2024-25_ImpactReport_ENG_AccessibleWeb - Flipbook - Page 16
ADVANCING GENDER
JUSTICE IN THE NORTH
With your support, we fund a growing number
of initiatives by and for communities in Canada’s
North.
Since 2018, the Foundation has prioritized
Northern grants to programs grounded in
Indigenous culture, and this work has been
guided by a Women and Girls’ Advisory
Committee based in the region.
In December 2024, we were thrilled to receive
an historic $5 million+ investment from Women
and Gender Equality Canada (WAGE), which
has allowed us to build Northern team led by
Inuit women based in the Yukon and Northwest
Territories.
Our Northern Strategy team travelled to
Kuujjuaq, Inuvik, Aklavik, Tuktoyaktuk, Whitehorse,
Yellowknife, Iqaluit, Igloolik, Chesterfield Inlet,
and Rankin Inlet, to strengthen relationships
and hear directly from communities about
how granting could better serve Northern
communities. That guidance continues to shape
everything we do.
Over the next three years, this funding from
WAGE, along with additional funding from the
Definity Foundation will enable the Foundation
to support more community-led initiatives that
address gender-based violence, leadership,
economic resilience, and wellness.
BeYOUtiful Minds
Women and Girls Sharing Circle
Chesterfield Inlet, Nunavut
“We support one another. We
encourage one another. We
share our skills ... For many,
this program has become
a safe environment, like a
home where there is not
one mother, but we’re all
mothers.”
– Vicki Tanuyak, Project Lead Coordinator
ABOVE: The BeYOUtiful Minds program
16
In the remote hamlet of Chesterfield Inlet, with
a population of around 400 people, community
mental health supports and services are few and far
between. BeYOUtiful Minds offers a space where
girls and young women connect through sewing, art,
and games while learning Inuit strategies for mental
health and coping, as well as leadership skills.
