The Good¢ents Board of Trustees met on August 25, 2021. 7 applications were reviewed and 6 grants totaling $49,500 were awarded. Here’s a summary of these recent grants:
Alaska Golden Heart Cheerleading: $5,000 to support the construction of a new gym floor for Alaska Golden Heart Cheerleading. Their program’s rapid growth has required them to move into a bigger facility, so they’ll need a bigger floor!
Early Learning Center – Denali Preschool: $10,000 to support the expansion of Denali Preschool and Learning Center’s (DPLC) playground. DPLC provides year round, high quality care for children 1 month to 12 years old and is the only local preschool in the Denali Borough.
Nenana Tortella Council on Aging, Inc.: $15,000 in matching funds for the Nenana Tortella Council on Aging to purchase a new handicap van for their senior center. NTCA had already received a State of Alaska DOT grant but needed to secure additional matching funds, so they applied for a Good¢ents grant! The NTCA provides nutrition, transportation and support services to elderly and disabled members of the community of Nenana and surrounding areas. Their services enable many people to live independently for longer periods of time, allowing elders to “age in place.”
Nenana Volunteer Fire Department: $6,000 to purchase a trailer large enough to carry both a snowmachine and a “snowbulance.” These two machines were previously purchased using Good¢ents grants! The Nenana Volunteer Fire Department (NVFD) does not currently have a trailer large enough to carry both pieces of equipment at one time. The snowmachine and snowbulance have profoundly aided the NVFD in their ability to facilitate life-saving rescues in any weather. The purchase of this trailer will make those expeditions faster and more efficient.
North Star Imagination Library: $6,000 to purchase books for children under 5 in the Fairbanks North Star Borough. For the past 13 years, North Star Imagination Library has been filling thousands of homes with books and they recently reached a huge milestone when they mailed out their 500,000th book. Good¢ents is proud to support their mission of inspiring a lifelong love of reading by mailing age-appropriate books to children each month.
Southeast Regional Resource Center: $7,500 to support Academic Decathlon students who live within GVEA’s service area with supplies, travel expenses or scholarship funds. Last spring, Lathrop High School (Alaska State champions) placed third at the United States Academic Decathlon National Competition.
All grants from the Good¢ents Foundation are awarded to nonprofit organizations within GVEA’s service area. Applications are reviewed quarterly in February, May, August and November by a volunteer board of trustees. The next application deadline is October 31, 2021. Applications and more information about the program can be found on our Good¢ents Program page.
Good¢ents is funded by the generous members of Golden Valley Electric Association. Since the program began in 2011, GVEA members have funded grants totaling $1,310,067.16.
Thank you to all of the members who voluntarily “round up” their monthly billing statement to the next dollar. The cents you contribute is greatly appreciated and really makes a difference within the communities GVEA serves.