By Joy Steward

Most Alaskans will receive their permanent fund dividends this month. For the more than 5,100 Alaskans that opted to use the new PFD Charitable Contributions Program Pick. Click. Give. their checks will be a little less. This difference in the amount of their checks translates to more, approximately $545,000 more, in support of nonprofit organizations in Alaska.The goal of Pick. Click. Give. is to increase the number of individuals who give to Alaska nonprofits, as well as to increase the total amount of charitable dollars given. The program became law last year and allows a safe, secure, easy way for Alaskans who file for their PFD online to donate all or part of their dividend to eligible charitable, educational and nonprofit organizations.

The PFD Charitable Contributions Program began with the 2009 dividend. For that first year qualifying organizations serving the lower Kenai Peninsula included Birth 2 Three, Boys & Girls Club of the Kenai Peninsula, Bunnell Street Arts Center, Center for Alaskan Coastal Studies, Cook Inletkeeper, Friends of the Homer Library, Homer Council on the Arts, the Homer Foundation, Homer Senior Citizens, Hospice of Homer, Kachemak Bay Family Planning Clinic, KBBI Homer Public Radio, Kenai Peninsula Housing Initiative, Kenai Peninsula United Way, Ninilchik Community Library, Ninilchik Senior Center, Pier One Theatre, Pratt Museum, Project GRAD Kenai Peninsula, South Peninsula Haven House and the Kachemak Bay Campus of Kenai Peninsula College-University of Alaska Anchorage.

Although we will not know the extent of the donations flowing into these nonprofits until they receive their checks at the end of the month, at my organization, the Homer Foundation, we have had several donors inform us of their pending gifts. To them, and to all of the donors that gave through Pick. Click. Give. this year, I say thank you.

It is not too early to start thinking about making a donation with your 2010 PFD. The minimum gift allowed is $25, but you may choose to give any amount up to the full value of your dividend. You also may give to more than one organization.

Nonprofits have to apply each year and this year a total of 365 organizations have qualified statewide, in addition to the campuses of the University of Alaska. To qualify, an organization must meet a strict set of criteria designed to ensure that they are healthy, well-governed organizations.

The qualifying organizations for 2010 are already posted on the Pick. Click. Give. Web site. You can search for your favorite nonprofit by name or by geographic area. Then, when it is time to go online and apply for your 2010 dividend, you already will have made your charitable giving decisions. Just look for “The Gift of Giving” option at the end of the application process.

I encourage you to consider using the PFD Charitable Contributions Program for a safe, secure, easy way to give a little more to your favorite organizations. By giving through this program, you join others to become an important force in bettering our community and our state. You can find more information about the program, including frequently asked questions, at www.PickClickGive.org. Or you may call 888-785-GIFT (4438).

Joy Steward is the executive director of the Homer Foundation, Homer’s nonprofit community foundation, which encourages philanthropic giving, manages philanthropic assets, and supports charitable activities on the lower Kenai Peninsula.

This article published in the Homer News www.homernews.com, Thursday, October 22, 2009, part of a year-long series of articles on philanthropy generated by volunteers for the Homer Foundation.