Breaking financial barriers: Deloitte and Indspire empower Indigenous students

Michelle Nolan has centered her life around building a better future for herself, her daughter Rikkilee who has autism, and her community. As a member of Garden River First Nation and a student in the business program at Sault College, Michelle has faced the dual challenges of financing her education and being a single parent.

Those financial challenges have eased thanks to Indspire, a national charity supporting Indigenous people with their post-secondary education.

“This scholarship has alleviated financial stress and allowed me to buy a laptop to do my studies at home, which has motivated me to focus more on my studies and community involvement,” says Michelle.

Michelle is now a step closer to her dream of starting a non-profit organization to help adults with autism gain work experience and independence.

Since 2017, Deloitte has proudly sponsored Indspire’s Building Brighter Futures Awards program, contributing nearly $1 million.

“Indspire understands that the best way to break these cycles of poverty is to address education first, because then that can lead to higher employment rates, broader community investment, and economic prosperity,” says Senior Manager Alexandra Biron at Deloitte Indigenous.

Supporting parents like Michelle is key to making a generational impact. “If the mothers go to school, they see the benefits of an education. They can pass those values on to their children to encourage them to pursue a post-secondary education too,” says Alexandra.

For other Indigenous students like Olivia Bull, the sense of belonging can also be a barrier. “I remember being upset one night, convinced I wasn’t meant to be at university at all,” she shares, reflecting on her first year at Queen’s University.

But with the support of an Indspire bursary sponsored by Deloitte, that changed. “Receiving this bursary was more than financial support – it was an affirmation that I belonged, and that my presence and success mattered,” says Olivia.

The bursary allowed her to participate in extracurricular activities, such as the Queen’s Model Parliament, and inspired her to pursue law school.

Deloitte also works with Indspire on other programs for Indigenous students in grades nine and ten to encourage the next generation of youth to start thinking about potential post-secondary education pathways. This multi-year sponsorship agreement reflects Deloitte’s ongoing commitment to advancing reconciliation, as outlined in the firm’s  Renewed Reconciliation Action Plan: Expanding Horizons. By breaking down financial and systemic barriers, Deloitte and Indspire are empowering Indigenous students to become trailblazers—changing their lives, their families, and their communities for generations to come.