June 2022 Newsletter: Happenings in Kachemak City

If you’ve not been past there recently, you really should swing past the City of Kachemak park project. The improvements are amazing! The court is paved and fenced, the Pump Track is looking good and the new playground equipment is going in. Hats off to the committee overseeing this project and Mayor Overway and the city council for their vision.  This will be a community asset for years to come. The Homer Foundation has been acting as fiscal sponsor forv the program. Fiscal sponsorship is a great way to facilitate grass root philanthropy and mobilize community energy for everyone’s benefit. Thus far over the years we have facilitated several projects such as the Homer Skatepark improvements, Boathouse Pavilion and Karen Hornaday Park playground.  The community has been enhanced by these projects and we’re proud to have played a part in making them happen. 

We’re looking forward to the official opening!

Mike


Pick.Click.Give.

There is still time to make changes to your contributions through the Pick.Click.Give. program. When you choose the Homer Foundation, know that all contributions stay locally and help the more than 50 non-profits and students through grants and scholarships annually. This year, we have granted more than $435,000 (or $244,000 without K City and Skatepark) total for projects like new playgrounds, trail maintenance, youth camps, a community ceramic studio, new positions, and land conservation. We are here working with non-profits and matching their needs to donor dreams, so you don’t have to know what nonprofits need help with now.

If you want to support us at any level, choose the Homer Foundation through Pick.Click.Give. until August 31st. 


Welcome New Funds!

We are excited to announce a new Agency Stewardship Non-Endowed Fund, the Homer Rope Tow Fund. We look forward to working with the Homer Rope Tow, also known as Kachemak Ski Club. 

The Homer Foundation loves the number of new funds this past year, at a current record of 7 this fiscal year. We are here to work with you to help meet your philanthropic goals.


Recent Grants

You have helped make a difference in your community! See how your support has impacted the world around you:

Friends of the Homer Public Library

Read Beyond the Beaten Path: Summer Reading Program at Homer Public Library

FHL and the Homer Public Library provide Homer’s youth with quality programming to promote literacy, creativity, and personal growth. Summer reading programs are a key way for school-age children to prevent the “summer slide” in their reading skills over the course of summer vacation. The Summer Reading Program reaches individuals of all ages, from birth to adulthood. To complement this year’s theme, Read Beyond the Beaten Path, they plan to hold many events outdoors. Reading beyond the beaten path takes us out into the world—camping, hiking, fishing, boating, tide-pooling, biking—exploring nature and our imaginations.

This $4,820 grant was funded through the Opportunity Fund, an unrestricted fund of the Homer Foundation. 

HoWL, Inc.

HoWL’s Rock Climbing Revival

The HoWL Rock Climbing Revival is a three-part project that will primarily take place during HoWL’s Instructor Training Trip (ITT) on June 6-10, 2022. It includes instruction, site management and equipment maintenance at two rock climbing locations across Kachemak Bay, Kachemak Crack and the Woz.  The HoWL Rock Climbing Revival project will benefit all participants of HoWL and Center for Alaskan Coastal Studies programs, by incorporating high-level risk management training into field staff training. This project will directly benefit the participants on HoWL’s two climbing trips this summer and participants in all of HoWL’s climbing trips in the future. Additionally, this project will benefit the climbing community of Alaska, and anyone who seeks to rock climb in Kachemak Bay State Park.

This $5,000 grant was funded through the Homer Foundation’s Opportunity Fund. 

Ground Truth Trekking

Tutka Backdoor Trail Sustainable Future

This grant will help in developing a long-term plan to improve and keep open a new, volunteer-built, 32-mile trail system in Alaska’s Kachemak Bay State Park. Funds will support field logistics and the consulting services of Interior Trails to do a field review of the trail. The review will document prioritized needs and create a framework for collaboration between volunteers and park staff. This will improve outdoor recreation access for the Homer and Southern Kachemak Bay communities.

This $5,000 grant was funded through the Opportunity Fund, an unrestricted fund of the Homer Foundation.

 

Kachemak Bay Running Club

Steens Running Camp

Steens is a legendary running camp, run by the top coaches in the country, with the top professional and collegiate athletes as camp leaders. Steens emphasizes teamwork, responsibility, determination, leadership, and some amazing trail running too.  We will add 11 new leaders to our community with high school athletes who are planning to attend.

This $2,500 grant was funded through the Opportunity Fund, an unrestricted fund of the Homer Foundation. 


Philanthropy Fact of the Month

An estimated 25.1 percent of US adults volunteered in 2017, contributing an estimated 8.8 billion hours, valued at approximately $195.0 billion.