David Donaldson, APRN – Juneau
The Pick, Click, Give program is getting about double the number of donations this year than it did last year. The Rasmuson Foundation announced Thursday that 3.6 percent of Alaskans are taking part in the program that redirects money from their Permanent Fund Dividends to non-profit organizations within the state. That’s up from 1.6 percent at this time last year. Additionally, the program has gotten gifts from 16,000 people totaling $1.3 million.
The Foundation has been the driving force behind the program, providing money for publicity and support since it went into effect in 2009, and the board of directors this morning committed $500,000 to continue its operation. Foundation Chairman Ed Rasmuson said there had been some early concern about public participation this year given the national economic conditions.
Rasmuson said the program is on its way to becoming part of the state’s culture, and he hopes to see it continue to grow in popularity. The deadline for requesting Permanent Fund dividends is the end of this month and links are available for the program on the application web pages.
