Photo description: During the 2024 Grantmakers Tour of Alaska, participants gathered at the Katirvik Cultural Center to learn more about the Nome community from Angie Gorn of Norton Sound Health Corporation.

Dear Alaskans,

Every other year, a small group boards planes and ferries, climbs into vans and pickup trucks, and heads out across Alaska. They carry clipboards, cameras, and questions. They are grantmakers. Program officers, philanthropic leaders, and others who help decide where funding goes. And they come to see Alaska for themselves.

We call it the Grantmakers Tour of Alaska. The Foundation started this tour 28 years ago to introduce national funders to the realities and opportunities of investing here. Each tour, we invite a small group to spend several days visiting communities, meeting local partners, and learning directly from the people who live and lead in this place.

These funders are already investing in Alaska or are open to doing so. We introduce them to the people behind the ideas. Local leaders who know what their communities need and how to make things happen.

Alaska is different. Our geography, our cultures, and our logistics are unlike anywhere else. We have learned that the best way to help funders understand Alaska is to bring them here. Conversations shift when someone sees a shipping container used as a clinic or walks into a community hall where many people are both clients and volunteers. The resilience and innovation of Alaskans come into focus.

This year’s tour is in the works now. In a time of shifting funding landscapes, the need for national partners is greater than ever. We look forward to welcoming them and showing them the place we call home. Because when funders understand Alaska, they are more likely to invest in it.

Joining us this September will be representatives from Ballmer Group, Margaret A. Cargill Philanthropies, Mellon Foundation, The Pew Charitable Trusts, Newman’s Own Foundation, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and The Wallace Foundation.

Hosting the tour takes time and coordination. To be community-led, our local partners identify where we go and whom we will meet when we’re there. These partners prepare their spaces, organize events, and open their communities to visitors. Their generosity makes this possible, and we do not take it for granted.

It is our goal to help our visitors gain a greater understanding of how to invest in Alaska. They leave with a deeper understanding of our strengths and needs and carry that with them into their work and careers.

The Grantmakers Tour is one way we build bridges between Alaskans and the resources they need to bring their ideas to life. It reminds us that connection and convening are powerful tools for change.

Thank you to the funders, partners, and communities who make this possible. We look forward to the journey ahead.