Sponsorships
Donlin Gold LLC’s multi-decade collaboration on community development programs with our Alaska Native Corporation partners is one aspect of the stakeholder outreach program. Another is the sponsorship of local initiatives, events, and stakeholders.
For over a decade, Donlin Gold LLC has been a primary sponsor of the Iditarod, which is the pre-eminent sled dog race in North America and is of incredible cultural and historical significance to the State of Alaska and local communities. Donlin Gold continues to sponsor Pete Kaiser, a leading Iditarod musher from Bethel who is the first Yup’ik musher and fifth Alaska Native to win an Iditarod championship. Donlin Gold LLC is also proud to sponsor Mike Williams Jr. of Akiak and Isaac Underwood from Aniak, who are mushers in the extremely popular Kuskokwim 300 dog sled race, one of the premier mid-distance dog sled races in the world, stretching from Bethel across the tundra and the Kuskokwim River to Aniak and back. Donlin Gold LLC is further a principal sponsor of the Iron Dog snowmobile race which passes through local communities in the Y-K region and promotes safety and outdoor education. The Iron Dog racecourse distance is more than 2,500 miles covering some of Alaska’s most remote and rugged terrain in harsh winter conditions. As part of the Iron Dog race, and as mentioned previously, Donlin Gold LLC is a sponsor of the Alaska Safe Riders program which promotes the safe operation of snowmachines, all-terrain vehicles (ATVs), and recreational off-road vehicles (ROVs) through nationally certified educational programs. Alaska Safe Riders is dedicated to working with communities to reduce deaths and injuries from accidents. The program teaches a variety of classes and seminars including both community and backcountry snowmachine classes as well as providing helmets to those in need.
In 2022, Donlin Gold LLC continued its sponsorship agreement with the Alaska School Activities Association to underwrite statewide sports, music programs, and other activities in the Y-K region and across Alaska.
Overall, Donlin Gold LLC provided approximately $3.5 million in sponsorships, direct payments to communities, and other community investments in 2022, an increase from $3 million in 2021.
Advancing education opportunities in Alaska has been an important initiative for NOVAGOLD. In 2022, the company established the NOVAGOLD Mining and Geological Engineering Scholarship at the University of Alaska to provide financial assistance to undergraduate students pursuing a bachelor’s degree in mining or geological engineering, with preference given to underrepresented students. The first annual scholarship of $5,000 was awarded by the University of Alaska selection committee to a young woman working toward such a degree at the University of Alaska Fairbanks.
Donlin Gold Community Statistics
| 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Direct payments, sponsorships and community initiatives | $3.5M | $3M | $3M |
| Engagements with more than 56 Y-K communities and stakeholders | 6,370 | 1,065 | 320 |
| Purchases from 1,378 Alaska-based suppliers | $15.2M | $9.8M | $8.0M |
| Native villages that Donlin Gold LLC employees call home | 24 | 20 | 18 |