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Funding by state · AK

Grantmaking in Alaska

308 grantmakers are based in Alaska. Together they granted $437M across the 2022 and 2023 filings, the 49th most of any state, and kept 90% of it in Alaska. Funding here stays close to home, the 3rd most in-state of any state.

Alaska's 4,740 nonprofits, by cause, size and age ↓
308
grantmakers
51st of 52
$437M
granted, FY2022 and FY2023
49th of 52
$298
given per resident, per year
29th of 51
90%
stays in-state
3rd of 52

The short version

  • 308 grantmakers are based in Alaska, granting $437M across the FY2022 and FY2023 IRS filings, the 49th most of any state.
  • 90% of grant dollars from Alaska funders stayed in Alaska; the rest went to organizations in other states.
  • Alaska's grantmakers give $298 a year for every resident of the state.
  • Alaska is a net importer of grant money, its organizations drawing $190M more from other states than Alaska funders send to them.
  • Grant money reaching Alaska organizations goes to environment at 3.6× the national rate.
  • Alaska has 4,740 organizations registered with the IRS as 501(c)(3)s, 65 for every 10,000 residents; 89% of its public charities that report revenue or file the e-Postcard take in under $1 million a year.

Where Alaska sits among the states

Each dot is a state, sized by its grant dollars. Alaska is in green.

Given per resident, per year

AK
$103$7,460

Share that stays in-state

AK
0%100%

Net flow with other states

AK
−$4.8B+$3.5B

Alaska and the other states

Alaska's organizations draw $190M more from other states' foundations than Alaska's send out. Switch direction to see who it funds and who funds it.

Largest destinations
  1. Washington$16M
  2. New York$13M
  3. Oregon$2.6M
  4. Washington, D.C.$2.2M
  5. Illinois$995k
  6. California$977k

Donor-advised funds, related-party transfers and regrants through intermediaries are left out, so these ties show where the state's own grantmakers reach.

$391M stays in-stateAlaskaGRANTMAKING$233Mimported from funders elsewhere$43Mexported to orgs elsewhere
Alaska is a net importer of grant money, $190M more arrives than leaves.

Largest funders based in Alaska

Grantmakers headquartered in Alaska, sized by total grants made. Pick one for its dossier.

Organizations in Alaska that draw the most

The nonprofits in Alaska that received the most grant money.

Biggest funders reaching in from elsewhere

Out-of-state funders sending the most money to organizations in Alaska.

What draws money in Alaska, against the country

Each cause by how much of the grant money reaching Alaska's organizations it takes, relative to the national rate. Right of the line is overweight, left underweight. Alaska is most overweight on environment, at 3.6× the national rate. Dot size is the cause's share.

0.25×0.5×national2×4×Health18% · 1.4×Environment16% · 3.6×Arts and culture12% · 1.55×Human services12% · 1.14×Community development8% · 2.25×Education7% · 0.29×

Where the money goes by org size

Grant dollars to organizations in Alaska, by the recipient's size, against the national average (the marker). Alaska sends a larger share to $1M to $10M organizations than the country as a whole, and less to $10M to $100M.

Under $100k2% vs 1% national
$100k to $1M24% vs 10% national
$1M to $10M48% vs 31% national
$10M to $100M15% vs 33% national
$100M and up11% vs 26% national

Find funders by cause in Alaska

Who funds each cause in Alaska, with the largest funders and how to reach them.

The nonprofit sector · AK

Alaska's nonprofits

Alaska has 4,740 organizations registered with the IRS as 501(c)(3)s: 4,567 public charities, 945 of them congregations, and 173 private foundations. 89% of the public charities that report revenue or file the e-Postcard take in under $1 million a year, and together they report 4% of the sector's revenue. The largest 1% report 66%.

4,740
registered 501(c)(3)s
51st of 52
65
per 10,000 residents
6th of 51
$7.1B
charity revenue, latest returns
49th of 52
32%
file a full Form 990 or 990-EZ
11th of 52

Registered 501(c)(3)s per 10,000 residents

AK
34164

Each dot is a state, sized by its number of 501(c)(3)s. Alaska is in green.

What they do, by count and by money

Religion is the largest group by number, 24% of Alaska's public charities and 0.5% of their revenue. Health is 5% of the charities and 65% of the revenue. Alaska has 2.22× the national share of environment charities.

