Sovereign Insurance’s recent $50,000 donation to the Dechinta Centre for Research and Learning is not only a financial boon for the Yellowknife-based organization, but a source of “a lot of pride,” according to Kelsey Wrightson, Dechinta’s executive director.
“The team at Dechinta, we work really, really hard to deliver meaningful and community-driven programming,” she said soon after Sovereign’s donation was announced publicly on Jan. 15. “To be recognized by Sovereign Insurance with this donation, it’s really important for everybody because it demonstrates to us that the work that we do is supported by a wide community of others.
“It demonstrates that our work is being recognized, people are supporting us, and that we are having positive impacts beyond even what we’re really aware of.”
Dechinta is an Indigenous, land-based initiative that provides accredited post-secondary education and research experiences in the North.
Sovereign’s $50,000 donation to Dechinta was actually its second of 2023. Earlier in the year, the Toronto-based company made a $5,000 donation to the organization in the name of reconciliation strategist Tanya Tourangeau.
Later in the year, the company elected to make a second, larger donation, also in Tourangeau’s name.
“We were so grateful that Tanya introduced us to Dechinta and we’re honoured to be able to support the amazing research, initiatives and programs they offer,” Sovereign Insurance content manager Jennifer Peckett said. “When we had the opportunity to make a much larger $50,000 donation later last year, we knew that investing further in Dechinta would make a significant difference and impact, while also aligning with Sovereign’s values, commitment to reconciliation, and purpose of enhancing the resilience of Canadian communities.”
Sovereign’s second donation to Dechinta, much like the first, will be used primarily “to reduce barriers that Northern Indigenous students experience when accessing post-secondary education,” according to Wrightson.
“When we receive donations like this, they’re first used to support student tuition so that Northern Indigenous students can access post-secondary in their homelands at no cost,” she said. “That’s a really important part of our work and important part of our ethical commitment as an organization, but [donations] also really support organizational stability. As a nonprofit, our funding fluctuates, and sometimes it’s really unknown when we’re going to receive more funding.
“Donations from the wider community are really important for Dechinta to be able to continue to deliver meaningful programming over time,” Wrightson added.
Dechinta has been operating in Yellowknife since 2010. Wrightson, who has served as its executive director for the last five years, called it “a special organization for a lot of reasons.”
“Our programming has been recognized internationally as some of the most innovative and cutting edge programming that centres [around] Indigenous knowledge and Indigenous Elders and really creates a learning community that is meaningful to Indigenous Northerners.”
“Our programming is so important because, not only is it reducing the barriers that Northern Indigenous students are facing when accessing post-secondary, but it’s really transforming how people understand what education could be, what educational pathways are open to them, and the kinds of opportunities that could be in front of them,” she added. “We’re really proud of the way that Dechinta has become a program of choice for so many Northern students who are choosing to enter post-secondary for the first time, or returning to post-secondary after having challenging experiences in southern institutions.”
Dechinta is currently accepting applications for its summer 2024 program.