Alaska Community Foundation
/OVERVIEW: This community funder supports groups throughout the state, primarily in community development, the outdoors, children and education, health and wellness, and arts and culture.
IP TAKE: There are many funds at ACF for grant seekers to wrap their head around. The best place to start is with the local affiliate fund. Each affiliate has a different focus, so grant seekers should take some time getting to know the ones relevant to your organization.
PROFILE: The Alaska Community Foundation is based in Anchorage and supports nonprofits throughout the state. It seeks to inspire “the spirit of giving and connecting people, organizations, and causes to strengthen Alaska’s communities now and forever.” The foundation makes grants through a competitive application process and on donor recommendations. Funding priorities include the great outdoors, community development, children and education, health and wellness, and arts and culture.
For the outdoors, ACF funds trail investments, capacity building for soil and water conservation, and science education clubs for youth. It offers community development support through the Pick.Click.Give. program that encourages Alaskans to contribute to causes they care about. In education, the foundation contributed to Alaska Crib Swap to replace unsafe cribs in rural Alaska child care homes. One component fund of ACF is the Anchorage Schools Foundation, which supports outside-the-box learning projects and creative approaches to education in the Anchorage School District.
For health and wellness, ACF largely supports teen suicide prevention and substance abuse prevention. ACF has celebrated the state’s arts and culture through support for the Alaska Native Heritage Center and the Alaska Aviation Heritage Museum, as well as language revitalization efforts through the Clara Lee Memorial Fund for Preservation of the Inupiat Language and Culture.
There are quite a few opportunities for ACF funding. Grant seekers can view current opportunities and guidelines here.
Aside from the competitive grants, ACF also guides donor-advised grants for named funds. It administers quite a few scholarship programs, each with its own guidelines and deadlines. In addition to the nine affiliate community funds, ACF has helped three partner community foundations—Arctic Slope Community Foundation, Homer Foundation, Juneau Community Foundation—grow and hold permanent assets.
Direct general grant seeker questions to the staff at 907-334-6700 or via email at info@alaskacf.org.
PEOPLE:
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