Questions Every Settler-Led Nonprofit Should Be Asking

In this episode of Let's Imagine, host Bruce MacDonald is joined by two powerful voices challenging settler-led organizations to move beyond symbolic gestures: Justin Wiebe of Mastercard Foundation and Alejandro Mayoral Banos of Indigenous Friends Association and Access Now.

As the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation approaches on September 30, many nonprofits are preparing statements, hosting events, or pausing operations. While well-intentioned, these actions alone do not constitute reconciliation. Justin and Alejandro call on the sector to dig deeper — rethinking colonial frameworks, building genuine relationships, and taking uncomfortable but necessary steps toward meaningful change.

Together, they explore the critical questions settler-led organizations must ask themselves: who holds power in their organizations? Why, as a settler-led organization, are you interested in reconciliation? And who is it for?

Importantly, they remind us that systems change is not only visionary — it is practical. It shows up in the day-to-day decisions about hiring and governance, in how funding is distributed, in the metrics organizations use to measure success, and in whether power is being shifted or merely symbolically acknowledged. Real transformation is built from these practical shifts, sustained over time.

This episode is an invitation for nonprofits — especially those in settler-led spaces — to act with humility, accountability, and courage. Real reconciliation requires more than a statement; it requires transformation.

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