Pick.Click.Give. – How Alaskans Gave

There’s good news on the generosity front in Alaska. The PFD Charitable Contributions Program – Pick.Click.Give. – continues to grow in three core metrics: number of Alaskans contributing, total amount they are giving, and percentage of participants among those who file for their dividend online.

Earlier this year, 26,093 Alaskans used Pick.Click.Give. to donate part or all of their $900 dividend to causes they support. That’s nearly 3,000 more than in 2012, for an increase of 13%. Altogether, they pledged $2.4 million, an 11% increase over 2012.

Those who used Pick.Click.Give. represent 4.7% of all PFD applicants who file online. While that might sound small, it’s climbing every year. It’s significant because in the long run, the number of people who give is more important than the amount given.

Next year could be better, potentially a lot better. According to one news outlet, the dividend should be significantly higher – perhaps even double this year’s. Because the dividend is calculated on a five-year average, recent dividends have reflected the 2008 stock market crash. But we’ll climb out of that five-year shadow next year, which means the 2014 dividend could approach double this year’s amount.

Of course, bigger dividends don’t automatically trigger more giving. That’s where we come in. Those of us who believe in personal philanthropy and the nonprofits that receive Pick.Click.Give. contributions have our work cut out for us. What if every Alaskan who receives a dividend contributed $25? That would make Alaska the most generous state in the union. It’s a worthy goal.

Nonprofits that want to make the most of that opportunity can take free training sessions now being offered through The Foraker Group. Register here.

We Alaskans like to think of themselves as generous souls, and we are. And we always strive to do better.

For numbers geeks, here’s a table of Pick.Click.Give. statistics since inception:

See the history of dividends.