A recently established statewide cultural trust hoping to award its first arts grants this fall is asking the Alaska State Legislature for $733,000 — a dollar for each resident — this spring, but along with a lot of others making funding requests may find that’s a tough sell during a lean budget year.
The Alaska Cultural Trust, hosting a fundraising brunch Sunday at the Rie Muñoz Gallery and planning to visit lawmakers’ offices at the Alaska State Capitol on Monday, is typical among organizations in their efforts to seek support during the early part of the legislative session that started last Tuesday. Nina Kemppel, former president and CEO of the Alaska Community Foundation that co-founded the trust in 2023, said in an interview at Sunday’s event “we understand the legislative ask is a long game as this may not be the year.”
“We’re trying in the next three to five years to raise $5 million,” she said in subsequent remarks to the roughly 25 dignitaries attending the event. “I think that will get us started to be able to make a significant impact on the grant making. And I think as soon as you start making grants you attract more national foundations that want to be part of it. You attract more industries outside of tourism like mining and oil and gas that say ‘Hey, we want to be part of something bigger.’ So that’s sort of my motivation.”
Hosts and guests mingle at a fundraising brunch on behalf of the Alaska Cultural Trust at the Rie Muñoz Gallery on Sunday. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)
The guests at the event were mostly like-minded members of Juneau’s arts and business community, while absent invitees included Lt. Gov. Nancy Dahlstrom and invited state lawmakers. The lone legislator at the event was Rep. Sara Hannan, a Juneau Democrat who as a majority caucus member of the House Finance Committee was singled out during remarks by Alaska State Council on the Arts Chairman Benjamin Brown.
“The capital budget, Rep. Hannan, is way off, right?” he said. “The session’s just begun, but it’s not that long of a session so we are already working. We’re going to be meeting with folks in the Capitol tomorrow to make sure that we are on people’s radar.”
The hope is public funding will be a sign of support that lures private donors, Brown said. He also cited ongoing federal-level efforts such as seeking help from the National Endowment for the Arts and the Rasmussen Foundation, as well as local-level entities such as the Juneau Community Foundation.
All those organizations, of course, are indicative there is already considerable funding and grant support for arts and culture projects in the state. The Alaska State Council on the Arts issued 205 grants totaling $2,718,314 in 2023, for instance, and the Alaska Community Foundation provided nearly $22 million in grants and philanthropic distributions in 2023, so what would the Alaska Cultural Trust be providing that doesn’t already exist?
Nina Kemppel (left), former president and CEO of the Alaska Community Foundation, and Alaska State Council on the Arts Chairman Benjamin Brown address attendees at a fundraising brunch on behalf of the Alaska Cultural Trust at the Rie Muñoz Gallery on Sunday. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)
Kemppel, in response to the question, said the trust in part “can ebb and flow” to fill gaps at other entities as their funding fluctuates, so “what we would really do is augment” those efforts.
Also, she said, the trust’s existence — and combination of public and private funding — can help in situations that designated public arts funding might not be able to.
“When disasters hit in western Alaska a lot of art is in very precarious positions,” she said.
A letter being submitted to legislators by the trust cites economic as well as artistic reasons to provide support through funding.
“The creation of the Alaska Cultural Trust is intended to provide a consistent funding stream that builds upon and augments the current support for Alaska’s arts and culture center,” the letter states. “The Alaska Cultural Trust will also help spur economic opportunities and community development for arts and culture organizations, artists and others and will contribute to the development of a more robust and diverse state economy.”
The dilemma for state lawmakers is a projected drop in oil prices means simply passing a status-quo budget this session will incur a deficit that requires tapping into reserve funds. Legislative leaders are already saying that means the budget they draft will likely be lean — citing the capital improvements projects budget in particular, which is where the trust is seeking funds — and priorities will be for essential needs including public schools statewide and reliable energy services largely involving densely populated areas of Southcentral Alaska.
Hannan, in an interview following the public speeches at the brunch, said if it’s a choice of providing funds for long-needed upgrades to Juneau’s wastewater treatment facility or the arts trust, obviously the former has to take priority. But she said she agrees conceptually about the benefits of investing in arts and culture programs from a longer-term perspective.
“Here in Juneau we have the (Juneau Alaska Music Matters) program,” she said. “What’s the value of teaching kindergarteners to play violin? Well, music is a cultural-enriching thing and whether you ever grow up to be a violin player is sort of irrelevant. Being exposed to you is the first step to coming to see it’s a human capacity that we have.”
Similarly, trust officials could find themselves in a similar first-step process during their time on the political stage during the coming months.
“They could request $730,000, but maybe somebody puts in $25,000,” Hannan said.
• Contact Mark Sabbatini at mark.sabbatini@juneauempire.com or (907) 957-2306.
