2021 Grants Awarded

Alaska Conservation Foundation awarded 85 grants totaling $715,469.76 in fiscal year 2021 (July 1, 2020 – June 30, 2021, to support efforts across Alaska.

Agency Fund Grants

Alaska Conservation Foundation holds various endowment funds, including Agency Funds, that generate a spendable balance each year. This balance may be requested as a grant award by the organization the fund was created to support and may be awarded annually. Grants totaling $3,512.45 were awarded to:

  • Northern Alaska Environmental Center – $3,512.45
    Fairbanks, AK
    Agency Fund Payout

Alaska Defense Fund

This fund supports critical, front-line conservation and advocacy work in Alaska. Grants are awarded to organizations doing work aligned with protection of public lands and waters. Grants totaling $317,000 were awarded to:

  • Susitna River Coalition – $12,000
    Talkeetna, AK
    Building Solidarity Along the Railbelt
  • Alaska Longline Fishermen’s Association – $10,000
    Sitka, AK
    Support for Businesses for Conservation and Climate Action, including an Indigenous coordinator and Alaska 30 by 30 organizing
  • Cook Inletkeeper – $20,000
    Homer, AK
    General Operating Support
  • Alaska Center Education Fund – $20,000
    Anchorage, AK
    General Operating Support
  • Susitna River Coalition – $20,000
    Talkeetna, AK
    General Operating Support
  • Southeast Alaska Conservation Council – $20,000
    Juneau, AK
    General Operating Support
  • Northern Alaska Environmental Center – $20,000
    Fairbanks, AK
    General Operating Support
  • Renewable Energy Alaska Project – $20,000
    Anchorage, AK
    General Operating Support
  • Trustees for Alaska – $30,000
    Anchorage, AK
    General Operating Support
  • Alaska Public Interest Research Group – $10,000
    Anchorage, AK
    General Operating Support
  • Sitka Conservation Society – $20,000
    Sitka, AK
    General Operating Support
  • Alaska Marine Conservation Council – $20,000
    Anchorage, AK
    General Operating Support
  • Native Movement – $15,000
    Fairbanks, AK
    General Operating Support
  • United Tribes of Bristol Bay – $20,000
    Dillingham, AK
    General Operating Support
  • Alaska Community Action on Toxics – $15,000
    Anchorage, AK
    General Operating Support
  • Native People’s Action – $15,000
    Anchorage, AK
    General Operating Support
  • Gwich’in Steering Committee – $20,000
    Fairbanks, AK
    General Operating Support
  • Fairbanks Climate Action Coalition – $10,000
    Fairbanks, AK
    General Operating Support

Conservation Internship Program

The Ted Smith Conservation Internship Program offers students from Alaska and around the country interested invaluable conservation work experience at host organizations throughout the state. Grants totaling $95,000 were awarded to:

  • Municipality of Anchorage – $6,000
    Anchorage, AK
    Internship Stipend
  • Kenai Watershed Forum – $6,000
    Soldotna, AK
    Internship Stipend
  • Cook Inletkeeper – $6,000
    Homer, AK
    Internship Stipend
  • Center for Alaskan Coastal Studies – $6,000
    Homer, AK
    Internship Stipend
  • Sitka Conservation Society – $6,000
    Sitka, AK
    Internship Stipend
  • Alaska Marine Conservation Council – $6,000
    Anchorage, AK
    Internship Stipend
  • Alaska Center Education Fund – $6,000
    Anchorage, AK
    Internship Stipend
  • Alaska Community Action on Toxics – $6,000
    Anchorage, AK
    Internship Stipend
  • Qawalangin Tribe of Alaska – $6,000
    Anchorage, AK
    Internship Stipend
  • Discovery Southeast – $6,000
    Juneau, AK
    Internship Stipend
  • Audubon Alaska – $6,000
    Anchorage, AK
    Internship Stipend
  • Southeast Alaska Conservation Council – $6,000
    Juneau, AK
    Internship Stipend
  • Alaska Longline Fishermen’s Association – $6,000
    Sitka, AK
    Internship Stipend
  • Aleut Community of St. Paul – $6,000
    Anchorage, AK
    Internship Stipend
  • Yukon River Inter-Tribal Watershed Council – $11,000
    Anchorage, AK
    Internship Stipends

