How the Bethel Community Services Foundation Gives in Alaska

While the Bethel Community Services Foundation (BCSF) has been on the local grantmaking scene in Alaska for nearly 30 years, its history goes back over half a century. When Bethel Community Services dissolved as a corporation, this foundation was created to support philanthropy and community development in the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta in Western Alaska.

To inform local grantseekers, here’s an overview of the Bethel Community Services Foundation’s current grantmaking strategy.

A Strong Focus on Human Services

BCSF has backed human services from the beginning. The corporation that preceded BCSF provided daycare, substance abuse treatment, adult basic education, programs for people with developmental disabilities, summer camps, early intervention services for infants and residential mental health. BCSF grants still largely focus on those causes.

In general, BCSF prefers to fund groups that are also receiving support from other sources, and also funds some needs that traditional funding streams do not cover. Recent grants have gone to Bethel Search and Rescue, Bethel Friends of Canines and Bethel Family Clinic.

Lots of Specific Funds

BCSF has a community grantmaking program that contributes to programs across the region, such as Girl Scouts of Alaska, Tundra Women’s Coalition and St. Mary’s Bicycle Recycling. Grant applications for this program are reviewed on a rolling basis.

However, there are also many other funds held at BCSF that serve very niche purposes. For example, BCSF has a fund for a dance festival, a library, future nurses, health aides, and to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic. Other funds include an ArtsCan Circle Fund that links artists with First Nation and Inuit youth, the Betty Guy Memorial Nursing Home Endowed Fund that brings arts and culture to a long-term care facility, and YK Delta Women in Philanthropy, which welcomes women of all ages and backgrounds to contribute to nonprofit projects.

Various Grant Applications Available

BCSF has multiple grant opportunities that local groups can access, such as a community mini-grant program that awards grants of up to $5,000 for bridge, capital, special project or operating support funding. On the foundation’s website, there are also specialized grant application forms for the Bethel Business Recovery Grant program, Community Health Aide Emergency Fund Grant program, John Malone Fund, YK & Northwest Arctic Health Fund Grant and YK Delta COVID-19 Response Fund.

BCSF serves communities across the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta, where most residents are Alaska Native and speak Yup’ik as a first language. Read more about the Bethel Community Services Foundation in Inside Philanthropy’s Northwest funding guide.

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