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Sally Manning Memorial Writing Fund

About the Sally Manning Memorial Writing Fund

Established in 2015 in memory of Sally Manning to provide support to Aboriginal and First Nations writers.

The Sally Manning Memorial Writing Fund was established to provide support to Aboriginal and First Nations writers.

Prerequisites

To be eligible, individuals must be of First Nations, Inuit or Métis background and a current or former resident of the Northwest Territories, the Yukon or Nunavut.

Call for Submissions

  1. Up Here Publishing will seek applications each year that funds are available to award a grant.
  2. The request for submissions will be published in Up Here Magazine in a spring issue, and entries will close September 30 each year.
  3. Judging will take place between October and November and awards will be announced in December.
  4. Up Here Publishing will screen all entries and create a short list of those eligible to receive the award(s) and then forward these submissions to the judging committee,
  5. The judging committee will:
    1. Review the short list of applications.
    2. Select a successful story (up to three).
    3. Recommend the ranking of award winners to the Grants Committee of the Yellowknife Community Foundation
    4. Participate in the scholarship announcement.
  6. Once the successful applicants have been selected, an announcement will be made by Up Here Publishing and the Yellowknife Community Foundation.

Review

Applicants will be assessed on the following criteria:

  1. Stories considered to be “creative non-fiction” are eligible.
  2. The judges, who are recognized and published writers and/or journalists, will make the recommendation on the award(s) to Up Here Publishing and the YCF based on their best judgement.
  3. This program is aimed at emerging writers. Writers considered to be established by Up Here or the judges may have their submissions rejected.
  4. At the discretion of the judging committee, or Up Here Publishing, submissions determined to be offensive or inappropriate may be rejected.
  5. Stories should be typed and printed and submitted on paper by regular mail to Up Here Magazine at the company’s Yellowknife address. E-mail or faxed entries are not acceptable.
  6. Stories must be written in English, be original and unpublished.
  7. Stories should be written on computer or typewriter, double spaced and no more than 2,500 words in length. Total word count must be indicated on the front page of the manuscript.
  8. The author must not be identified on the manuscript. Name, address, telephone number and e-mail address should be provided on a separate sheet of paper, together with the title of the story.
  9. A brief biography of the writer, no more than 50 words, should accompany the story on a separate sheet of paper.
  10. Such other materials as the YCF may require.

Applicants

  1. Are eligible to apply for an award in successive years; however, previous receipt does not guarantee future awards.
  2. Must sign a form releasing the award program, the judges and Up Here Publishing of all liability in connection with the award. Winners must agree to allow their stories to be published together with his/her photograph and a brief biographical sketch, without compensation beyond the Sally Manning Award.
  3. Only one story can be submitted for judging by any one individual in a single year.
  4. Winners must agree to submit a personal social insurance number and a photograph of him/herself to accompany the published story.

Past recipients

  • 2020 Peter Autut, Shelley Wiart & Carol Daniels
  • 2019 Cullen Xrozier, AmberLee Kolson, Michel Labine
  • 2018 Dennis Allen, Jamiesie Fournier, Antoine Mountain & Catherine Lafferty 
  • 2016 Tanya Roach, Thomson d’hont, Dennis Allen
  • 2015 Roxanne Livingstone, Adina Tarralik Duffy
Woman wearing glasses reading a book

Application process

Organizations interested in applying must create an organizational profile on our application portal. Once your profile is created, you can submit an application to the Barb Bromley Fund for Seniors & Elders.

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Winning submissions

2022 key dates

22 August, 12.01am

Applications open.

30 September, 11.59pm

Applications close.

Mid- to late October

Funding distributed.

Please note that key dates are subject to change in future years

Frequently Asked Questions

John H. Parker O.C., P.Eng, was Commissioner of the Northwest Territories from 1979 to 1989. He also served as Mayor of Yellowknife from 1963 to 1967, and NWT Deputy Commissioner from 1968 to 1979. Mr. Parker was instrumental in the establishment of responsible government in the NWT. During their time in the north, Helen and John Parker were well known for their community work and for the development projects they undertook to help the Territory grow and prosper.

John, a geological engineer, arrived in Yellowknife in 1954 to work for N. W. Byrne, a consulting engineer, whose practice he bought in 1963. He was elected to Yellowknife Town Council in 1958. Helen Parker arrived in 1955, having just received her MSW from McGill University. She was immediately recruited as a volunteer worker with the Yellowknife Children’s Aid Society, which was the only welfare agency in the NWT caring for children in need of protection. It operated until the establishment of federal government welfare services in the early 1960’s. Together, the Parkers were active community volunteers including the building of the United Church, the Overture Concert organization and numerous other boards and committees.

In March of 2020, John passed away and Helen decided to work with the Yellowknife Community Foundation to establish a new fund in the family’s name. Helen and John understood the importance of strong communities. They worked together to strengthen communities, and in doing so learned that developing a community of friends was one of life’s best assets. The fund will hopefully help others learn that lesson, while filling the need for community development. Helen hopes that the goals of the fund will resonate with other community supporters and donors. She looks forward to seeing the fund grow so that it can provide the most community support possible.

The Helen and John Parker Community Fund is eligible for charitable organizations (organizations with a registered charitable number) conducting activities in the Yellowknife, Dettah and N’Dilo areas.

If you do not have a registered charitable number, please call or email our office to discuss further: +1-867-446-4527, information@ykcf.ca.

Grants from the Helen and John Parker Community Fund are designed to complement new and/or established programming and/or community-based activities in one or more of the following priority areas:

  • Fostering volunteer development and/or mentorship in the community
  • Supporting collective action to address identified community needs or issues
  • Building capacity for stronger, more resilient communities

Applications can be submitted to the Helen and John Parker Community Fund when the application portal opens. In 2022, the application portal opens in late August 2022. Please use the link on our website to apply.

Please note that application dates may vary in future years.

Funding requests for the Helen and John Parker Community Fund can be up to $10,000. annually. 

Applications are reviewed by our Grants Committee and Fund Advisors.

30 September 2022 at 11.59pm MST: All applications due via grant portal found on the Yellowknife Community Foundation website.

Early October 2022: Yellowknife Community Foundation staff and Grants Committee members conduct due diligence checks on all applications and undertake a review process. As a normal part of our review process, you may hear from us with questions about your application. We appreciate your time in providing clarity.

Mid to Late October 2022: Applicants are notified. Every applicant will receive notification regardless of funding decision.

  • All successful applicants will be required to submit a final report through our online portal.
  • We want to hear from you during the lifecycle of your grant! Please reach out anytime with an impact story, picture or video, or just to say “Hi!”.

The Helen and John Parker Community Fund was formally established in 2022, therefore there are not yet any past recipients.

For more information

If you require assistance or have questions, please do hesitate to contact the Yellowknife Community Foundation office at information@ykcf.ca or by phone at +1-867 446 4527.