Designated Fund Grants

Alaska Conservation Foundation holds various endowment funds, including Designated Funds, that generate a spendable balance each year. This balance may be requested as a grant award to the organization the fund is designated to by the fund advisor. Grants totaling $14,975.80 were awarded to:

  • Center for Alaskan Coastal Studies – $14,975.80
    Homer, AK
    Inspiration Ridge

Discovery Grants

Grants to support small, grassroots organizations working to advance the conservation movement in Alaska. Grants totaling $14,900 were awarded to:

  • Center for Alaska Coastal Studies – $2,000
    Homer, AK
    Support for Community Based Monitoring Programs
  • Alaska Huts – $900
    Anchorage, AK
    Support for Alaska Huts development expansion
  • Takshanuk Watershed Council – $2,000
    Haines, AK
    Adapting Outreach Strategies During a Global Pandemic
  • Southeast Alaska Conservation Council – $2,000
    Juneau, AK
    Dagwii: Protecting America’s Amazon film distribution
  • Alaska Public Interests Research Group – $2,000
    Anchorage, AK
    Quantifying the history of gas subsidies in southcentral Alaska
  • Alaska Common Ground – $2,000
    Anchorage, AK
    Climate Action Plan sector series outreach
  • Fairbanks Climate Action Coalition – $2,000
    Fairbanks, AK
    Post-Covid team healing, connecting, and strategizing for the year ahead
  • Brooks Range Council – $2,000
    Fairbanks, AK
    Alaska Mining Spill Report and Organizing

Donor-Advised Fund Grants

Alaska Conservation Foundation holds endowment funds, including Donor-Advised Funds, which generate a spendable amount each year. Donor advisors may recommend grant awards within the spendable amount aligned with the purpose of the fund and Alaska Conservation Foundation’s mission and vision. Grants totaling $30,550 were awarded to:

Alaska Wildland Adventures Conservation Fund:

  • Alaska Sealife Center – $1,000
    Seward, AK
    General Operating Support
  • Alaska Native Heritage Center – $1,000
    Anchorage, AK
    General Operating Support
  • Alaska Wilderness League – $1,000
    Anchorage, AK
    General Operating Support
  • The Nature Conservancy Alaska – $1,000
    Anchorage, AK
    General Operating Support
  • Kachemak Heritage Land Trust – $1,000
    Homer, AK
    General Operating Support

Jeanne Williams Fund

  • Alaska Wilderness League – $2,500
    Anchorage, AK
    Support to protect the Arctic Refuge
  • Alaska Center Education Fund – $1,500
    Anchorage, AK
    General Operating Support
  • Alaska Wilderness League – $1,500
    Anchorage, AK
    Protection for the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and Izembek National Wildlife Refuge
  • Friends of Alaska National Wildlife Refuges – $900
    Homer, AK
    Support for Izembek, Kenai, and Arctic National Wildlife Refuges
  • Alaska Wilderness League – $1,000
    Washington, DC
    In memory of Adam Kolton

Studebaker Family Fund

  • Alaska Center Education Fund – $3,630
    Anchorage, AK
    Support for Trailside Discovery Camp
  • Center for Alaskan Coastal Studies – $3,630
    Homer, AK
    Support for Environmental Education Programs
  • Discovery Southeast – $3,630
    Juneau, AK
    Support for Environmental Education Programs
  • Friends of Creamer’s Field – $3,630
    Fairbanks, AK
    Support for Environmental Education Programs
  • Wrangell Institute for Science and Environment – $3,630
    Copper Center, AK
    Support for Environmental Education Programs

Field of Interest Fund Grants

Alaska Conservation Foundation holds various endowment funds, including Field of Interest Funds, that support grantmaking efforts in a specific area of interest defined by the original donor. Grants totaling $16,000 were awarded to:

Jean Tam Loon Fun

  • Spirit of Youth $16,000
    Anchorage, AK
    Alaskan Youth Highlight Yellow-Billed Loon Conservation Issues

Northern Latitudes Partnerships Grants

Northern Latitudes Partnerships (previously Landscape Conservation Cooperatives) are public-private partnerships that bring together Tribes, First Nations, government agencies, non-governmental organizations, research institutions, and industry to address the challenges and opportunities of a rapidly changing environment. Grants totaling $99,246.51 were awarded to:

