Dear friends and neighbors,
I have been a member of the Northern Alaska Environmental Center since the 1980s. I was on the Board for ten years in the 1990s and was the bookkeeper for many of those years. Since then, I have been the Treasurer and bookkeeper for the Interior Alaska Land Trust for over 30 years.
I am writing you because of the dire financial situation at the Northern Center this year. The Northern Center has had to furlough staff, and pay back substantial debts. No grants have been awarded in this recent transition period. That’s the bad news, and very bad news it is.
The good news is that the Northern Center has a very dedicated trio serving as the current Board of Directors who are determined to bring the organization back into not only solvency but into a vibrant, community-supported organization that continues to provide the much-needed environmental voice for our region. I will tell you some other good news below, but first, I want to get right to the point. The Northern Alaska Environmental Center will not recover without the support of its core community here in Fairbanks and throughout the U.S. If your membership has lapsed, please rejoin! Any support you can provide right now will go directly to their programmatic work and ensure it can continue well into the future.
Now back to the good news. The Board is working closely with the Alaska Conservation Foundation, which has helped stabilize the organization and is providing legal and financial advice for the path forward. A Northern Center member has also paid for membership to the Foraker Group, an Alaska nonprofit support organization. With support from these organizations, they are currently hiring contractors to continue coalition work and litigation, and are on track to hire an executive assistant and start an executive director search by June!
The Northern Center remains a valued partner to many other environmental organizations, including Camp Habitat and Friends of Creamer’s Field, Protect the Kobuk, Save Our Domes, and Arctic Underground Sound. It is still a participant in coalitions such as the Arctic Defense Campaign and Defend the Brooks Range. And Krystal Lapp has made sure that comments on major public land management issues are still being contributed by NAEC.
Foundations are interested in funding the Northern Center. They recognize the unique role the Center plays and the perspective it provides for residents of Interior Alaska. NAEC is now financially stable enough to hire contractors, but needs continued support into 2026. With added capacity, the Center will once more be able to apply for grants, further strengthening its financial footing.
The Northern Center owns its building in a central Fairbanks location on bus routes. The building has meeting spaces, internet and online meeting technology, and a wonderful backyard. It continues to be a community resource for partner organizations. Staff from two partner organizations—Trustees for Alaska and the Alaska Songbird Institute—are renting office space. The building also has two apartments that will be rentable as soon as some wiring and plumbing problems are fixed (a certified electrician & plumber has been hired to do this work).
Members and the Board have organized several fundraising events—a successful event hosted by Sean McGuire and Sharon Alden (thank you!), and the Night for the North auction at the UAF Wood Center Ballroom. Members have stepped up to provide operating funds that keep the lights and heat on in the building. The Board has also planned several community events, including an upcoming in-person or virtual gathering with photographer and author Jeff Pfaller, with images and stories from his new book Dark Skies: Rare Phenomena in America’s Public Lands.
So, you can see the Northern Alaska Environmental Center is attracting a lot of good energy and resources to get it back on its feet. I think you will find the commitment to transparency and collaboration refreshing and inspiring. Personally, I have increased my annual donation and sent it in early. I’ve also volunteered to be on a transitional finance committee.
Here are a few ways you can help today:
- Renew your membership if it has lapsed.
- Make an unrestricted gift to help strengthen NAEC’s foundation and rebuild its programs.
- Join us at upcoming events to reconnect and help shape the organization’s future.
You can donate online at northern.org, stop by 830 College Road, or mail a check to NAEC, 830 College Road, Fairbanks, AK 99701.
Your support now will help NAEC regain its footing, restore its community presence, and continue the vital work of protecting Alaska’s environment for generations to come.
With appreciation and hope,
Martha Raynolds
Fairbanks, Alaska
P.S. Every contribution—large or small—helps sustain NAEC’s work and ensures that Interior Alaska continues to have a strong, local voice for conservation.
A note from the NAEC Board of Directors:
We are deeply grateful to Martha for taking the time to write and share her perspective as a longtime member and friend of the Northern Alaska Environmental Center. Her message reflects both the challenges we face and the optimism we feel as we work to rebuild a stronger, more transparent, and community-supported NAEC.
Thanks to members like you who were quick to offer support, the organization is stabilizing more quickly than we counted on under its solvency plan– the roadmap we had for getting out of debt. Our small, volunteer Board is working diligently to reinforce financial controls, rebuild institutional capacity, and reinvest in the programs and partnerships that define NAEC’s role in Interior Alaska conservation.
Your support and encouragement mean the world to us. Thank you for standing with NAEC during this time of renewal and transformation.
With appreciation,
Krystal Lapp, Jeffery Groenke, and David Leslie
NAEC Board of Directors