Alaska Conservation Foundation

Program Officer transition announcement

danielle_williams — Thu, 09 May 2013 21:53:34 +0000

Program Officer Polly Carr is leaving ACF to become the Executive Director of Alaska Center for the Environment and Alaska Conservation Voters on June 17, 2013.

ACF’s Executive Director Ann Rothe writes, “While we are sad to see Polly leave ACF, we are excited to see her step into this critical role and work with ACE and our many other partners to create an enduring and powerful legacy for conservation.”

Polly joined the ACF team four years ago and has been instrumental in the creation and growth of two primary areas; The Alaska Native Fund, now in its third year of grant-making; and Transforming Alaska Conservation, a key initiative that resulted in a strategic community merger and increased collaboration among Alaska’s conservation advocacy organizations.

The new Alaska Center for the Environment (ACE) is the product of the merger, and is now connected to a 501c(4) Alaska Conservation Voters. Polly will oversee both organizations as they work in tandem for the sensible stewardship of Alaska’s natural resources and sustainable communities.

Of her transition, Polly says “I have mixed emotions about my departure from ACF. We have a great team, and it has been an honor to partner with so many talented leaders and organizations working to protect Alaska’s cultures, communities, and incredible ecosystems. I look forward to working with them and ACF in a new capacity in the future.”

Alaska Native Fund enters third grant making cycle

danielle_williams — Tue, 07 May 2013 17:30:42 +0000

Alaska Native Fund– Letters of Inquiry Due July 15^th!

The innovative Alaska Native Fund is entering its third grant making cycle. This Fund supports Alaska Native solutions and strategies for addressing environmental issues. A total of $150,000-$200,000 will be granted in December 2013. Letters of Inquiry (LOI) are due on or before July 15, 2013. To read more about the Alaska Native Fund, including criteria, grant timeline, and to download a Letter of Inquiry form, please click here.

Alaska Native Fund awards $142,000 in total funding for 2013

danielle_williams — Fri, 08 Mar 2013 20:10:16 +0000

We are pleased to report that in its second year, the Alaska Native Fund has awarded nine grants totaling $142,000 to support projects addressing indigenous environmental priorities and critical food security issues in Alaska Native communities. Join us in congratulating the grantees on their worthwhile projects and click here to learn more about their work.

2013 Grassroots Communities Mining Mini-Grant Program

danielle_williams — Mon, 04 Feb 2013 11:06:38 +0000

Indigenous Environmental Network (IEN) and Western Mining Action Network (WMAN)

The goal of the Mining Mini-grants Program is to support and enhance the capacity building efforts of mining-impacted communities in the U.S. and Canada to assure that mining projects do not adversely affect human, cultural, and the ecological health of communities.

Applications are accepted three times a year: June 1, October 1, and February 1 (this month’s deadline has been extended)

Applicants will be notified of the funding decision within one month of the application deadline.

February 15 is the next deadline for applications to the IEN and WMAN mini-grant program.

Click here to learn more about the program and to download the application. (MS Word doc)

If you have any questions about the program or would like to discuss it further, contact Simone Senogles at the Indigenous Environmental Network (218) 751-4967, simone@ienearth.org or Aimee Boulanger at the Western Mining Action Network, (360) 969-2028, aboulanger@whidbey.com

Merger promises greater conservation power

danielle_williams — Fri, 09 Nov 2012 23:04:01 +0000

In response to the high rate of Executive Director turnover and significant shifts in Alaska’s political and economic landscape, in 2009 ACF gathered conservation leaders to begin discussing the challenges hindering effectiveness and innovative strategies for addressing it. Through the Transformers process, these leaders from across Alaska concluded that significant changes in how they approach issues—and how they structure their organizations—are necessary to foster a more powerful movement.

In October 2012, the project reached a major milestone when long-time ACF partners Alaska Center for the Environment (ACE), Alaska Conservation Alliance (ACA), and Alaska Youth for Environmental Action (AYEA) voted to merge into one.

