Center for Environmentally Threatened Communities

We support communities to address environmental threats and achieve their vision for a safe, healthy, and sustainable future.

The Climate Impact Response Fund

The Climate Impact Response Fund at the Healthy Alaska Natives Foundation supports Alaska Native people and communities to prepare for and respond to climate change and environmental threats. The Fund provides immediate financial assistance when disaster strikes and supports families on the frontlines of climate change. The goal is to reduce risk and provide a sense of peace and security to families and individuals most affected by the climate crisis.

The CIRF supports families on the frontlines, such as Delores Abraham and her family, pictured above, who abandoned their home because thawing permafrost created a large pit beneath the structure. Their family moved in with relatives, resulting in 16 people sharing two small homes – without running water or flush toilets – during the COVID-19 pandemic. Credit: Kimberly Abrahams.

Purpose of the Climate Impact Response Fund

The Climate Impact Response Fund (CIRF) has been designed to be equitable and effective for small, remote Alaska communities. The CIRF aims to help fill the gap left by insufficient federal, state, and other climate change funding programs. The fund prioritizes grant awards in two areas:

1. Projects with a significant benefit to community life, health, safety, and culture.
2. Community challenges related to climate change that cannot be addressed by other funding sources in a timely manner

The CIRF directly supports the communities and families in Alaska that are hit first and worst by climate change. The first award supported the community of Buckland to recover from the May 2021 flood, pictured here. Credit: John Jones.

“Even though our environment is threatened by flooding and erosion, Kotlik’s location is what makes our community so unique and special. We are surrounded by abundant fish and wildlife resources from the land, river, and sea, which support our subsistence lifestyle.”

-Victor Tonuchuk, Kotlik Tribal Environmental Director

Your Donation Can Change Lives

Your donation to the CIRF will be put to immediate use to support continued resilience in rural Alaska communities.  Donations will be used to address critical infrastructure needs that will help create safe and healthy living environments for current and future generations. Support for the CIRF will help bring hope to families and communities after a disaster, build a sense of safety and security, and enable families to thrive.

Take Action Today

Our communities need you now and making a gift is easy. Go to healthyalaskanatives.org now to learn more or donate.

Any gift amount makes a difference! The Healthy Alaska Natives Foundation offers ways to make a one-time donation, set up a recurring donation, or can work with you on gift planning. Contact us now via email or at 907-729-3480.

Beyond a donation, consider supporting CIRF by:

1. Spreading the word by sharing this email with others.
2. Having a conversation with your family, friends, and colleagues about how to prioritize any donations that you make. Will you prioritize the CIRF?

Healthy Alaska Natives Foundation

The fund is part of the Healthy Alaska Natives Foundation (HANF), a 501c(3) non-profit affiliated with the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium (ANTHC). Learn more about HANF here.

Call Anytime

Please call Jen Harrington, the Director of the Healthy Alaska Natives Foundation, at 907-729-3480 if you have any questions, suggestions, or would like to learn more about the CIRF.

About the Center for Environmentally Threatened Communities 

The goal of the Center for Environmentally Threatened Communities (CETC) is to support rural Alaskan communities experiencing infrastructure impacts associated with flooding, erosion, and permafrost degradation. The team does this through community planning, project development, grant writing, project management, grant management, and other technical assistance.

ETC@anthc.org | (907) 729-4521 | www.anthc.org/cetc | 4500 Diplomacy Drive, Suite 561, Anchorage, AK 99508