Youth & Education

Juneau’s future depends on how well we encourage our young people today. Supporting local youth and their education is one of the most far-reaching approaches to building a healthy community. A quality education empowers youth, and people of all ages with the skills they need to flourish. It is also central to a community’s economic viability and sustainability, naturally attracting people and businesses and contributing to future growth. Closing the achievement gap for all is a widely-held priority in our community.

Juneau’s youth programs, camps, and activities enrich individual lives and stimulate positive social interaction, while also showing kids the benefits of community organizations and civic participation. More broadly, an investment in local youth represents an investment in the future of our community. Our goal is to ensure all children have opportunities to thrive. To that end, the Foundation supports projects that bring people together around the shared goals of enriching the lives of our kids and increasing equity in accessing activities as an investment in the future of our community.

Youth & Education is a field of interest that spans a lot of territory. In making this a priority for fund development, the Foundation promotes equity and access while supporting opportunities that make a difference in the lives of people, young and old. We seek to raise funds for that purpose. Engaged ‘community champions’ and strong partner organizations are key to our success. We can only do this with your help. Please join us!

Youth Equity Endowment

Established to provide equity and access for all children and scholarships for all children, this endowment endeavors to ensure all kids can participate in our many wonderful youth activities and camps that build confidence, promote school success, connect kids with each other, adults, and a world of possibilities. Specifically, this fund prioritizes assisting children from lower income households with attending local camps and activities. The Youth Equity Endowment strives to remove barriers to participation by increasing community investment in a youth activities scholarship program and improving the participation rate for children of low-income families. We work with key partners who can help connect scholarships to kids who are eager to participate but lack the resources. Your donations are combined with those of other donors to provide scholarship funds today while building a lasting endowment. The immediate goal is to provide $20,000 in scholarships funds annually while growing this fund to $1 million over the next four years.  Read more

Foundation Support for Youth & Education

The Foundation provides support for youth and education through several funds.  We also partner with nonprofits, educators, camps, and activity providers bringing people together to identify gaps in services and provide direct grants to address them. Since 2000, the Juneau Community Foundation’s Youth & Education funds have provided over $1,486,090 in grants and scholarships to support nonprofits, schools, camps, and individuals.  Other Funds of the Foundation that provide grants to support youth and education include:

Community Impact Videos

Learn more about organizations that receive grants through the Juneau Community Foundation

Board Leaders and Community Champions

The Youth & Education Fund Board leaders, community champions, and philanthropic partners are passionate about providing all youth with healthy, constructive opportunities to learn, succeed, and grow by removing barriers to participation. They give financially, ask others to give, and if interested, they participate in project development and implementation. These champions will help steward projects to completion. They help accrue funds for this purpose and work with key partners who can help connect funding to kids who are eager to participate but lack the resources.

Foundation Board Leaders: Rick Shattuck, Mandy Mallott, Geoff Larson

Community Champions: Bob & Karen Rehfeld, Skip Elliot, Doug Murray, Jim & Karen Housley, Eric Olsen & Vicki Bassett, Paul Douglas, Candy and Dick Behrends, Bruce Denton, John Gitkov, Bill Shattenberg, Doug Trucano and Jim Williams.

Community Partners: Zach Gordon Youth Center, Juneau School District, First Bank

To Donate

Donate by credit card using the link below or make your checks payable to: Juneau Community Foundation, 350 North Franklin Street, Suite 4, Juneau, Alaska 99801. Please call us at 907-523-5450, or email info@juneaucf.org for information on donating stock, wiring funds, establishing a Fund, gifting a portion of a Qualified Charitable Distribution from your IRA, or naming the Juneau Community Foundation in your will as a designated beneficiary.

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