Talkeetna Bachelor Society Distributes $120,000 in Grants

2024 was a record breaking year of fundraising for the Talkeetna Bachelor Society. The organization raised $120,000 at their yearly Bachelor’s Auction in bids and donations. This sum was a major change from when the Bachelor Auction first started.

A good year might have brought in a few thousand dollars in the late nineties, when Talkeetna Bachelor Society President Todd Basilone first got involved. But as the event grew in popularity, so did the amount of money it brought in.

“I don’t think we ever feel like we’re gonna meet last year’s number and then we do and we surpass it almost every time,” he said, “It just seems like a snowball all the way to the end.”

Each year, the bachelor society divvies up the raised money to local organizations and grants focused on creating better living conditions for families in the Upper Valley and raising awareness of domestic violence.

This year, funds were split between over thirty local causes. Notably, $20,000 went to the Talkeetna Bachelor Society Fund for Women and Children in Crisis and $13,600 dollars went to the Upper Susitna Food Pantry.

While the event brings in more people and money each year, Todd Basilone made it clear the Bachelor’s Society’s mission of helping women, children, and families in need has stayed the same.