Reports

Journeys to Success: Empowering Indigenous Visions of Success Through Photovoice (2022)

At Indspire, we believe that Indigenous communities have the right to define their own vision of success. This photovoice project intends to encourage, present, and highlight Indigenous perceptions of success through photographs and narratives. The goal is to raise awareness and dialogue to better support Indigenous communities’ image of success. The purpose is to represent and empower Indigenous visions and voices to strengthen the wider community’s understanding of Indigenous worldviews. To further support Indspire’s interest in supporting Indigenous students’ unique journey to success, the research question ‘What is success within an Indigenous lens?’ was developed for our project.

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Navigating Two Worlds: Paths to Indigenous Career Success (2021)

Each year, Indspire supports thousands of Indigenous students with reaching their educational goals. A strong relationship exists between educational attainment and career success. Therefore, understanding education as an integral part of career transition allows for the creation of appropriate supports. With these supports, more students can be well prepared to successfully transition into their careers of choice. Through inspiring Indigenous education and achievement, Indspire can positively influence these students’ socioeconomic outcomes.

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Holding Our Ground: Indigenous Student Post-Secondary Persistence & Early Leaving (2021)

Despite high aspirations of attainment, Indigenous students are more likely to leave postsecondary education prematurely than their non-Indigenous peers in Canada and around the world. Higher education is becoming increasingly critical for obtaining employment and economic security, as employees often require some form of certification, credential, or license to be hired. Part of Indspire’s commitment to students is to help guide them through school and into their careers. Thus, the need to discover why this disparity exists is pressing.

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So We Can All Thrive: The Importance of Indigenous Organizations’ Support for Indigenous Post-Secondary Students (2021)

In previous Indspire surveys, Building Brighter Futures: Bursaries, Scholarships, and Awards program (BBF) recipients have frequently mentioned that receiving funding from Indspire—an Indigenous national charity aimed at specifically supporting Indigenous students—is different, more meaningful, than receiving funding from other organizations. We wanted to explore these feelings further, to understand what sets Indspire apart from non-Indigenous organizations from the perspective of Indigenous students.

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Literature Review: Decolonizing and Indigenizing Mentorship (2021)

The purpose of this literature review is to synthesize information on the topic of decolonizing and Indigenizing mentorship to understand:

• Perceptions of mentorship within Indigenous communities;
• Indigenous ways of relationship building;
• Culturally-informed mentorship;
• Best practices for good quality mentoring relationships;
• Traditional structures of mentorship and why they are important.

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Following the Path (2021)

In 2015, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada (TRC) released 94 Calls to Action to “redress the legacy of residential schools and advance the process of Canadian reconciliation.” At the five-year anniversary of the release, Indspire wanted to gain insight into the progress of the education-related Calls to Action by learning about the experiences of Indigenous postsecondary students.

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Indigenous Post-Secondary Learners and the COVID-19 Pandemic (2021)

The COVID-19 pandemic hit post-secondary learners hard in the Spring of 2020. In the final weeks of their term, faculty members were suddenly required to pivot to online learning. Students who relied on on-campus supports and IT facilities were scrambling as services were shut down. In the Fall of 2020, Indspire continued to hear from Indigenous learners that the pandemic was affecting them in unique and acute ways. Facing extra costs, delays in administrative processes, and shifts in access to supports, Indigenous post-secondary learners were navigating a new system in an already complex experience of pursuing post-secondary education.

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Financing Post-Secondary Education (2021)

Financial challenges are a significant barrier for Indigenous peoples in Canada pursuing postsecondary education (PSE) (Ottmann, 2017). In order to better support Indigenous students in completing their educational goals, it is vital to understand the wide variety of financial situations Indigenous students experience. A key component of this is learning how Indigenous students are alleviating their educational costs. This report provides insight into how Indigenous students are financing PSE costs by comparing educational financing information obtained from Indigenous students to a sample from non-Indigenous students.

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Reciprocity in Terms of Post-Graduate Employment for Building Brighter Futures Applicants (2020)

In early 2020, Indspire deployed the National Education Survey (NES) to over 14,000 past Building Brighter Futures (BBF) recipients, over 5,700 of whom responded. An analysis of the NES data was performed to assess the tendency for Indigenous graduates to gravitate toward employment within the not-for-profit sector, within an Indigenous community, or within both areas, called reciprocal motivation in this report. The areas of employment for those who were engaged in reciprocal work were also examined. Indigenous students’ employment in the non-profit sector demonstrates a motivation toward reciprocity in terms of the employment they sought following graduation.

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Program Related Work Experience and Academic Success for Indigenous Post-Secondary Learners (2020)

Work opportunities related to post-secondary students’ programs of study can have a positive impact on students’ success when they transition from post-secondary institutions across Canada into a career setting. Students seek out these co-op, internship, work, and research opportunities to help them define their career goals. The practical skills and experience that students gain from work experiences related to their field of study can generate many positive outcomes in terms of skill development, professionalism, and future employment (Jackel, 2011). Program related work experience (PRWE) has been shown to increase graduate employability in a number of ways.

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Supporting Indigenous Caregivers Through Their Post-Secondary Experience (2020)

Indspire aims to see that “within a generation, every Indigenous student will graduate”, and since nearly one third of all Building Brighter Futures: Bursaries, Scholarships, and Awards (BBF) applicants and recipients are caregivers responsible for at least two dependents (children, Elders, partners, etc.), it is critical for Indspire to understand our students who have dependents and their needs to ensure that we are effectively supporting them to succeed in their chosen fields. Indspire has a role to play in ensuring that all Indigenous students can have equitable support in achieving their post-secondary goals.