Their new entity combines the three organization’s strengths: ACE’s grassroots presence and member base; ACA’s statewide policy coordination and advocacy; and AYEA’s leadership cultivation expertise. Through partnerships with other organizations involved in the Transformers process, the group will enhance communications, fundraising, and community organizing to achieve collective conservation goals.

“All of these areas of strength, under one roof, working in close coordination toward the same goals will make us stronger and more effective than we are separately,” said Andy Moderow, current Executive Director of the Alaska Conservation Alliance. In addition to building a more effective organization, the groups hope to achieve efficiencies with their combined resources.

Over the coming months, the organizations will integrate their staff, programs, and systems, while undergoing a branding assessment to determine the best name for the newly merged organization.

ACF has provided funding and strategic support to help the groups navigate the merger negotiations process, and is excited to see this next chapter unfold after so much hard work by all of the leaders and organizations involved. While Alaska is unique in many ways, its nonprofits face challenges similar to the rest of the country–decreased funding and increased competition for human and financial resources.

By actively choosing to rethink how they operate, Alaska conservation leaders are illustrating an incredible ability to adapt and innovate, and ultimately win on the issues threatening our communities and ecosystems.

ACF is moving!

danielle_williams — Thu, 20 Sep 2012 22:53:41 +0000

Effective September 24, 2012 ACF’s new address is: 911 West 8th Ave., Suite 300, Anchorage, AK 99501. Our phone number will still be (907) 276-1917. Stay tuned for an open house!

Boots, Bikes, and Bombers by Ginny Hill Wood – Available now

jenni_pollard — Mon, 18 Jun 2012 23:15:37 +0000

Boots, Bikes, and Bombers is an intimate biography of Ginny Hill Wood, a pioneering Alaska conservationist, outdoorswoman and one of the founders of Alaska Conservation Foundation.

Born in Washington in 1917, Wood served as a Women’s Airforce Service Pilot in
World War II, and flew a military surplus airplane to Alaska in 1946. Settling
in Fairbanks, she went on to co-found Camp Denali, Alaska’s first wilderness
ecotourism lodge; helped start the Alaska Conservation Society, the state’s
first environmental organization; and applied her love of the outdoors to her
work as a backcountry guide and an advocate for trail construction and
preservation.

An innovative and collaborative life history, Boots, Bikes, and
Bombers, incorporates the story of friendship between the author and
subject. The resulting book is a valuable contribution to the history of Alaska
as well as a testament to the joys of living a life full of passion and
adventure.

Purchase your copy from Amazon.com now.

Alaska offers free energy training in June

jenni_pollard — Fri, 18 May 2012 20:47:18 +0000

With a grant from AK Department of Labor, the Yukon River Inter-Tribal Watershed Council is holding 4 weeks of free trainings from Solar Energy International in Alaska. Schedule includes:

PV 101 – Grid-Tie Solar Electric Design and Installation (June 4-8)
PV 203 – Battery-Based Solar Electric Design and Installation (June 11-15)
Solar Thermal 101 – Solar Hot Water Design and Installation (June 25-29)
Wind Power 101 – Small Wind Power Design and Installation (July 16-20)

Learn more at www.yritwc.org.

Alaska Native Fund Letters of Inquiry due July 15th

jenni_pollard — Fri, 11 May 2012 15:30:29 +0000

The Alaska Native Fund was launched in 2011 by Alaska Conservation Foundation in partnership with an Alaska Native Fund Steering Committee. The Fund is designed to advance Alaska Native priorities for protecting the land, water, and wildlife integral to their way of life. In 2012, the Alaska Native Fund will grant up to $125,000 for projects that address food security, renewable energy and energy conservation, links between environmental and human health, climate change, and sustainable economic development.

Initial Letters of Inquiry will be due July 15, 2012. Click here for grant guidelines and additional information.

ACF recruiting for database specialist. Apply now!

jenni_pollard — Tue, 01 May 2012 16:41:06 +0000

Alaska Conservation Foundation has recently transformed its donation (and grant) management system by implementing a Salesforce database. The Development Database Specialist is responsible for administrative oversight of the database while performing critical support to the organization’s philanthropic efforts by using it to process donations and thank you letters, conduct weekly financial closings, and provide reports and analysis.

Learn more or apply now.