Welcome 2025! Looking back on a new partnership started in 2024.

2 January 2025

As we welcome 2025, we want to highlight our partnership with the 100 Knifers who Give a Damn group. Beginning in 2024, the Yellowknife Community Foundation proudly partnered with this group to support local charities doing incredible work in our community.

100 Knifers is a group of caring Yellowknifers (you can be a member too, follow their Facebook page to sign up and stay up to date) who come together four times a year, each donating $100 per meeting. With a goal of 100 participants, that’s $10,000 going to a local charity, four times a year. Charities pitch their projects, and the group votes on who will receive the funds.

The Yellowknife Community Foundation supports this effort by collecting donations, issuing charitable tax receipts almost instantly, and streamlining the process by granting the lump sum directly to the chosen charity. This saves charities the administrative headache of writing 100 tax receipts.

2024’s recipients were:
✨ Yellowknife Historical Society
✨ Yellowknife Senior’s Society
✨ Ecology North
✨ Yellowknife Women’s Society

Thank you to all members of the 100 Knifers group for your generosity and to these four local organizations for the difference you make in our community.

Here is a highlight of what each organization did with their 100 Knifers funds in 2024:

The Yellowknife Historical Society installed barrier-free access to the Yellowknife Historical Museum, which opened in March 2024. Grace Guy, Museum Manager, said, “The 100 Knifers have done so much to make the Yellowknife Historical Museum accessible to the public! By setting their sights on how they can make a difference to local people and organizations, the 100 Knifers is able to make positive and concrete change in Yellowknife.” Check out this cool video of the barrier free access to the museum:

The Yellowknife Senior’s Society used their 100 Knifers grant to offer important programs for seniors. They served over 3120 meals to seniors on Fridays for lunch, offered exercise classes with 1560 total attendees, and held computer classes in partnership with NWT Literacy Council for 30 seniors.

Ecology North used their 100 Knifers funds to purchase a much-needed fridge for their office, which is used for their various food-related programs, including the Waste Reduction Week “Zero Waste” pickling event. In 2025, this grant will continue to be used to run a free winter biking workshop, co-host a clothing swap, and organize another exciting Earth Week celebration at the end of April.

The Yellowknife Women’s Society was the final charity to be selected as a recipient of the 100 Knifers funds in 2024. They will be using their funds to replace the currently broken washers and dryers at the Women’s Centre with two commercial grade washers and propane dryers.

Looking at the impact of the 100 Knifers funds in 2024, we are inspired by the power of collective giving. We are proud to partner with this group of Yellowknifers, as together we have made meaningful differences for local organizations that enrich our community. As we move into 2025, we look forward to continuing this partnership and supporting more charities that make Yellowknife a stronger, more inclusive place to live. Thank you to the 100 Knifers and everyone who believes in the power of coming together to create change. Let’s make this year another remarkable one for our community!

Share this post

Discover more

Impact Story - Skate North -...

July 29, 2026

The Yellowknife Small Grants Program offers micro-grants of up to $1,000 for individual residents of Yellowknife, Ndilǫ, and Dettah to bring the community together and help make it better. The first ever batch of grants was awarded in Fall 2025 to eight community members, including Forrest Doctor for his ongoing project, Skate North.

The initiative aims to make skateboarding more accessible to youth by providing safe skate spaces, equipment, and mentorship.

” I want to encourage youth to commit to their passions, take initiative, and create positive change. For me, that means creating a safe space for learners, something I didn’t have when I first started. This project is about keeping skateboarding alive in the NWT and giving our youth the support and opportunities they deserve.” – excerpt from Forrest’s proposal

Forrest used the grant to purchase helmets, knee pads, elbow pads, and wrist guards to give away to up-and-coming skaters. Through free prize draws, in-person outreach, and open calls on social media, Forrest was able to get gear directly into the hands of youth who need it the most.

Forrest Doctor giving away gear at the miniramp in Ndilǫ. The ramp was constructed in Spring 2026 as part of a Skate North wordworking workshop, delivered in partnership with the YKDFN Dechı̨ta Nàowo Training Center.

Matt Wolff from Rumor Boardshop in Edmonton, AB.
The skate shop is an ardent supporter and partner to the Skate North project.

Donate to the Fund

The results of this direct access model were both immediate and unexpected. Two things stand out especially. First, Forrest noticed that new skaters were able to instantly start with confidence. Having proper safety gear in place meant they were free to try things as many times as they wanted. That ability to iterate safely creates a level of early learning and progression that is invaluable.

Second, the degree of engagement from youth, families, and the larger community was uplifting. Skate North has now grown through additional volunteers, sponsors, and partners, including local schools. It shows that there is a strong demand for skateboarding and action sports overall. Now an olympic sport, the old cultural stigmas attached to skating have faded away. All that remains is a desire to get out there and rip.

Forrest partnered with Rumor Boardshop in Edmonton, AB to acquire the gear at a discounted rate. Shop rep Matt Wolff had this to say on the impact of skating and initiatives like Skate North:

“Especially in smaller communities, skateboarding can be a huge outlet for youth, not only physically, but to express themselves artistically as well. It also brings a real sense of community for people. I grew up in a small town in the middle of Alberta, and the people I skateboarded with I still have friendships with to this day.”

We can’t wait to see a new generation of skaters come up and grow the local scene in the North. Keep rolling.