SB 150-ALASKA CHILDREN'S TRUST FUND GRANTS  CHAIR DYSON announced SB 150 to be up for consideration. MARGO McCABE, Chairman, Trustees for the Alaska Children's Trust, related that the Trust was created by the Legislature in 1988 to help fund programs across the state aimed at preventing child abuse and neglect. She said: Under current law, the Trust may spend the net income earned by the trust on community-based prevention programs. Last year it awarded a total of $217,000 in grants to 16 non-profit organizations across the state. Current statute limits the size of grants to $50,000 and provides a specific funding formula for funding grants. SB 150 removes the $50,000 cap and calls for the elimination of the funding formula. The Alaska Children's Trust is seeking these changes for a couple of reasons. The changes would give trustees the possibility to set maximum grant awards and funding formulas based on need rather than a predetermined amount set in statute. The intent is not to eliminate caps of funding formulas completely, but rather the trust would outline maximum grant awards and funding formulas with the issuance of each new RFP. More importantly, the changes will allow the trust to be better positioned to receive larger grants from private foundations and charitable trusts. Large grants could then be more easily redistributed to [indisc.] programs around the state. In closing, the rate of child abuse and neglect in this state remains higher in Alaska than anywhere else in the nation... She said the Alaska Children's Trust will continue to fund small community grants, but would like the opportunity to consider larger projects that may truly "move the needle." 2:42:06 PM CHAIR DYSON said that he thought that the Alaskan Children's Trust was initially established to fund small community based programs to enable organizations that were serving children to get going and establish themselves and establish other funding streams. MS. McCABE responded that is true and they still have that vision, but would like to be able to receive larger grants. CHAIR DYSON asked if she intended to become a perennial funding stream for some organizations that can't get alternative funding. MS. McCABE replied no, that there would still be funding limits and a rule that recipients would be self-sustaining after four years. Each new RFP would have that requirement. She explained: Last year legislation proposed 75 percent of the program's total funding in the first year; in the second year 50 percent and in the third and fourth final year, 25 percent. I think the Board of Trustees still likes those numbers and if it has the flexibility if this statute was removed, it would implement that language in its RFP. CHAIR DYSON asked if she is trying to delete all the statutory limitations on the length of funding and trust the board's judgment to carry forward the general gist of the legislative intent. 2:46:47 PM CHAIR DYSON asked if her organization wants to follow the legislative intent of last year's bill, but without the oversight of the Legislature. MS. McCABE replied, "Absolutely.... I think that is what we would be doing." She said the board unanimously supports the legislation as it is drafted today. She said they are trying to have more flexibility in being able to implement funding formulas that are more appropriate to perform their mission. 2:49:10 PM CHAIR DYSON asked if this bill removes the restriction on spending the earnings of the trust. MS. McCABE replied that the language just removes the $50,000 cap and the funding formula. CHAIR DYSON commented that he thought she answered yes. He asked if she has donors who don't want to contribute to the principle, but want their donation to flow through directly to a particular organization. MS. McCABE acknowledged that was correct. SENATOR GREEN asked why the donor could not just give their donation directly to their favorite organization as opposed to funneling it through the Children's Trust. MS. MCCABE replied that a number of larger trusts exist that do larger grants - in the $1 million to $2 million range. It might be hard to find some of the smaller non-profits that would like some of those monies and it would also be easier to find a number of grantees at once that would benefit from a large grant. CHAIR DYSON asked if all of her grants are non-profit organizations. MS. McCABE replied that they are all non-profit organizations that would qualify as a charitable gift recipient under federal tax law. SENATOR GREEN said that this bill seems to defeat the original intent of the Children's Trust, which was to amass donations and live off that endowment and it would become less effective without contributions to the endowment. She remembered creating the limitation to prevent a single organization from receiving an inappropriate proportion of the trust's fund. MS. McCABE responded that the trust is committed to increasing principle, but it receives grants that prohibit it from increasing its principle and she wants to be able to receive those grants. The rate of child abandonment in this state is unbearably high and she wants to do as much as she can. 2:54:45 PM CHAIR DYSON thanked everyone for their testimony and said that SB 150 would be held in committee.