Juneau Community Foundation details $22.6M in grants, warns cuts would risk services

The Juneau Community Foundation reported to the Assembly Finance Committee on Feb. 4 that its combined HOPE endowment and CBJ social-service grant program has distributed $22.6 million over time, including approximately $11.8 million from city funds and $10.7 million from the foundation.

Miss Gilbrett, the foundation presenter, said the program uses a professional advisory committee of funders and six "listen and learn" meetings to shape grant priorities in areas including homelessness, mental health, suicide prevention, substance-misuse services, hospice and adult education. She described multi-year awards and reporting requirements for larger grants and noted that applications and interim reporting are scheduled on the calendar (applications due in March; reports due later in the fiscal year).

Asked how the foundation would cope with reduced city funding, Miss Gilbrett cautioned that a 30% cut (roughly $500,000–$600,000 of the grant pool, she said) would force hard choices, could reduce the number of organizations funded, and would create a "snowball effect" as other federal and private funding streams shift. "I think it would just result in cuts," she told the Assembly, adding that the foundation had recently asked for an additional $500,000 from the Assembly and received $250,000 for the year.

Members asked about specific funded programs (including Big Brothers Big Sisters, which Miss Gilbrett said is in the third year of a local restart) and about the foundation's revenue sources; Gilbrett said income comes from fees on endowments, investment earnings, board and community contributions and occasional grants from other foundations such as Rasmuson and the Alaska Community Foundation, as well as a recurring $50,000 from the city.

The committee did not make a funding decision during the presentation; members said they would continue budget deliberations during the FY27 process.