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Building Brighter Futures: Multiple Award Recipients (2020)

Indspire’s Building Brighter Futures: Bursaries, Scholarships, and Awards (BBF) program provides financial awards to First Nations, Inuit, and Métis post-secondary students across Canada. Students are permitted to apply for a BBF award once per academic year, regardless of the results of any previous applications. Therefore, many BBF recipients receive multiple awards from Indspire throughout their education. For example, in the 2019/2020 school year, 48% of successful BBF recipients were BBF recipients from a previous year as well.

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Nurturing Capacity Synthesis Report – Collective Knowledge on Process, Best Practices and Lessons Learned (2020)

This report includes findings from 59 projects across Canada initiated and completed between 2014 and 2019. Indspire reviewed and synthesized these reports to determine what was held in common and to document these findings.

The Nurturing Capacity Program focused on education initiatives that supported the needs of First Nations, Inuit and Métis students across Canada. Many of the projects focused on more than one student population. Nurturing Capacity Program projects were implemented within elementary schools (kindergarten to Grade 4), middle schools (Grades 5–8) and high schools (Grades 9–12).

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Insights into Indigenous Post-Secondary Graduates’ Experiences in the Canadian Workforce (2020)

The Canadian Council for Aboriginal Business (CCAB) and Indspire are undertaking an exciting research collaboration and entering the next phase in their long-standing relationship. These two Indigenous organizations with national mandates have partnered to analyze their data and uncover key insights contributing to our collective understanding of educational and socio-economic outcomes of Indigenous peoples in Canada. CCAB and Indspire’s research collaboration provides an opportunity to gain insights that can not only shed light on important findings related to Indigenous students in the workplace today, but can also enable employers, business leaders, and post-secondary institutions to better understand how to meet the needs of new generations of Indigenous youth.

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Building Brighter Futures: Bursaries, Scholarships and Awards Recipients’ Outcomes Report (2020)

Indspire is in the unique position to celebrate Indigenous learners’ success and share their challenges with broader audiences, many of whom are able to create change. To support this aim, in 2020, Indspire launched the National Education Survey (NES). The NES was developed to better understand BBF recipients’ post-secondary and labour market outcomes and provided an opportunity for BBF recipients to share their story, speak to the impact of the BBF program, and identify key areas where they require additional support. The survey was administered to the more than 14,000 individuals who received funding from BBF in the past six years. Over 6,500 individuals responded.

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Truth and Reconciliation in Post-Secondary Settings: Student Experience (2018)

In releasing the final findings in 2015, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada (TRC) made 94 Calls to Action “in order to redress the legacy of residential Schools and advance the process of Canadian reconciliation”.

Nineteen of these Calls to Action have direct implications for post-secondary settings and those working within these settings. Indspire is working to gather and report on the experiences of Indigenous post-secondary students and ensure that the process of reconciliation is made real in their educational journey. Of the nineteen Calls to Action (Appendix 1) some were made directly to post-secondary settings across Canada.

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Post-Secondary Experience of Indigenous Students Following the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (2018)

In July and August of 2018, Indspire sent a survey to 2,000 First Nation, Inuit and Métis students enrolled in post-secondary programs across Canada. We wanted their insight and perspective on how the Calls to Action (Calls) released by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) in 2015 had affected their educational experience. All of the survey recipients had received scholarships and bursaries from Indspire between 2015 and 2018. Indspire received responses from 290 of the students canvassed, a statistically valid response rate of 15%.

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Building Brighter Futures Graduate Outcomes (2017)

Indigenous students have long experienced the effects of colonization: a 28-year gap in education and an under-representation of Indigenous peoples in the labour force.

According to Statistics Canada, 69.9% of the Aboriginal population in the core working ages was employed, compared to 82.5% of non-Aboriginal counterparts.  Indigenous students’ continued resilience is a testament to the progressive changes occurring not only in Indigenous communities but for Indigenous students attending postsecondary education.

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Creating Positive Outcomes: Graduation and Employment Rates of Indspire’s Financial Award Recipients (2015)

The focus of this study was to determine the graduation and employment rates of Indspire’s Building Brighter Futures: Bursaries and Scholarship Awards (BBF) program recipients. Methodologically, the study was structured as a qualitative-quantitative survey. A total of 1,248 Indigenous students who received funding through Indspire’s BBF program between 2000-2001 and 2012-2013 participated in a survey. The report gathers data from a sample of Indigenous students in all provinces and territories.

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Indspire Survey of Education Choices Made by Indigenous Students (2013)

There are many Indigenous perspectives in Canada and a diverse Indigenous student body, enrolled every year in a range of post- ‐secondary programs. Indspire asked a sample of recent recipients of its Building Brighter Futures financial awards what led to their educational choices. What resulted was a better understanding of trends and lessons Indigenous learners can teach policy makers and program service delivery agents about what is important to them.

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*NEW*
2021-2022 Annual Report

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2021-2022 Annual Financial Report

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2020-2021 Annual Report

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2020-2021 Annual Financial Report

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2019-2020 Annual Report

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2019-2020 Annual Financial Report

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2018-2019 Annual Report

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2018-2019 Annual Financial Report

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2017-2018 Annual Report

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2017-2018 Annual Financial Report

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2016-2017 Annual Report

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2015-2016 Annual Report

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2014-2015 Annual Report

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2013-2014 Annual Report

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2012-2013 Annual Report

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2011-2012 Annual Report

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2010-2011 Annual Report

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2009-2010 Annual Report

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2008-2009 Annual Report

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2007-2008 Annual Report

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2006-2007 Annual Report

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