Pick.Click.Give. contributions down slightly, but still significant

By Beth Verge | Posted: Wed 5:56 PM, Mar 29, 2017 | Updated: Wed 6:11 PM, Mar 29, 2017

ANCHORAGE (KTUU) – Alaskans will be submitting the last of this year’s Permanent Fund Dividend applications this Friday, but – should they choose to do so – they’ll have all summer to decide which of the Last Frontier’s nonprofits might receive a cut of their checks.

So how is Pick.Click.Give doing in such a strained fiscal climate? In the words of Pick.Click.Give Program Manager Sofia Fouquet, “Now is as important of a time as ever to make sure you’re giving those contributions.” Despite lower numbers compared to recent years past, Fouquet said, the group is “pleased” with this year’s results thus far. “Considering how this year has gone,” she said, “knowing there are so many people who are feeling uncertain, we have been pretty happy (with the numbers).”

As of March 15, about 23 percent of Pick.Click.Give non-profits had seen growth in pledges and number of donors. And, Fouquet said, the amount of donations has still been large, even with the extra strain. “It’s been a pretty heartwarming response,” she said. “Things are certainly less certain now than they have been in past years, and Alaskans have really stepped up, and are choosing to support non-profits in their local communities.” The program, which this year boasts 668 different non-profit groups to which PFD recipients can donate, was put into place by the legislature in 2008.