Yellowknife Community Foundation

Our 2024 Annual Report is now live! Click below to read about the year's key events, the impact of our grantees, and the generosity of our donors.
www.ykcf.ca/wp-content/u...

Ask your instructor for an application form, or print one here: www.ykcf.ca/friends-of-f...
Deadline November 17, 2025 at 5:00PM.
Submit in person, by email, or by fax.

Applications are now open to the Friends of Fred Carmichael Student Award Fund! Five awards of $600 each are available to residents of the Beaufort-Delta or Sahtu regions who are currently enrolled in Aurora College's Adult Literacy and Basic Education program (ALBE).

Bring your community together, and help make it better. Yellowknife residents can apply for grants of up to $1,000 to lead projects that make our community stronger, healthier, and more connected. Apply now: forms.gle/iFdnRBgDFfP2...
Application Deadline: November 7th, 2025

As a community foundation, we ardently support Indigenous-led initiatives, Indigenous students, and Indigenous communities. Today, and every day, we recommit to listening, learning, and walking alongside our communities in healing.

While at YKCF, my co-worker and boss made a space where I would be able to ask all questions I had about the work we were doing. My boss had made it a point that I was able to go to her and ask about the tasks I had been given. It was a space where I could be myself and still be professional, and that's what made it so easy for me to get comfortable enough to ask these questions, no matter how beginner they may have been.

5. Ask Questions!

Typically, the board of a non-profit or charity is entirely volunteers. At YKCF, community members apply to the board and are then chosen by an expert nomination committee. Before I worked at YKCF I assumed that board members for organizations were all being paid. The directors all have different jobs, but typically also have full-time work or other commitments. People on boards are spending their free time trying to better their communities.

4. How Do Boards Work?

A strategic plan is what your organization strives to be and achieve over the course of a few years. The plan consists of a set of goals, which are different for every organization. Before working here, I had no idea that a strategic plan was important to keep an organization in order and up to date with the needs of its board, donors, sponsors, staff, and community. A strategic plan can be reviewed multiple times throughout the years, which helps the organization stay on track to improve their work. At YKCF, our goals are: 1. Inspire and enable a broad range of people, organizations, and businesses to contribute to their community through charitable giving 2. Transform our organization and practices to better represent, reflect, and serve our community 3. Strengthen our ability to understand, communicate and respond to community needs 4. Enable the Board of Directors to focus on governance and strategic initiatives supported by policies 5. Strengthen organizational capacity and resilience

3. What are Strategic Plans?

While at YKCF I had to interact with a lot of different people. This was hard for me at the beginning, because I had to learn to talk professionally. In my daily life, I use a lot of slang and informal speech, so I had to code-switch constantly when talking to people. If the person was around my age, I would speak to them how I normally would, but if the person was older or in a professional setting I would switch to a more appropriate vocabulary. Even so, I did have a lot of slip-ups and communication barriers when I would accidentally use slang. I also learned to do the same with email correspondence. Adaptive communication skills will help me in all aspects of my life moving forward.

2. How Do You Communicate Adaptively?

When someone donates to a community foundation, the foundation invests the money so the earnings can be spent while still preserving the original amount. It helps grant and scholarship funds last a lifetime. YKCF supports orgs like Makerspace YK, Food Rescue Yellowknife, and many other charities and non-profits. A community foundation helps people help people, improving the well-being of everyone.

1. What's a Community Foundation?

5 Things I Learned as a Summer Student at the Yellowknife Community Foundation

In 2025, we disbursed over $100,000 in Student Awards across the Northwest Territories. Each student has demonstrated hard work, excellence, and a love for their community through the pursuit of their unique discipline. Click on a fund or awardee to read their stories.
www.ykcf.ca/2025-student...

For a full list of our grant and scholarship funds, visit our Giving Portal: yellowknifecf.fcsuite.com/erp/donate

For more information, or to support the Northern Birthwork Collective, visit their website: www.northernbirthwork.com

The strong response to these circles showed just how deeply they were needed, and how powerful it can be to join together in community.

The collective also hosted community sharing circles that grew into something special. The circles were warm, welcoming spaces where people could open up, share their stories, and feel a sense of belonging.

That year, they offered one-on-one doula care, helping people feel truly heard, supported, and less alone in their journeys.

In 2023/2024, the Yellowknife Community Foundation supported the Northern Birthwork Collective with a grant from our Yellowknife Community Fund. The Collective is a team of birthworkers, parents, and community members working together to stand beside and advocate for pregnant people in the NWT.

This summer, our summer student Lunar has been connecting with Yellowknife non-profits and interviewing them. Today we visited Food Rescue Yellowknife to collect some footage, and we also helped sort and deliver food to local programs. Stay tuned for the highlight video!

Are you conducting training in cross-country, biathlon, mountain biking, speed skating, canoeing, or kayaking? The Mary Beth Miller Memorial Fund is offering $1,000 to non-profits, individuals, municipalities, and charities to do so. Deadline August 18th. Apply now: tinyurl.com/3mfhx4va #sport

This year, we asked student award applicants to share their feedback on our application process, and over 100 students responded! This feedback will make applying easier next year.

Congrats to Josephine Achina, who won a cash prize in our survey draw!

Our grants portal is open until July 31st! If you are a non-profit, charity, or municipality conducting community initiatives in the Northwest Territories, your projects may be eligible for funding. Visit our portal today: www.grantinterface.ca/Home/Logon?u...
#nwt #nonprofit #grants #funding

Donate $50 for a chance to win a $150-valued Golden Ticket & get a free 18-month Yellowknife calendar!

Support students & community projects across the NWT.

Enter by July 31, 2025:
yellowknifecf.fcsuite.com/erp/donate/l...

We are hiring a Community Programs Lead! This is a summer term appointment. Applicants must be between 15-30 years old.
Job description here: www.ykcf.ca/join-our-team/
Please send your resume and (optional) cover letter to information@ykcf.ca by Friday, June 27th, at 5:00pm.

If you are a non-profit, charity, or municipality conducting community initiatives in the NWT, your projects may be eligible for funding.

For more information: www.ykcf.ca/grant-opport...
#nonprofit #grants #community #NWT #yellowknife

The moment captured what Dechinta is all about: bringing people together through culture, land-based learning, and Northern Indigenous knowledge in a way that feels joyful, meaningful, and connected.

Dechinta staff member Kynyn Doughty recalled the pride and joy felt during the exhibit's opening day. As Dene drummers played, the small room came alive and everyone began dancing together in celebration.

Hosted in partnership with the Yellowknife Artist Run Community Centre (YK ARCC), the exhibit featured artwork from Dechinta students and alumni, showcasing the beauty and depth of Indigenous land-based education.

Dechinta brought new energy to the Yellowknife Visitors Centre with their exhibition and workshop series, Dechinta Means Bush: Collaborations with the Land.

In late 2024, the Yellowknife Community Foundation supported Dechinta Centre for Research and Learning with a grant from our Yellowknife Community Fund.
Our 2025 grants portal is open until July 31st. Apply today: www.grantinterface.ca/Home/Logon?u...