  • Alaska Department of Fish and Game, Division of Wildlife Conservation – $22,500
    Anchorage, AK
    Transboundary Bering Sea Workshop
  • University of Alaska Fairbanks – $43,800
    Fairbanks, AK
    Alaska Sea Grant State Fellowship
  • Organized Village of Kasaan – $7,024.62
    Kasaan, AK
    Indigenous Sentinels Network
  • Traditional Council of Togiak – $1,655.42
    Togiak, AK
    Indigenous Sentinels Network
  • Alaska Pacific University – $8,889.53
    Anchorage, AK
    Indigenous Sentinels Network
  • Aleut Community of St. Paul – $15,376.94
    Anchorage, AK
    Indigenous Sentinels Network

Rapid Response Grants

Alaska Conservation Foundation’s Rapid Response grants enable organizations to respond quickly to fast-breaking, unforeseen Alaska environmental threats of statewide or national significance. Grants totaling $45,100 were awarded to:

  • Valley Mountain Bikers & Hikers – $9,350
    Palmer, AK
    Save the Matanuska Greenbelt
  • Cook Inletkeeper – $10,000
    Homer, AK
    Protecting Kachemak Bay
  • Alaska Longline Fishermen’s Association – $10,000
    Sitka, AK
    Engaging the fishing community in 30 by 30
  • Trail Mix, Inc – $10,000
    Juneau, AK
    Supporting sustainable economic development through the American Rescue Plan Act by encouraging Alaskans to invest in public lands
  • Southeast Alaska Conservation Council – $5,750
    Juneau, AK
    Protecting the Tongass National Forest in a Natural Strategic Carbon Reserve

Sustainable Southeast Partnership Grants

The Sustainable Southeast Partnership is an innovative network in Southeast Alaska working to achieve ecological, cultural, and economic vitality for the region. Grants totaling $30,000 were awarded to:

  • Renewable Energy Alaska Project – $30,000
    Anchorage, AK
    Support for energy independence through woody biomass

Indigenous Voices Grants

Grants to elevate the Indigenous voices on the issues of the Arctic Refuge and Tongass National Forest. Grants totaling $54,685 were awarded to:

  • Gwich’in Steering Committee – $8,000
    Fairbanks, AK
    Support for virtual Gwich’in Gathering
  • Southeast Alaska Indigenous Transboundary Commission – $10,000
    Sitka, AK
    Tahltan/Tlingit Historic Descendants Meeting Participants will produce a unified public statement regarding the health of the Stikine River watershed and the Tongass National Forest
  • Sitka Conservation Society – $14,685
    Sitka, AK
    Support for Herring Protectors
  • Native American Rights Fund – $12,000
    Anchorage, AK
    Support for Gwich’in Travel to protect the Arctic Refuge
  • Northern Alaska Environmental Center – $10,000
    Fairbanks, AK
    Support for Imago Initiative travel to support the Arctic Refuge

Youth Mini-Grant

The Youth Mini-Grant program aims to support youth-led projects that address conservation issues in Alaska. These include climate change, community health, racial and social inequity, and sustainable economies. The Youth Mini-Grant Program aims to empower youth leaders as they invest in their communities, become mentors, and delve into issues of social justice impacting Alaska’s cultures, communities, and well-being. Grants totaling $5,500 were awarded to:

  • Fireweed Collective – $500
    Anchorage, AK
    Fireweed Collective Zine
  • Yaakoosge Daakahidi – $500
    Juneau, AK
    Elders & Youth Conference Travel
  • Institute for Civic Organizing – $500
    Dillingham, AK
    Supporting climate-vulnerable communities in the Bristol Bay Region: A Field Guide
  • Tribal Government of St. Paul Youth Tribal Council – $500
    St. Paul Island, AK
    Brittany’s Bakery
  • Tatitlek Community School – $500
    Tatitlek, AK
    Support for Tatitlek community health and wellness
  • Sitka Conservation Society – $1,000
    Sitka, AK
    ANWR and Art: exploring narratives in our political dialogue
  • Orutsararmiut Native Council – $2,000
    Bethel, AK
    Elder and Youth Climate Change Conversations and Youth Litter Patrol
  • Center for Native American Youth – $1,000
    Washington, DC
    Operation Fish Drop