Key Resources for Embedding Truth and Reconciliation into Your Organizational Practices

Today is the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, a day to honour the healing journeys of residential school survivors and their families. It is also a time to engage with friends, family, and colleagues in meaningful discussions about the history and legacy of the residential school system.
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Last week, during a training session, a client from outside Canada asked us to help them understand the significance of this day and provide resources for building better communications around it. Based on that conversation, we’ve curated a list of tools and resources to help organizations deepen their understanding of truth and reconciliation and begin embedding these principles into their values and practices.

• APTN News produced a video highlighting the story behind the National Day of Truth and Reconciliation. Journalist Tina House takes viewers through the history of the horrific institution of residential schools, how Canada is trying to reconcile, and how survivors are coping. The video is under 25 minutes in length and can be accessed for free on YouTube.
• BDC offers a free training course called “The 4 Seasons of Reconciliation” to provide entrepreneurs with foundational knowledge about Canada’s Indigenous peoples and our shared history. The multi-media course is three hours in length and can be taken at your own pace. Start the training at BDC.
• Launched in 2019, the NETWORK created the Indigenous Ally Toolkit to educate non-Indigenous individuals and groups on how they can use their privilege to listen, shift power dynamics, and take concrete steps towards (Re)conciliation-Action. The Toolkit provides insights on how workplaces and organizations can be good allies and terminology NOT to use. Download your copy of the Indigenous Ally Toolkit.
• The Indigenous Knowledge Circle of the NBCKC developed their toolkit for Respectful Collaboration with Indigenous Peoples to help organizations seeking to learn how to do things differently, how to avoid repeating the mistakes of the past, and how to embed reconciliation into their conservation and stewardship work. This is a must-read guide we recommend for all organizations to read, from nonprofits to startups and large-scale businesses. Download Beyond Conservation: A Toolkit for Respectful Collaboration with Indigenous Peoples.​

​No matter when you choose to engage with these resources—today, next week, or next month—we encourage you and your team to reflect on how you can implement the recommendations and insights into your daily work and life. A meaningful step toward reconciliation starts with education, awareness, and open dialogue.

Free resources to add to your marketing toolkit
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Are you trying to implement a marketing plan on a shoestring budget? Whether you’re a solopreneur or the marketing lead for a nonprofit, there are a variety of free online tools that can help you elevate your brand and put your strategy in motion!
Check out some of the key tools and resources we recommend for our clients.

Social Media Scheduling & Planning

• Buffer: It’s hard to find a social media scheduling tool that is truly free beyond a trial period. Buffer offers a free subscription to connect 1 account and schedule content for 3 channels. You’ll also get access to Buffer’s AI assistant and various third-party integrations. Get Buffer for free.
• Notion: Outside of scheduling tools, it’s important to build a calendar where you can plan and draft your content. You can find some free content calendars via Hubspot, but our preferred tool for planning and plotting content is Notion! Check out our favourite free Notion social media content calendar template.

Video & Graphic Design

• Canva: No surprises here. Canva is our go-to tool for graphic design. A free Canva account will give you access to millions of templates so you can design everything from print banners to Instagram posts. If you have a little room in your budget, the Canva Pro plan starts at $150 CAD/year and gives you access to more advanced editing and branding tools.
• Adobe Express: While you can also use Canva to create and edit your videos, Adobe Express offers a video editor that is accessible to all skill levels. Simply upload your video, and you can trim your content and format the video for the platform you’ll be posting to. Get started with Adobe Express.

Closed Captions & Transcribing

• Headliner.app: When creating a new video, ensure your media is accessible to everyone! While some platforms offer video auto-captioning, these captions often contain spelling errors and are hard to edit. Headliner’s free plan gives you unlimited transcriptions and lets you add captions to 5 unwatermarked videos per month. Visit Headliner.app to learn more and get started.
• Otter.ai:Tasked with note-taking for an upcoming webinar? The free version of Otter.AI gives you access to 300 monthly transcription minutes and access to an AI meeting assistant who will record and transcribe your webinar in real time!

Email Marketing

• Brevo: Testing out a newsletter or email marketing strategy with a small audience? Brevo’s free plan gives you access to 9,000 emails (a cap of 300 per day) with a maximum of 2,000 subscribers for marketing automation. If your email marketing test takes off, we highly recommend investing in a paid version of Brevo, Mailchimp, or another email marketing platform!
• LinkedIn Newsletter: If you already have an established LinkedIn audience, the social platform is a great place to build and grow a newsletter for your organization! Pages with more than 150 followers are eligible to be evaluated for LinkedIn Newsletters access. Once granted access to the newsletter function, you can start drafting your first campaign using the easy-to-edit article builder. Start your LinkedIn newsletter today.

Ready to build a marketing plan that utilizes free and easy-to-use tools and helps you reach new audiences? Get in touch with us today by emailing Jocelyn at [email protected].