Pebble Fund announces $1 million in grants

Posted by Elizabeth Bluemink

Posted: April 1, 2009 - 4:37 pm

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The Alaska Community Foundation announced its first round of grants from the Pebble Partnership-endowed Pebble Fund. The endowment is expected to provide $5 million total in competitive grants over the next few years. The next round of awards is in the fall.

Here's what the foundation said today:
An independent advisory committee of leaders from the Bristol Bay region selected four primary areas of interest for grant-making from the Pebble Fund: renewable resources/fish, energy, education, and community and economic development. ... we are pleased that schools, a food bank for the elderly, a medical clinic, a public radio station and many vital nonprofit groups have won these grants to support community-led initiatives in the Bristol Bay area,” said Carol Simonetti, chief executive officer of Alaska Community Foundation.

The awards are as follows:

Bristol Bay Elders Action Group: Elder Food Bank
$23,982
Support for phase one of a four phase project to expand capacity of food bank to accept food and expand its outreach to elders in the communities of Naknek, South Naknek, and King Salmon. The specific grant is for purchase and installation of a walk-in freezer.

Bristol Bay School District: Super Efficient Diesels
$17,000
Grant is to support phase one of a two-phase, school-wide project to rebuild a 1971 VW van with a 1.9TDI Diesel engine and make modifications to improve its efficiency.

Bristol Bay School District: Physical Fitness Room
$25,000
Grant is for the purchase of two commercial grade elliptical cross trainers and two treadmills for use by members from the communities of Naknek, South Naknek, and King Salmon.

Bristol Bay School District:
$25,000
Creating a Place for our Community’s Past, Present & Future
The school district is about to expand and redesign the school library to become a 21st century center. The grant is to support a concurrent project to create a collection of regional books, art and artifacts within the school’s renovated library that will include permanent and temporary displays.

Camai Community Health Center: Radiography Equipment
$25,000
The purpose of this grant is to support introducing and providing computed radiography services to the region. This grant is specifically for the purchase of computed radiography equipment.

Chignik Bay Tribal Council: Harris Sub-Regional Clinic
$50,000
This grant is to support construction of Harris Sub-Regional Clinic and Multi-purpose Facility, which will provide outpatient medical care, emergency medical treatment, behavioral health services, dental and housing and youth services.

Chignik Lagoon Village Council: Cultural Awareness Trip
$10,281
Grant is for costs associated with a Cultural Awareness Trip to San Diego for the entire Chignik Lagoon School. Specifically this grant will support travel, educational activities, personnel and supplies.

Chignik Lagoon Village Council: Renewable/Alternative Energy Plan
$10,976
This grant will support the village council in the development of a renewable/alternative energy plan to reduce dependence on fossil fuels and explore lower-cost alternative energy sources. This grant is specifically for personnel and contract support required to create the plan.

City of Aleknagik: Vehicle Purchase and firefighter training
$24,999
This grant will support two separate projects in Aleknagik: purchase of a small, energy efficient van for elder and patient transport on the North Shore and fire equipment and training. Specifically, grant funds will support two five-hour trainings for up to 20 volunteers to be held in May and September and consulting fees for a local fire equipment consultant to review equipment, suggest future purchases, and supervise the trainings.

City of Chignik: Wind Generation Anemometer Survey
$25,000
This grant is to fund the costs of moving the existing anemometer tower from Mud Bay Hill to Lumber Bay Hill and repairing a broken Gin pole (tower assemblage).
Additionally, this grant is to be used for contractual fees associated with data collection over the next two years, to be used to determine if the Lumber Bay Hill site is appropriate for a windmill project.

City of Egegik: Fisherman’s Hall/Community Center
$25,000
This grant is to support the construction and furnishings of a Fisherman’s Hall/Community Center. The completed building will provide services to fisherman such as showers, laundry facilities, phones, wireless, etc. and also have a large gathering area with kitchen and a tv room.

City of Egegik: Batch Oxidation Facility Fencing
$25,000
The grant is for purchase of materials and labor to construct 900 feet of chain link fence with barbed wire on top and a solar-powered electric fence outside it to secure the facility and keep bears away from it.

City of Nondalton: vehicle purchase
$24,988
This grant is for purchase and shipping of a vehicle for the City of Nondalton to use for administrative purposes and for transporting elders to community meetings and events.

Curyung Tribal Council: H. Harvey Samuelson Community Center
$25,000
This grant is to provide matching funds for an ANA grant for facility design and to develop the capacity of a local partnership with tribal and non-tribal community organizations, including a youth committee, to develop, construct and operate the proposed H. Harvey Samuelson Community Center. Release of grant funds in contingent on ANA grant approval. This is a two year grant.

Dillingham City Schools: Wrestling Mat
$16,604.62
This grant is to be used to replace an old wrestling mat for use in the high school and decrease the likelihood of students contracting skin diseases from contact with potentially infected mats.

Dillingham City Schools: Metal Shop Equipment
$25,000
This grant is for the purchase of tools that are required to complete certifications in welding, NCCER, and for Carl Perkins Grant programs. Specifically, grant funds will be used to purchase a band saw, bender and chamfering machine for welding.

Dillingham City Schools/KDLG- FM Radio Station
$25,000
To support KDLG in it’s efforts to get a digital FM Station on the air. This grant will support purchase of equipment and labor needed to get the station on air by September 2009 and a student-programmed channel on air by March 2010.

