The Juneau Community Foundation announced Tuesday about $1.9 million in grants to local organizations, much of which will go to programs addressing homelessness, substance abuse and suicide prevention.
I sat down with foundation Executive Director Amy Skilbred and board member Reed Stoops, who heads the grants committee, and recorded this interview Wednesday. It’s been edited for length and clarity.
Here are some highlights:
- Housing programs received the most grant money, followed by substance abuse programs.
- New programs being funded include the Housing First development that is slated to break ground next month, a substance abuse navigator in the local office of the National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence, and transitional housing through Gastineau Human Services.
- The foundation’s community giving has ramped up about 16 fold since it began in 2008. This year’s grants are funded by a combination of the Hope Endowment Fund and community development block grants the City & Borough of Juneau entrusted the foundation with distributing.
- The foundation’s Hope Endowment Fund will spin off about $1 million a year in grants. That endowment was created in 2014, the year Bill Corbus sold AEL&P and donated a huge share of the proceeds to the foundation.
This is the full list of the grantees and their projects.
Editor’s note: The Juneau Community Foundation maintains the KTOO Legacy Foundation fund.
