Alaska has passed a new law aimed at bolstering philanthropic giving among state residents. Starting next year, Alaskans can elect to donate to charity all or a portion of the annual dividend check they receive from the nearly $38-billion fund created to share the state’s oil wealth.
The Rasmuson Foundation, in Anchorage, is providing up to $900,000 to design and put into place the new charitable-giving component of the dividend process through 2011. Last year, qualifying Alaskans each received $1,654 from the fund, so the ability to steer a portion of the annual dividend to charity has the potential to provide millions of dollars for the state’s nonprofit groups.
“After working on this for four years, it’s really thrilling that it came to be,” says Diane Kaplan, president of the Rasmuson Foundation. “We are really hopeful that this can be a vehicle to not just get charities some short-term cash, but to really grow philanthropy in the state in an unprecedented way.”
Alaska’s Permanent Fund, which functions somewhat like an endowment, was created in 1976 out of the state’s proceeds from oil sold through the newly opened Trans-Alaskan Pipeline.
People who have lived in Alaska for at least one year can apply to receive an annual dividend check, distributed each October. The amounts of those checks have varied over the years, from $300 to more than $1,900, depending on the fund’s investment performance.
Starting next year, the online dividend-check application form will include the option to donate a portion or all of the payout to a list of approved charities. More than 300 Alaskan charities have applied to be included on the application.
The United Way of Anchorage will take the lead initially in vetting the nonprofit groups seeking inclusion, and state officials will determine the final listing.
Research shows that Alaska ranks last among U.S. states in the amount of charitable giving done by its wealthy citizens.
However, a phone survey conducted in the state last fall found as many as one-third of Alaskans would consider donating a portion of their fund dividend check to charity.
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