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This year's PFD: $1,174This is the 30th year of PFD distributions -- Alaskans who have received all of them have taken in a total of more than $33,000.By now most of you already know the amount you will be getting in this year's Alaska Permanent Fund Dividend. But the governor's announcement is no doubt still one of the biggest topics of discussion around the state. It's a little less than last year's dividend, because the rolling five-year average of investment earnings dropped out one year's returns in favor of a year with less income. But it's a number that 535,000 Alaskans will be happy to see deposited in their bank accounts on October 6th. At the PFD office in the Atwood Building in downtown Anchorage Tuesday morning, Governor Parnell announced: "The amount of the 2011 permanent fund dividend for every eligible Alaskan: $1,174 even." This is the 30th year of PFD distributions -- Alaskans who have received all of them have taken in a total of more than $33,000. The dividend will put $760 million into Alaskans' hands next month. But the governor had a warning about the future of dividends. They are based on returns from the investment of royalties from the extraction of oil and other natural resources, which are collectively owned by Alaskans. "Alaskans can face diminishing dividends based upon the current calculation because, in part, poor performance of the stock market,” Parnell said. “And then, additionally, over time, because of declining oil production, there will be fewer and less royalties going into the permanent fund, unless we turn that around." For now, though, the dividend is good news, including for charitable organizations that were listed for the 'Pick, Click, Give' check-off on PFD applications. Just under $1.6 million was directed toward those groups. "So I think what we have here is a way that's easy, and for people who have a generous spirit but they really don't have the time to investigate which organization to give to -- they know what they might be interested in, whether it's trails or the arts or food pantries or women's shelters -- and they can easily find an organization that matches their interest. And every organization that's listed has been fully vetted," said Diane Kaplan of the Rasmuson Foundation, which pushed for legislation establishing the program. State economist Neal Fried says that for most Alaskans the dividend probably is now considered just part of the household budget. "My guess is it's treated much less as a windfall than it might have done in the early years. My guess is someone that's just receiving their first pfd or their second one, they treat it differently than someone that's been getting it ever since the beginning." But however routine the PFD is to Alaskans, it still separates us from other Americans. In addition to direct deposit recipients, another 93,000 Alaskans will get dividend checks mailed out from Juneau on October 6th. The governor referred to the PFD announcement as one of his duties. Actually, it's not. Until 2003, the announcement was made, usually by the commissioner of revenue, at the annual meeting of the Permanent Fund Corporation. But then-Governor Frank Murkowski decided to do it himself, and it has become the habit for the governor since. The ‘Pick, Click, Give’ program had about 19,000 people making almost 28,000 pledges. The biggest beneficiary? Public radio, with $70,000.
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