases, and professional practices.
A central message throughout the workshop is that cultural humility is not about becoming an expert on every First Nation or culture. Rather, it is an ongoing practice of learning, listening, reflection, and accountability. It means recognizing what we do not know, asking rather than assuming, and approaching relationships with respect and reciprocity.
If you’re interested in participating in the First Nations Health Foundation’s Cultural Safety & Humility Training or would like to bring a session to your workplace, I invite you to reach out to me at andrew.procknow@fnha.ca to learn more.
We work with organizations to customize the training in a way that is meaningful for them, working collaboratively to design engagement pathways and pricing structures that are aligned with organizational priorities and long-term goals.
The First Nations Health Foundation will be hosting a Cultural Safety & Humility Training session on January 28, 2027, at SFU Harbour Centre in Vancouver, BC. This session will apply Cultural Safety & Humility to philanthropy and fundraising, entering and working within communities and territories, relationship-building and trust, professional and institutional power, communication and listening, and relationships among communities, organizations, funders, and donors.
Learn more and purchase your tickets.
Andrew Procknow is the Director of Development for the First Nations Health Foundation. If you’d like to learn more about the First Nations Health Foundation, please connect with them below:
- Email us: foundation@fnha.ca
- Email Andrew Procknow: andrew.procknow@fnha.ca
- Follow us on LinkedIn: First Nations Health Foundation
- Follow us on Instagram: @fnhfdn