Share of charitiesShare of revenue

The thin mark on the left is the national share of charities in the same cause.

Many small, a few very large

Public charities by the revenue on their latest return. Each band is drawn twice: by its share of the charities on top, and by its share of the revenue underneath.

Charities3,610 reporting revenue or filing the e-Postcard
Revenue
  • Under $50k
    62% of charities · under 0.1% of revenue
  • $50k to $250k
    16% of charities · 1% of revenue
  • $250k to $1M
    11% of charities · 3% of revenue
  • $1M to $10M
    9% of charities · 14% of revenue
  • $10M to $100M
    2% of charities · 20% of revenue
  • $100M and up
    0.3% of charities · 62% of revenue

What the IRS sees

Only charities filing a Form 990 or 990-EZ report their finances. Financial figures about nonprofits, here and in any study built on 990s, describe 32% of Alaska's public charities.

  • 32% file a Form 990 or 990-EZ
    1,444 charities · 26% nationally
  • 47% file only the e-Postcard (990-N)
    2,156 charities · 54% nationally
  • 21% file no return of their own (mostly congregations)
    967 charities · 20% nationally

How new they are

Half of Alaska's public charities were recognized by the IRS in 2007 or later, and 25% since 2020 (32% nationally). The register lists only organizations still recognized, so the older decades count survivors.

12%
Before 1970
6%
1970s
8%
1980s
13%
1990s
14%
2000s
21%
2010s
25%
2020s

The line across each bar is the national share for that decade. The 2020s are a partial decade.

How they are doing

Financial health of the charities that file full returns, against every state.

44%
ran a deficit
42% nationally · 7th highest of 52
5.4
months of cash, median
5.4 nationally · 30th highest of 52
19%
in deficit on under three months of cash
18% nationally · 12th highest of 52

FY2023 returns from 1,716 Alaska charities filing a Form 990 or 990-EZ and spending $50k or more; cash figures are from the 1,306 full 990 filers among them. The national health report.

Counts, causes, revenue and recognition dates are from the IRS Exempt Organizations Business Master File, which records recognitions through May 2026. A charity is placed by its mailing address. Causes are NTEE major groups, with health's sub-groups folded in; a congregation the IRS has given no NTEE code counts under religion. Revenue is each organization's own latest return, summed, so payments between related organizations are counted on both sides.

Questions and answers

What does it mean for grant money to stay in-state?
It is the share of grants made by funders based in Alaska that reached organizations also located in Alaska, rather than organizations in other states. A high share means local funders mostly back local causes; a low one means the money largely leaves.
Is Alaska a major grantmaking state?
Alaska ranks 49th of the 52 states and territories by grant dollars from resident funders. The largest grantmaking states are California and New York; the most outward, where money mostly leaves, are domiciles like Delaware.
How can a nonprofit find funders in Alaska?
Start with the largest grantmakers based in Alaska, currently Child Care Connection Inc DBA Thread and Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium. Out-of-state funders also reach in, led by Corporation for Public Broadcasting. Grant money reaching Alaska favors environment above the national rate, so funders active there are worth approaching.
How many nonprofits are there in Alaska?
4,740 organizations in Alaska are registered with the IRS as 501(c)(3)s: 4,567 public charities, 945 of them congregations, and 173 private foundations. Only 32% of the public charities file a full Form 990 or 990-EZ; 47% file only the e-Postcard, for organizations normally taking in $50,000 or less, and the rest, mostly congregations, file no return of their own. The count is from the IRS Exempt Organizations Business Master File.
How recent is this Alaska grant data?
It is read from IRS Form 990 and 990-PF e-file filings for fiscal years 2022 and 2023, the two years with complete coverage. US charity filings lag 12 to 24 months, so this is the most recent complete picture.

More from the funding graph

Read from IRS Form 990 and 990-PF e-file XML for fiscal years 2022 and 2023. A funder is placed by the state on its most recent filing. Grants only: payments into and out of donor-advised fund sponsors, transfers to related organizations, regrants through intermediaries, non-philanthropic payments and grants to individuals are left out. In-state share is among grants whose recipient state is known; ties with other states and the net flow count only grants placed at both ends. Residents are Census ACS 5-year estimates (2019 to 2023). Source: IRS Form 990 downloads.