The Yellowknife Community Foundation is pleased to announce that it has extended the application deadline for the following scholarships. Apply here by June 18, 2015.
For more information, contact us.
For municipalities and organizations impacted by wildfires or other emergencies, the Resilient Communities Fund is open to donations for long-term recovery and rebuilding initiatives.
The charter community of Fort Good Hope used a grant from this fund to conduct emergency management training in the aftermath of a wildfire.
On June 15th, 2024, the community was forced into evacuation by an extreme wildfire, “VQ001”. The unrelenting blaze displaced residents for three weeks and tragically took the life of helicopter pilot Tom Frith as he fought to protect their homes.
In the face of this terrible loss, the community of Fort Good Hope redoubled on their recovery efforts. Community leadership and essential workers completed emergency management training. They developed skills, plans, communications, and procedures not only for wildfires, but a host of possible crisis scenarios.
Honouring the memory of Tom Frith, Fort Good Hope now looks to the future with increased capacity and resolve.
The Yellowknife Community Foundation announces the creation of the Karen Gochnauer Arts and Community Fund.
Karen moved to Yellowknife in the early 1990s to work as a geologist. She had a deep love for dance, music, and community. Her love of dance extended to all forms, including Scottish Country, Modern, Jazz, Hip-hop, Ballet, and, for a break, just moving to the music at parties and festivals. Karen was an inspiration to the Yellowknife dance community and was always generous with her time and energy as a teacher and mentor. There was never a community event, whether dance, arts, or community-related, that Karen did not find time to attend with her infectious smile.
Karen passed away in 2024 surrounded by friends and the love of family, after an all too brief battle with cancer. This fund honours her memory, and will support organizations in Yellowknife and across the NWT to promote dance, music, and community through three corresponding grant streams:
1. Dance
2. Music Events
3. Community Events
On May 14 and 15, 2026, the Yellowknife Community Foundation, in partnership with United Way NWT, hosted a two-day conference and dinner to celebrate community resilience.
The first day’s workshop was specifically for non-profit organizations and community governments from throughout the NWT, who received a grant from the United Way NWT in 2025 to create a Service Continuity Plan. This important document is designed to help an organization continue operations in the face of various emergencies. Day one brought these groups together to build upon their plans and learn from one another.
That evening, the Foundation hosted a dinner. Representatives of various community organizations, independent community leaders, city councillors, and MLAs were invited to celebrate community resilience and strengthen their relationships.
As part of the dinner’s festivities, attendants nominated the Yellowknife Women’s Society to receive a $1000 donation in celebration of their work in the community.
The second day’s workshop was open to those of any community organization, to discuss broader organizational resiliency. For example, what happens if your organization experiences a financial crisis, or sudden change of key personnel?
The discussion was lively and full of ideas. There was a strong feeling of collaboration and mutual appreciation amongst everyone.
Beyond any tools and knowledge shared, that’s what we will cherish most about this conference: it was a gathering of kind-hearted and sharp-minded people striving to make their communities stronger.
Resilient Communities Fund
In our continued support of community resilience, the Yellowknife Community Foundation administers the aptly named Resilient Communities Fund. This grant stream supports initiatives in emergency preparedness, response, recovery, and rebuilding.
Consider donating to the fund: https://yellowknifecf.fcsuite.com/erp/donate/create/fund?funit_id=1083
If you represent a community government or organization and want to apply, reach out to information@ykcf.ca and tell us your idea.
