Alaska Family Services establishes endowment

WASILLA — Alaska Family Services has established a $2 million endowment fund the organization hopes will help secure its future.

The endowment, established Nov. 10, is part of the group’s strategic plan to build its sustainability fund to $10 million, according to a press release issued by the nonprofit.

The Palmer-based organization has held a donor-advised, non-endowed fund at the Alaska Community Foundation; it transferred a portion of this fund to establish the endowment fund. According to AFS, both funds will generate interest revenue to help sustain more than 20 programs in the Mat-Su Valley.

“We want to be sure that resources are available to provide the critical programs AFS offers for residents of the Mat-Su Borough,” said AFS president and CEO Dr. Donn Bennice. “We can’t just rely on government funding. Our sustainability funds will help us continue to strengthen and support families through times of uncertainty and to expand services when needed.”

Established in 1979, Alaska Family Services serves more than 8,200 men, women and children each year at program sites in Palmer, Wasilla, Anchorage, and the Kenai Peninsula. It offers services designed to help people overcome a host of challenges, from substance abuse disorders and emotional disturbances, to accessing healthy food and affordable, quality child care. Its women’s shelter is the only nationally accredited domestic violence/sexual assault shelter in the state.

Alaska Family Services has enlisted a volunteer sustainability board to help the organization reach its $10 million goal, through outright and planned gifts from individuals. The effort underway is vitally important to the future of the agency, according to Janet Kincaid, one of the sustainability board members.

“Sustainability is a big issue for Alaska nonprofits, and AFS is being proactive in securing its future so that much-needed services will be available for families for generations to come,” Kincaid said in the release.