Established in 2020 by Rob Butler and Tannis Hushagen.“We came to Yellowknife for two years in 1981 and stayed for more than two decades. It was our home for many years and continues to be a big part of our lives; a piece of our hearts will always remain in the North. This scholarship is an opportunity for us to give back to a community that has been so good to us as individuals and a family.” – Rob Butler“As a graduate of the Registered Nursing Program at Aurora College, I have seen the benefits that supporting northern students can have. This was a contributing factor to inspire us to set up a fund to assist Northerners striving to help others by furthering their education in health related fields.” – Tannis Hushagen

Chris was a proud resident of Yellowknife from the age of four onward. He had a passion for life and a deep love of the wilderness. He completed many trips mountaineering, canoeing , hiking, winter camping and backcountry skiing in the north and in the Rockies. He was also an avid mountain biker. Fearless but thorough in tackling new challenges, he brought leadership, intelligence, ingenuity and concern for others to everything that he did.Chris’s family wishes to honour his memory by encouraging the growth and safe enjoyment of self-propelled wilderness travel and wilderness education by individuals or organizations who exhibit many of the values that Chris exemplified.

The Yellowknife Community Fund was established in 1994 to assist the Foundation in addressing a wide range of needs in the Yellowknife area.

Karen Gochnauer moved to Yellowknife in the early 1990s to work as a geologist. Karen 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 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.

The Con Employees’ Benevolent Society was created in 1955 to provide benefits to employees of Con Mine for non-work-related sickness or accidents. It was funded and administered by the owners of Con Mine and its employees. With the closing of the mine, the directors of the Society looked for a way to continue the legacy of contributing to the community. In 2011, they established the Con Employees’ Benevolent Fund with the Yellowknife Community Foundation.

Cst. Christopher Worden was from Ottawa. He played football for Wilfred Laurier University’s Golden Hawks and received an Honours Bachelor of Arts in political science. He served in three detachments in G Division.On October 6, 2007, Cst. Worden was killed while on duty after sustaining multiple gunshot wounds during a foot pursuit of a fleeing suspect in Hay River, Northwest Territories.He was married to Jodie and they had a daughter, Alexis. Jodie remarked that Cst. Worden often said, ”There is nothing I’d rather do. I love being a Mountie.”Cst. Worden is buried in the RCMP section of the Beechwood National Cemetery in Ottawa, Ontario.