In 2013, Rio Tinto Diavik Diamond Mine Inc. established the Community Scholarship Fund to assist individuals pursuing a career in mining or resource development. In 2015, the scholarship branched into Mining and Mining Support. In 2019, a third branch was added for women and gender diverse people in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics). In 2025, the Fund was restructured into 4 distinct streams. As a result, Mining and Mining Support were merged into the Resource and Community Development stream.

Quote from Lance Morrision, son of Sharon – “When we moved to Yellowknife 1981, we moved here with no family, no support, and little money. We lived in social housing and for many years, on social assistance. My parents were both high school drop-outs and not a lot of opportunities were available. In 1985, mom decided to make changes. Aurora College was launching a Homecare/Long-Term Care program, and Mom saw her chance to break the cycle of poverty we had always known. After graduating the program, Mom did a placement at Mary Murphy Home, than started at Stanton Regional Hospital’s Extended Care Unit, and after 35 years, she retired from Stanton in 2021. She spent those years teaching generations of nurses that came after her, and inspired many to be the best in compassionate care.“In her later years, she was also passionate about nêhiyawêwin, our ancestral language, and was always excited about Indigenous language and cultural revitalization programs happening in the North. Mom’s traditional name was Red Butterfly Woman and when we look at the lifecycle of the butterfly – from caterpillar to cocoon to butterfly – it represents a life of amazing transformation. Therefore, I wanted to ensure those bursaries and grants would also be transformation to their recipients. Mom would be glad her legacy can live on in these recipients for years to come. I have been overwhelmed by the amazing community support that has come from friends and loved-ones over the past few months since the fund was launched. Truly, I am grateful. kinanâskomitin.”

Sport North Federation has been awarding scholarships for many years to Northern students involved in sport. In addition to its regular scholarship program, each year Sport North Federation offers one $1,500 scholarship through the Scott McAdam Scholarship in partnership with the Mackenzie Recreation Association. This memorializes Scott McAdam who passed away suddenly in 2001. Scott played an important role in sport and recreation in the NWT, having lived and worked throughout the North including Aklavik, Tuktoyaktuk, Repulse Bay, and Fort Simpson. Scott’s love for coaching and mentoring youth and young adults shone through the many afternoons, evenings, and weekends he volunteered in each community he lived in. Whether it was a team or individual sport, Scott was always committed to help the person or team reach their full potential. Scott was particularly passionate about badminton and hockey, helping to set up programs and clubs in the communities in which he lived and worked. Scott’s memory is honoured through a number of awards and events including the NWT Recreation and Parks Association’s Scott McAdam Youth Leadership Award, the Mackenzie Recreation Association’s Scott McAdam Badminton Tournament, and the Scott McAdam Memorial Scholarship. The Yellowknife Community Foundation began administering the Sport North Scholarships for the Sport North Federation in 2025.

Established in 2015, the purpose of the Timothy Henderson Memorial Fund is to help youth in the Northwest Territories access the arts, and thereby give them a creative outlet to cope, connect, and flourish as human beings.To that end, grants from this fund will be made to the Northern Arts and Cultural Centre to support arts initiatives, activities, programs, promotion, and outreach to youth in the Northwest Territories.

Established in 2013 by Rio Tinto Diavik Diamond Mines Inc., this Fund was established to assist individuals pursuing a career in mining or resource development. In 2025, the Fund was restructured into 4 distinct streams. This is the stream for Skilled Trades.

The Travis Booker Memorial Fund was established in 2023 to support Northwest Territories residents pursuing studies in aviation. Travis was born on February 20, 1995, in Kelowna, BC and was raised there until he graduated high school in 2013. His fondness for the aviation world started just hours into his life when he was airlifted by helicopter from Kelowna to Vancouver where he underwent Closed Heart surgery and later Open-Heart surgery. He was an avid soccer and basketball player during his childhood and continued playing basketball into his adult life, playing in the men’s league in Yellowknife.Travis completed his AME course with Northern Lights College in 2017 and landed his first apprenticeship with Summit Helicopters in Kamloops later the same year. Shortly after, he moved to Yellowknife with Summit Air and realized quite quickly that he missed the rotary side upon which time he applied to Acasta HeliFlight for an AME apprentice position. Travis joined the Acasta family in 2018 and about a year later – with his hard work ethic, drive, and determination – he was their first apprentice to become a licensed engineer under the Acasta name. He thrived in his role and loved every single tour, whether it was throughout the Arctic or other regions of Canada. The North became Trav’s home.