I was born a year after the first dividend disbursement of the Alaska Permanent Fund.
That means, in 30+ years, I have received a little over $37,000 from the State of Alaska. A handsome sum by any measure and fascinating to think about…but more interesting to ruminate how the Alaska Permanent Fund Dividend continues to shape me as an adult.
As a kid, my PFD offset the high costs of airline tickets. Both my parents emigrated to Alaska from New York. Before I was born, they both had decided that yearly family visits were more important than pretty much anything else on the planet.
While in college, my dividends were spent well before they hit my bank account – textbooks, tuition and dorm-required meal plans are very expensive – worthwhile, but expensive.
Later in life, I would save up my PFDs for a “readjustment” traverse across Eastern Europe. After three and half years in the Peace Corps, I had a profound aptitude for stretching a dollar.
Three years ago, I was working for local nonprofit and living as an adultolescent at home. While clicking through the State’s website to apply for my 2012 PFD, I happened across something new. Something intriguing.
Something called Pick.Click.Give.
It sounded interesting – a platform for sharing a little bit of my PFD with something I cared about. While the list of nonprofits wasn’t very long, several familiar organizations jumped off the screen. With just a couple clicks of a button, I easily shared $25 with something that mattered to me.
But I didn’t stop there.
I kept going.
And going.
And going.
By the time I finished, I had shared $75. I felt good.
I felt really good.
That following year, I was working at The Alaska Community Foundation, sharing office space with the Pick.Click.Give. Program Manager. I would go on to learn about the power of individual philanthropy; how every person can be a philanthropist; and, how sharing just $25 makes real change in Alaska.
But all it took was that first experience – I was hooked before I ever heard a real word about philanthropy.
Last year, I shared $200 through Pick.Click.Give. In 2015, I plan to share $500.
Of course, here is the unintended consequence of making giving so easy: When giving feels this good, why would anyone ever stop?
Don’t forget to Pick.Click.Give. this January and share a little of your Permanent Fund with a cause you care about.