ACF Endowment and Donor-Advised Funds
Endowment Funds
ACF has two types of endowments designed to protect Alaska’s unspoiled grandeur and thriving ecosystems: The Endowment for Alaska and Named Endowment Funds. The Endowment for Alaska is ACF’s permanent source of support for organizations, projects, and programs that seek to protect the richness of Alaska’s incomparable natural environment. Named Endowment Funds provide a lasting legacy for protection of Alaska’s incredible natural heritage by making significant, perpetual grants to conservation efforts around the state.
As a true community foundation, ACF also serves as endowment host for other nonprofit environmental organizations. In its role as fund host, ACF enables smaller groups to bypass the time-consuming fund maintenance and paperwork that might otherwise prevent them from being able to administratively support their own endowments.
Starting Your Own Endowment Fund
One of the most meaningful gifts one can make to ACF is to start a named endowment fund to achieve a specific conservation objective. Creating a fund in the Endowment for Alaska at the Alaska Conservation Fund is a straightforward process. Simply determine the area of focus you would like your fund to have and then make a gift of $100,000 or more to ACF to fund it. An endowment fund may be distributed at the rate of no more than 5 percent per fiscal year.
Endowed funds can be funded today by gifts of cash or securities, or can be funded via a bequest . You can have as much or as little involvement in the grantmaking process annually as you like.
By creating a named endowment fund, you ensure a future for Alaska’s wild places and wildlife. Take a look at ACF’s current endowed funds below to learn more about how others have chosen to dedicate their donations.
An endowed fund at ACF is one of the most meaningful gifts you can leave Alaska–your support in perpetuity. For more information on how to create your own endowed fund for the future of Alaska, contact ACF at 907-276-1917.
Current ACF Endowment Funds
The AFF Coastal Conservation Internship endows annual internships to young adults interested in maintaining the ecological integrity of Alaska's coastal and marine ecosystems.
The Susan Cohn Fund for Outstanding Alaska Native Writing endows an annual writing award honoring Alaska Native writers whose work reflects the importance of the natural environment in their lives and cultures.
The Jerry S. Dixon Endowment Fund endows an annual award for excellence in environmental education.
Dick Erman Memorial Endowment Fund endows an annual grant to Alaska Conservation Voters.
The Hugh S. Ferguson Wildlife Protection Endowment Fund protects and enhances Alaska’s magnificent wildlife.
Daniel Housberg Memorial Fund endows the Housberg awards for environmental photographic and videographic excellence and advocacy.
The Celia Hunter Award Endowment endows an annual award for outstanding contributions to conservation by volunteers.
Celia M. Hunter Alaska Conservation Leadership Fund sponsors high-quality positions for selected Alaska conservation leadership interns.
The Leghorn Family Fund protects Alaska’s intact, healthy ecosystems, magnificent wildlife, and sustainable communities.
Debbie Miller Fund for the Arctic is dedicated to saving America’s Arctic.
The Olaus Murie Award Endowment sponsors an annual award for outstanding contributions to conservation by professionals.
The Sitka Conservation Society Living Wilderness Endowment Fund provides a perpetual source of support for the important work of the Sitka Conservation Society.
The Studebaker Family Environmental Education Fund provides sustainable support for environmental education in Alaska to cultivate future generations of conservation minded people.
Tom Walter Memorial Fund is dedicated to supporting ACF’s grantmaking, and provides a critical source of funds for conservation groups throughout Alaska.
The Edgar and Peggy Wayburn Endowment Fund is dedicated to protecting and enhancing Alaska’s public lands, especially those lands protected by the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act.
Deborah L. Williams Air Quality Fund is dedicated to protecting and enhancing Alaska’s air quality.
The Jeanne S. Williams Alaska Fund protects Alaska’s intact, healthy ecosystems, magnificent wildlife, and sustainable communities.
Donor-Advised Funds
Donor-advised funds allow individual donors to be directly involved in the grantmaking process. ACF offers two types of donor-advised funds. A donor may establish a field-of-interest fund to support a particular area of concern or objective (for example, public lands conservation, wildlife protection, or environmental education); ACF will then make grants from the fund based on that area. The donor can also direct the advised funds to a particular organization on an annual basis. Donor-advised funds may not be financed by immediate gifts, such as cash or appreciated securities, and may or may not be permanently endowed. A donor-advised fund requires an initial gift of $25,000 or more and may be spent down on an annual basis.
For more information on how to create your own donor-advised fund for Alaska, call ACF at 907-276-1917.
