Alaska Conservation Foundation

Alaska Conservation Foundation envisions an inspiring Alaska that is naturally thriving, biologically and culturally diverse, rich in wildlands, bountiful in terrestrial and marine life, sustainable in its economic development and thoughtfully protected—forever.

Alaska Conservation Foundation protects Alaska’s natural environment and the diverse cultures and ways of life it sustains. We do this by promoting conservation philanthropy and by strategically directing resources to conservation leaders, organizations, and initiatives. We keep a close eye on statewide conservation threats and work to protect the health, resilience, and connectivity of ecosystems and communities. We protect Alaska’s public lands and waters and build resilience to climate change by supporting grassroots advocacy, by leading collaborative statewide climate change adaptation efforts and by strengthening Alaska’s conservation movement.

Supporting Grassroots Advocacy:
As Alaska’s public lands are under renewed political threat from industrial-scale mineral extraction – particularly in the Arctic, Bristol Bay and the Tongass – Alaska Conservation Foundation is funding grassroots efforts to protect these key areas. By strategically supporting organizations through grant funding, we are working to keep Alaska’s public lands in the public’s protective hands.

Leading Collaborative Conservation Initiatives:
As a proactive collaborative initiative, Alaska Conservation Foundation helps coordinate a network of statewide climate change adaptation groups called Landscape Conservation Cooperatives. These networks of federal, state, tribal, corporate and other regional players focus on developing collaborative community-supported solutions to issues brought about by our changing climate. Through collaborative partnerships, Alaska Conservation Foundation is bringing people together across Alaska to craft conservation solutions to their interconnected challenges, recognizing that when local people work together, they make their communities - and lands that connect them - healthy and prosperous. To ensure an era of collective conservation arrives in Alaska, these Landscape Conservation Cooperatives aim to cross-pollinate with our long-running Sustainable Southeast Partnership (SSP) and Alaska Native Fund by aligning their goals.

Strengthening Alaska’s Conservation Movement:
To be effective, grassroots advocacy and collaborative conservation need a strong movement, which Alaska Conservation Foundation strives to make stronger by providing organizations around the state with training, facilitated meetings, interns, and key funding through strategic grants.

Alaska Conservation Foundation is the only foundation in the country solely dedicated to protecting Alaska’s natural environment and the diverse cultures and ways of life it sustains. By monitoring complex economic, political, and cultural landscapes across the state, we identify opportunities and prioritize where to direct funds to achieve meaningful conservation success.

Since 1980, Alaska Conservation Foundation has awarded more than $52 million in grants, sustaining a network of organizations working to craft solutions to Alaska’s most pressing conservation challenges. As a result, the Alaska conservation movement continues to build strong communities and sustainable economies supported by a healthy environment.

Our leadership and work are made possible by the generosity of individual donors, foundations, and businesses from around the country who share our passion for Alaska. Alaska Conservation Foundation is made up of a Board of Trustees and a professional staff. Each member of this dynamic team brings something unique and valuable to the table.
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Alaska Conservation Foundation was founded in 1980, the year that Congress passed the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act (ANILCA). Our co-founders, Denny Wilcher and Celia Hunter, were committed Alaska conservation leaders who fought for years to protect the more than 100 million acres of Alaska in parks, refuges, and national forests that were created or expanded under ANILCA. Celia, an Alaska pilot and adventurer, and Denny, who helped build the Sierra Club, understood that protecting Alaska’s wild lands would require a strong Alaska-based conservation movement. Over the last 38 years, Alaska Conservation Foundation has awarded more than $52 million to a network of organizations working to find enduring solutions to some of Alaska’s most pressing conservation and environmental justice issues.

Alaska Conservation Foundation has evolved over the years in pursuit of this urgent and worthy mission. At the beginning, we had no paid staff and relied upon a volunteer board to award grants and conduct fundraising. In the next phase, we hired the first professional staff to work directly with Alaska conservation groups and to make grant recommendations to the board of directors. More recently, we have housed large issue campaigns. As the campaigns have wound down, Alaska Conservation Foundation is evolving yet again, pivoting to build our annual and major donor development programs to focus on the conservation priorities of the foundation.

Alaska Conservation Foundation’s Conservation Priorities are:
1. Build Resilience to Climate Change resulting in Alaska transitioning away from an extractive economy and towards a future based on sustainable livelihoods.
2. Protect Public Lands and Waters resulting in long-term protections for their conservation value and away from prioritizing resource extraction.

Today, Alaska Conservation Foundation is still the only Alaska-based foundation solely dedicated to the protection of Alaska’s natural environment and the diverse cultures and ways of life it sustains. We identify gaps in Alaska’s conservation movement and raise funds to address them. Alaska Conservation Foundation is continually in pursuit of a healthy environment, healthy communities, and sustainable economies.