More than 9,500 Alaskans give $927,075 through their Permanent Fund Dividend

Preliminary results from the second year of Pick. Click. Give. show that 9,543 individuals supported the causes they care about when they filed online for their 2010 Permanent Fund Dividend. Alaskans made 14,264 donations totaling $927,075 between January 1 and May 31 when the 2010 campaign concluded. These data are nearly double those from last year.

"Thanks to the generosity of thousands of Alaskans, nearly $1 million has been pledged this year to support nonprofit organizations across the entire state," said Jordan Marshall, Initiatives & Special Projects Manager at Rasmuson Foundation. "This is an important step toward the goal of increasing personal giving in Alaska."

The new program, now in its second year, allowed Alaskans filing online for their Permanent Fund Dividend to give all or part of it to qualifying nonprofit organizations, community foundations or campuses of the University of Alaska. Specific organization contribution totals and the final figure will be available in October when dividend checks are determined and disbursed.

The goal of Pick. Click. Give. is to increase the number of people who give to Alaska nonprofits, as well as the total amount of charitable dollars that are donated. The organizations that qualified for the 2010 PFD application represent the diversity of nonprofits around the state.

Promotion of Pick. Click. Give. is made possible through financial support from Rasmuson Foundation, the Alaska Mental Health Trust Authority, ConocoPhillips, BP, and the Mat-Su Health Foundation; and from in-kind support from public broadcasters, The Nerland Agency, and hundreds of Alaska nonprofits. The Alaska Giving Coalition, The Foraker Group and the United Way of Anchorage are working with Rasmuson Foundation and the Department of Revenue PFD Division to implement the program.

For more information, visit www.PickClickGive.org.

Applications are now available for the 2011 Pick.Click.Give. program. If you are interested in participating, begin today to complete your application. Last year many organizations needed help with their paperwork after they had filed. If we receive your application by May 31, 2010, you will be notified of any missing information or problems and given a chance to correct those issues. If the application comes in between May 31 and the deadline of June 15, 2010, there simply may not be enough time to make corrections and still meet the final deadline.

Important note: Even if you participated in Pick.Click.Give. in 2009 or 2010, you must apply again for the 2011 program. Also be aware that new requirements have been added to the application, and new information has been added to the Frequently Asked Questions this year. Read the application and FAQ sheet carefully.

If you have questions, please contact Laurie Wolf at The Foraker Group – 907-743-1206 or lwolf@forakergroup.org.

ANCHORAGE -- An innovative program designed to make philanthropic giving easier for Alaskans is one step closer to permanence. A bill passed by the Alaska State Legislature today will extend the PFD Charitable Contributions Program, known as Pick. Click. Give., by removing the three-year sunset provision that was included in the original 2008 authorization.

Senate Bill 171, sponsored by Senator Kevin Meyer, passed the Senate this afternoon. The bill, which carried language offered by Representative Bill Thomas to extend the program, had already passed the House of Representatives.

The bill also establishes a $250 nonprofit application fee to address the ongoing administration costs of Pick. Click. Give. Start-up costs for the program were supported by private funding.

Pick. Click. Give. allows Alaskans to make charitable donations when they file online for their Permanent Fund Dividend. Now in its second year, Alaskans have used the program to direct more than $1.45 million in charitable giving to qualified nonprofits, community foundations, and campuses of the University of Alaska.

SB171 will be transmitted to Governor Parnell for signature, and, if signed, takes effect January 1, 2011. This year's Pick. Click. Give. program, including the agency application, is not affected by SB171.

More information about Pick. Click. Give. is available online at www.pickclickgive.org.

Second chance to donate began April 5

Good news for Alaska's nonprofits: The Pick. Click. Give. program saw a 65 percent increase in the number of pledged donations, and over $815,000 was pledged1 to support qualifying nonprofit organizations, community foundations or campuses of the University of Alaska participating in the program.

Total pledges made to each organization are detailed on the attached spreadsheet.

