KMXT 100.1 FM Public Radio in Kodiak, Alaska
Jay Barrett/KMXT
You have until Friday to help the Kodiak Community Foundation decide the five organizations or causes that will get a share of the group’s first distribution of cash. The first award will be given a week from tomorrow, according to Sarah Harrington, on what has come to be known as “Giving Tuesday,” in response to the rampant consumerism of Black Friday and Cyber-Shopping Monday.
Additional gifts will be given each Tuesday in December. While the Foundation is relatively new and still in the process of building its nest-egg, Harrington said the money for the December gifts a gift in itself.
“The entire idea behind the KCF is that we should be building money, accepting donations that will all go into an endowment so that we’ll have grant money into perpetuity, really. So it’s Kodiak’s ‘Permanent Fund’ would be another way to look at it,” she said. “So the 5K$ we’re giving away is actually a gift from the Rasmussen Foundation, and so they’re helping us catch a little more attention as we’re building our beginning dollar.”
The $5,000 from the Rasmussen Foundation isn’t the only gift the organization is offering Kodiak. All donations to the Kodiak Community Foundation are tripled by Rasmussen.
“So if I donate $50 to the KCF, they’re actually going to receive $150 worth, just because of that single gift. Because RF is matching two-for-one, up to us finding $25,000,” Harrington said. “So if we raise $25,000, we’ll actually get $75,000 because they’ll give us another $50,000.”
You can help the Kodiak Community Foundation with their decision-making process by finding them on Facebook or going to their website, Kodiak C-F.org, and filling out their short survey.
“Two minutes long. It’s just two questions and fill in the blank. And so we’re looking for feedback from the community for suggestions of who might benefit from funding. And we’re encouraging people to think outside the box. It could be an activity, it could be a project,” she said. “We also ask for suggestions for non-profits who could be strengthened or supported from the funding that might be having a hard time getting grant money from other places.”
The suggestions can be for projects in communities other than the city of Kodiak. Harrington said there’s already one suggestion for replacing a church floor in Akhiok. This week is the last opportunity to give input.
