For Immediate Release
Contact: Angela Cox, 907-334-0509
acox@rasmuson.org
Anchorage, AK – Rasmuson Foundation Directors approved awards for 18 organizations totaling more than $8.6 million at their June 28 board meeting. This is one of the largest award amounts in Foundation history. The grants will go to agencies across the state and will benefit a number of different programs.
$500,000 will go towards construction of a new clinic in Circle, Alaska. The current clinic is located in a flood zone and has no running water, making waste disposal and infection control a challenge. The new clinic will provide a safer location, medical equipment and technologies to better serve its residents.
$500,000 has been awarded to The Children’s Place, the only child advocacy center serving children and families in the Mat-Su Borough. A child advocacy center is a safe, child friendly location in which specialists from a variety of disciplines come together under one roof to investigate allegations of child abuse, help children heal, and hold offenders accountable. The grant will go towards construction of a larger facility to help accommodate the growing need in the region.
“These uncertain economic times in Alaska have put a strain on many of the programs that fill a critical role in our state,” said Diane Kaplan, Rasmuson Foundation President & CEO. “Making sure these programs are not just existing, but thriving, means more Alaskans have the opportunity to be safe, healthy and supported.”
A full list of recipients is organized below by region.
Statewide
- Alaska Center for the Blind and Visually Impaired, ($150,000 and $1-$1 match up to $100,000) to renovate their Anchorage building.
- The Alaska Community Foundation, ($50,000) to implement a statewide automatic voter registration project.
- Alaska Primary Care Association, ($300,000) to develop a statewide data warehouse and quality improvement project.
- Alaska State Council on the Arts, ($255,000) to renew funding for arts touring and arts-in-education programs throughout the state.
- thread, ($495,000) to support a technology initiative, including updating a statewide data management system, website improvements, and training facility upgrades.
Southcentral
- Alaska State Fair, ($200,000) to construct public restrooms on the fairgrounds in Palmer.
- Challenge Alaska, ($300,000) to acquire property in Girdwood.
- Christian Health Associates, ($95,500) to expand Anchorage school-based health centers.
- Cook Inlet Housing Authority, ($3 million loan) to provide working capital for the development of workforce housing.
- The Children’s Place, ($500,000) to construct a child advocacy center serving the Mat-Su Valley.
- The Conservation Fund, ($250,000) for the restoration of the Eklutna River.
Interior
- Breast Cancer Detection Center of Alaska, ($250,000 and $1-$1 match up to $50,000) to renovate their Fairbanks facility.
- Denali Education Center, ($200,000 and $1-$1 match up to $25,000) to build a multi-purpose building in Denali Park.
- Tanana Chiefs Conference, ($500,000) to construct a health clinic in Circle.
Arctic Slope
- Ilisagvik College, ($452,000) to upgrade telephone, technology and security systems in Utqiagvik.
Southeast
- Gustavus Community Center, (up to $400,000) to construct a community center in Gustavus.
Nationwide
- International Foundation for Research in Experimental Economics, ($100,000) in recognition of Noble Laureate Dr. Vernon Smith and his contributions to the Rasmuson Chair of Economics and the experimental economics program at University of Alaska Anchorage.
- United States Artists, ($1 million) to sustain the growth and success of their mission to directly support America’s most accomplished artists.
About the Foundation
Jenny Rasmuson with her son, Elmer, created Rasmuson Foundation in May 1955 to honor her late husband E.A. Rasmuson. The Foundation is a catalyst to promote a better life for all Alaskans.
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