"Many Alaskans will receive much needed assistance, thanks to their neighbors around the state who used this opportunity to give," said Jordan Marshall, Initiatives & Special Projects Manager at Rasmuson Foundation. "Together, we are going to have an impact on the lives of people in every corner of Alaska who need this support."

As of the March 31, 2010 Permanent Fund Dividend (PFD) filing deadline, 8,664 Alaskans made a total of 12,739 pledges through Pick. Click. Give. That's up from 5,173 donors and 7,698 pledges in 2009, the first year of the program.

These numbers aren't final though. The Alaska Department of Revenue has established a second chance process for those who still want to Pick. Click. Give. in 2010. Anyone who filed for the 2010 PFD online can go to www.pfd.state.ak.us and amend their donation. Between April 5 and May 31, every Alaskan who successfully filed an online PFD application will have a second chance to make Pick.Click.Give donations. This option is available to anyone who tried unsuccessfully to donate, would like to make additional donations, or would like to make new donations. The original online application date and confirmation number are not affected by using this opportunity.

Information on the PFD Charitable Contributions Program can be found at www.PickClickGive.org. Alaskans also can join the campaign on social networks including Facebook and Twitter, and learn more on the blog at www.PickClickGive.org/blog.

Alaska's Pick. Click. Give. charitable contributions program has hit a new milestone. More than 10,000 donations have been pledged to qualifying nonprofit organizations, community foundations or campuses of the University of Alaska participating in the program.

So far, 6,990 individuals have made 10,207 pledges to the 360 organizations participating in the program. As of Monday, a total of 432,992 PFD applications had been filed online. Alaskans still have 23 days to file for their PFD, before the March 31st deadline.

The percentage of Alaskans who are choosing to give has remained steady at nearly 2 percent of all PFD filers. Nearly half of those filing are choosing to support more than one organization. Last year, approximately 1 percent of filers, or about 5,100 Alaskans participated in the program, donating a total of $550,000.

Show your support for the Pick. Click. Give. program by becoming a fan on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/pickclickgive) or following us on Twitter (http://twitter.com/pickclickgive).

It's thanks to YOU that more than 10,000 pledges have been made to local organizations!

What can we do next year to help Pick. Click. Give. reach more Alaskans to help more Alaska nonprofits? We welcome your input.

The 2010 Permanent Fund Dividend (PFD) filing period is more than half over, and the number of people donating through the Pick. Click. Give. charitable contributions program has already surpassed the 2009 level. Last week, 5,860 Alaskans chose to donate part of their PFD to a favorite charitable organization or to more than one. To date, 373,879 applications have been filed online, and Alaskans still have until March 31, 2010, to apply.

The rate at which Alaskans are making contributions through Pick. Click. Give has nearly doubled over last year. Excluding the first three days of the filing period when technical difficulties prevented most filers from using the online contributions tool, nearly two percent of filers are directing some of their PFD to a cause of their choice. About half of those are choosing to support more than one organization. Last year one percent (1%) of filers participated in the program.

Soon a solution will be announced for people who experienced technical problems with Pick. Click. Give. that allows them to go back and make a donation. All Alaskans who have previously filed will also be able to amend their PFD application to add a Pick. Click. Give. donation if they did not already do so.*

Stay updated and show your support for Pick. Click. Give. by becoming a fan on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/pickclickgive) and following us on Twitter (http://twitter.com/pickclickgive). It's thanks to YOU that this program has been a success.

*Stay tuned for this very important announcement.

Here are some of our recent numbers showing participation in the PFD Charitable Contributions Program also known as Pick. Click. Give.

Cumulatively, we're currently at 4038 Alaskans picking, clicking and giving this month. Keep in mind 5100 Alaskans picked, clicked and gave in 2009. So we are set to surpass that number soon!