Igiugig Tribal Council: Renewable Energy Source
$60,072.90
The project is to build a community greenhouse and chicken cooperative that will eventually operate all four seasons. This grant will specifically support renewable energy component of the project: the purchase and installation of three wind turbines for generating energy and heat and an outdoor burn unit. The Alaska Marketplace competition, Alaska Food Coalition and Iliamna Lake Contractors have also committed funds.

Katmai Boys & Girls Club: Clubhouse Improvements
$24,500
This grant is to be used for clubhouse improvements, including new furniture, two computers and software, televisions, Nintendo Wii system with games, cook stove, microwave, linoleum flooring and carpeting, art supplies, books and wireless access.

King Salmon Tribe: Energy Efficiency Project
$15,000
This grant is for purchase and installation of new furnace, water heater and thermostat with an overall goal of improving the energy efficiency in the tribal administrative offices.

Kohkanok EPA IGAP: Solid Waste Improvement
$25,000
This grant is for the purchase of new Dumpsters and a trailer to be used in a new system of waste disposal, which will include central collection sites and a trained solid waste operator hauling waste to the dump. The ultimate goal of this grant is to eliminate the use of backyard burn barrels in the community and reduce dioxin exposure.

Kohkanok Village Council: Heavy Duty truck with snow plow
$22,995
This grant is for the purchase of a heavy duty truck with snowplow attachment. The truck will be used for snow removal, elder transportation and hauling mail. Better snow removal will increase safety, prevent accidents and provide better access to the airport
and clinic.

Lake & Peninsula School District: School to Life Expansion Project
$175,098.15
This grant is to extend the capacity of the existing School to Life program to serve more students during the 2009-10 school year. The School to Life program is a collaborative program that seeks to raise high school graduation rates and employability of high school students from the Lake & Peninsula School District. Grant term will be two years

Native Council of Port Heiden: Fire Extinguishers
$10,095
This grant is to buy fire extinguishers for homes and community buildings. Fire extinguishers have been used up in previous fires.

Native Village of Ivanof Bay: Chignik Smolt Project
$52,372.96
This grant is for continued study of the Chignik smolt production in the Black Lake area. Sockeye salmon runs have experienced significant decline, Black Lake has lost 40 percent of its volume and more study is needed to justify funding for stabilization or restoration of the habitat. Specific activities funded by this grant include:
* sockeye salmon smolt migration assessment
* local student internship on the ADF&G smolt project
* local transportation services to Black Lake for monitoring
* Educational presentation by senior smolt staff for Chignik school students
* Youth and adult educational seminars/field trips at the Chignik Weir
* Public meeting for residents, fisherman and industry reprentatives addressing smolt and other ADF&G and UW studies with respect to Black Lake

Perryville School: Cultural Trip
$5,000
This grant is for a cultural/academic trip to Kodiak for students from 3rd-12th grade. Students will visit museums, cultural and historic sites, take swimming lessons and present a musical performance for the Senior Citizen’s Center in Kodiak.

Perryville School: Music project
$1,000
Funds to purchase music and repair instruments, bows and replace strings.

Pilot Point Tribal Council: Lower Bristol Bay Test Fishery Project
$50,000
This grant is to support a test fishery study to determine if a multi-species seafood processing plant is economically viable and if juvenile king crab bycatch is a problem.
Specifically, this project will:
* Collect and analyze data on commercial fisheries stocks in Lower Bristol Bay including, abundance, location and seasonality of each species in the near shore waters.
*Collect and analyze data on larval and juvenile king crab.
*Determine which commercial harvesting methods are most efficient at specific
times of the year.
*Determine which harvest method is most effective in avoiding excessive juvenile
king crab by-catch.
*Generate a final report on the results of the study

Port Alsworth Improvement Corporation: Road Care & Development
$25,000
Grant funds are to be used for road improvement projects. Specific uses of the grant funds include renting equipment, purchasing screened gravel and fill material for resurfacing projects, and to develop dedicated road rights of way.

St. Nicholas Russian Orthodox Church: Renovation project
$23,837.85
This grant is for renovation of the church including, reconstruction of the ceiling, replacing the roofing, re-insulating the building, adding vinyl siding, painting interior and exterior, putting in new windows, replacing inner and outer doors. The goal of the improvements is to preserve the church and make it more energy efficient.

Twin Hills Moravian Church: passenger van and church pews
$49,320.00
This grant is for purchase of a passenger van to transport parishioners and for purchase
and installation of pews for seating in the church.

Ugashik Traditional Village: Greenhouse Project
$14,875.12
This grant is for purchase and shipping of a greenhouse, construction costs and miscellaneous supplies required to start growing fresh produce.

University of Alaska Bristol Bay Campus
$42,002
“Bristol Bay Summer Environmental Science Education Program”
This purpose of this grant is to further develop UAF Bristol Bay Campus’s summer education programs for advanced high school and college students. Specifically the grant funds will be used for supplies, equipment, and staff training to:
* train 6-10 students in basic field research methods
* involve 2-4 summer interns at BBESL in research projects
* develop curriculum for place-based fields research coursework (ENVI 201)
* collect baseline data on two estuaries in Bristol Bay (Nugashak Bay and Port Heiden)
* Establish a GIS estuary database that inclused water qualify, species diversity, and habitat maps for Nushagak Bay and Port Heiden)

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