Local non-profits get boost from PFD donations

Four Talkeetna non-profits are getting sort of a Permanent Fund Dividend this week as checks are arriving from a statewide program called “Pick, click and give.” The campaign allowed Alaskans who applied online for their PFD to donate portions of their annual dividend to non-profit organizations of their choice. For Talkeetna, donors decided to share their PFD with the Jessica Stevens Community Foundation, the Denali Arts Council, Talkeetna Community Radio and the Sunshine Health Center.

The Jessica Stevens Foundation received $1,625 dollars. JSF steering committee member Rick Ernst said that the money would go into the corpus of the Jessica Stevens fund. Ernst reported that the foundation’s board of directors are scheduled to meet in December for a one-day workshop to discuss how the money is used. Ernst also said the foundation will sort through 26 grant applications it received as part of the Jessica Stevens/BP Challenge, a program that matches fundraising dollars from local non-profits with grant money. The Denali Arts Council received $1,425 from the “Pick, click and give” program. DAC’s executive director Mindy Lindgren said she was thrilled to see the funds arrive this week and that the dollars will flow into DAC’s general fund. She said that eight donors, including one anonymous donor, made donations of anywhere between $25 and $500 The largest single donation was $500.  KTNA Talkeetna Community Radio received $250 and the Sunshine Community Health Center rounded up $75  through the “Pick, click and give” campaign. Despite the ailing economy, more than 5,500 Alaskans pledged a total of $550,000 through the brand new program, which is in its first operational year. In 2008, the Alaska State Legislature established the program and it is authorized for three years. The Rasmuson Foundation covers the first three years of administrative expenses so every dollar donated goes directly to the designated organizations. Alaskans filing online for the 2010 dividend can chose from a list of non-profits to donate any amount from 25 dollars up to the entire amount of their dividend.