Our goal: to raise $3 million by 2028.
Northwest Territories
Grants from the Northern Legacy Fund will be available to organizations every year to help address local challenges and build stronger communities across the Northwest Territories.
How the Northern Legacy Fund creates lasting impact
Unified Support
The Northern Legacy Fund unites donors – individuals, organizations, and businesses – to support and strengthen communities across the Northwest Territories. Together with our donors, we’re building a foundation to help every community in the territory to thrive.
Long-Standing Commitment
The Northern Legacy Fund reflects a strong commitment to the ongoing development and wellbeing of the Northwest Territories. Regardless of changes in industry and the economy, we will be able to continue supporting important community initiatives.
Shaping the Future
By contributing to the Northern Legacy Fund, you help build a brighter and more resilient future for the Northwest Territories. Together, we can build our Northern legacy and look forward to a hopeful tomorrow.
How the Northern Legacy Fund creates lasting impact
Unified Support
Long-Standing Commitment
Shaping the Future
The Northern Legacy Fund unites donors – individuals, organizations, and businesses – to support and strengthen communities across the Northwest Territories. Together with our donors, we’re building a foundation to help every community in the territory to thrive.
The Northern Legacy Fund reflects a strong commitment to the ongoing development and wellbeing of the Northwest Territories. Regardless of changes in industry and the economy, we will be able to continue supporting important community initiatives.
By contributing to the Northern Legacy Fund, you help build a brighter and more resilient future for the Northwest Territories. Together, we can build our Northern legacy and look forward to a hopeful tomorrow.
How to give
The Northern Legacy Fund is an endowment fund that is responsibly invested by the Yellowknife Community Foundation. Each year, the interest earned will be granted to organizations in the Northwest Territories.
Our goal is to raise funds to establish the principal,
$3,000,000
which will remain in the fund indefinitely, continuing to grow each year.
Granting
Once we achieve our fundraising goal, the Northern Legacy Fund will grant approximately
$125,000
per year.
The amount available to grant every year will likely grow with time.
In the coming years, organizations in the Northwest Territories will be able to apply once a year for funding from the Northern Legacy Fund through a simple, low-barrier application process. Funding will be available for any charitable projects or services that make a positive impact in communities.
Sponsors and supporters
The Northern Legacy Fund has received a generous seed contribution of $225,000 from Rio Tinto’s Diavik Diamond Mine, the Fund’s lead sponsor.
Diavik’s commitment to closing responsibly and closing with care is not just about the progressive reclamation activities we are carrying out at our mine site – it’s also about making sure that our home communities are empowered and resilient. The fund is an important chapter in the story of Diavik, and the story of the North. It will make a lasting difference in the lives of Northern residents, and our partnership with the Yellowknife Community Foundation is an important part of Diavik’s contribution to the North.
Matthew Breen, Chief Operating Officer, Diavik Diamond Mine
Northern Legacy Fundraising Campaign Progress Update
November 2024
Northern Legacy Fundraising Campaign Progress Update: November 2024
About the Yellowknife Community Foundation
Founded in 1993, the Yellowknife Community Foundation began with a commitment to support Yellowknife’s community projects, in the long-term. Guided by our vision to be a catalyst for communities that are sharing, supportive, and connected, we continue to support Yellowknife and now extend many of our grants, student awards, and the new Northern Legacy Fund to communities across the Northwest Territories.
Today, we are a charitable organization that inspires impactful giving across Yellowknife and the Northwest Territories. Through strategic grant-making, fundraising, and community partnerships, we align donor interests with community needs to create lasting change.