 

Pick. Click. Give. Numbers 2010

	21-Jan	22-Jan	25-Jan	26-Jan	27-Jan
Cumulative Number PCG	3164	3308	3697	3855	4038
Cumulative Number filed	245864	253916	270467	278292	285886
Cumulative Percentage	1.287%	1.303%	1.367%	1.385%	1.412%
Daily PCG	152	144	389	158	183
Daily Filers	7,528	8,052	16,551	7,825	7,594
Daily Percentage	2.019%	1.788%	2.350%	2.019%	2.410%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

You can help! Remember to Pick. Click. Give. when you apply online for your PFD. Deadline March 31.

Have you participated in Pick. Click. Give.? If so, how did it work for you (technically)?

 

 

 

 

 

Did you apply for your PFD in the last week but are unsure whether you successfully filed a donation through the online PFD application or not?

Here's how to check:

On the PFD site on the left-hand side - below the photo of Deborah Bitney, Permanent Fund Dividend Division director - is a link called “My PFD” where, if you filed and signed electronically, you can check whether you successfully made a donation.

1. The first page is a Warning that you had better be the person who you say you are.

2. The second page is a place to enter your Social Security and other identifying information.

3. The third page is where you submit your myAlaska login and ID just as you did when you filed.

4. Finally, you will see a record of your current application status. Look to the “Payment Status” field, and you can see whether you made a contribution.

If you meant to donate but couldn't in the first few days of the year, we'll have information for you on this blog as soon as we know how you'll be able to go back and donate.

Did you have any trouble donating through your PFD online application this year? If so, please share your stories here so we can troubleshoot.

The number of people who have successfully filed a charitable donation to eligible Alaska nonprofits through the PFD Charitable Contributions Program, also known as Pick Click Give., has shot up in the hours since the State reported that the technical problems had been resolved.

Today’s participation rate among people who filed for their 2010 Permanent Fund Dividend is 667 percent higher than during the first four days of the New Year. We have received a number of personal reports of success in completing the donation process when filing online. Complaints received by Pick. Click. Give. staff are way down.

The PFD Division is encouraging Alaskans to use the online application and the Pick. Click. Give. option.

Further, the PFD Division is working to create a process that allows Alaskans to Pick. Click. Give., even if they already submitted their online application without making charitable contributions. We are looking forward to spreading the word about this “do over” opportunity as soon as we receive details.

We at Pick. Click. Give. are grateful to each of you for your patience. Hundreds of Alaska nonprofits and individuals went to extraordinary lengths to promote and utilize Pick. Click. Give. as a way to encourage individuals to support the causes they care about.

We are hopeful that if you experience any difficulties with the online application, please email the details of your experience to pickclickgive@pickclickgive.org and we will relay them immediately to the State.

You can also share your experiences with Pick. Click. Give. on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/pickclickgive) and Twitter (http://twitter.com/pickclickgive).  Make sure to fan and follow us to stay up to date on the latest information!

Technical problems prevent PFD applicants from taking part in Pick.Click.Give.  State asks people who want to give to file after the problem is resolved.

We have received numerous reports today that people have been unable to make the Pick.Click.Give. function work when they filed online for their PFD.  As soon as we heard about these problems, we got in touch with the head of the Permanent Fund Division and asked that immediate attention be given to this situation.  As you know, the state is responsible for the technology and manages the system that allows people to make a donation when they complete their PFD application.  The Permanent Fund Division is trouble-shooting the problem right now and has asked us to share this message with you.

Dear PFD Applicant,

We are experiencing technical difficulties with regard to the charitable contributions program: Pick.Click.Give.  Our technical professionals are working to fix the problem.  If you intend to donate a portion of your dividend to your favorite nonprofit, we ask that you please come back to file when this notice states we have resolved the issue. The filing season is open through March 31st, so there is plenty of time. All eligible applicants will be paid on October 7th 2010. Thank you for your patience.
                          --Permanent Fund Dividend Division

We will send more information on this situation as soon as it becomes available to us. 

-- The Foraker Group