Ten local nonprofits have received pledges totaling $15,650 through the 2011 Permanent Fund Dividend’s “Pick. Click Give.” program.
The PFD filing period closed March 31. According to an announcement at http://www.pickclickgive.org, 18,726 Alaskans pledged nearly $1.6 million to nonprofits through the program. About 3.4 percent of those who filed their PFDs online contributed to the program.
The state pledge haul was up from $927,075 last year and $545,000 in 2009.
Haines nonprofits slated to receive money as of April 1 include the Chilkat Valley Community Foundation, $3,150; Chilkat Valley Preschool, $750; Friends of the Haines Borough Public Library, $2,300; Haines Animal Rescue Kennel, $3,175; Haines Dolphins swim team, $300; Haines Friends of Recycling, $650; Hospice of Haines, $2,200; KHNS, $1,075; Sheldon Museum and Cultural Center, $650; and Takshanuk Watershed Council, $1,400.
The 265 pledges for Haines organizations averaged around $60 per pledge. Last year also had an average pledge of about $60, with 225 pledges for a combined $13,400.
Donations for Friends of the Library were up from $1,575 in 2010.
“We’re always gratified when people support the Friends of the Library,” said Sara Chapell, board president. “It’s an all-volunteer organization, so every dollar that people give to the Friends of the Library goes to library programs.”
Next year’s “Pick. Click. Give.” haul will have an additional hurdle for nonprofits, which now are required to submit a $250 application fee to be eligible for the fundraiser. Administrative costs were subsidized during the three-year pilot program.
Chapell, who also is board president of the Chilkat Valley Preschool and serves on the communications committee for the Chilkat Valley Community Foundation, said Haines nonprofits combined in an advertising effort to promote “Pick. Click. Give.”
“From the Community Foundation perspective, one of our goals is to encourage philanthropy throughout the Chilkat Valley, and that’s why we support ‘Pick. Click. Give.’ and want to make sure as many organizations as possible get that opportunity to try a different way of fundraising,” she said.
HARK again topped $3,000 in PFD pledges this year.
“Unfortunately for us, $1,000 of it was repayment for emergency medical funds when we had helped somebody who couldn’t pay for their animal to go get surgery, so that number is a bit skewed,” said Renee Hoffman, HARK secretary.
She said “Pick. Click. Give.” is “another little pat on the back” for area nonprofits.
“You advertise for it, but you don’t really ask for it and you don’t have to be a member,” Hoffman said. “It can just be somebody who just loves animals or for whatever organization it is, thinks it’s a worthy cause.”
Nancy Schnabel, Hospice of Haines board president, said a hospice newsletter also directed residents to participate in “Pick. Click. Give.”
“Luckily, because your name is listed, I suppose people who are just clicking through, looking at the different names, they could also see it, and we would hope that they remember us,” Schnabel said. “That’s the thing about giving in Haines; there are just so many great opportunities to give to so many great organizations.”