Wanda Kippi has a long list of things she intends to buy with her Arctic Slope Regional Corp. dividend. But so far, she said, the money is still sitting firmly in her bank account.
Kippi lives in Atqasuk, the smallest village on the North Slope, with 10 kids, four of whom she adopted from her daughter, who passed away last year.
Eli is almost 2 years old and chatters in the background while Kippi speaks about her plans for the money. She pauses the conversation to ask him if he needs a snack. The care is constant, she said, which is part of the reason Kippi is currently unemployed. She worked on and off at the school in Atqasuk, but she was getting sick a lot, she said, and so she stays at home where she concentrates on caring for her children.
The corporation dividends hit the accounts of 11,000 North Slope shareholders on Dec. 4. And they were more this year than before, averaging about $10,000 per person.
Hunting and camping equipment is on the top of Kippi's list of things to get with the dividend money, she said. She recently fixed up her uncle's hunting cabin located about 15 miles out of town and needs supplies for her summer and winter trips there. She also needs a hot-water heater and some provisions for around the house.
Of course, her children, who range in age from 1.5 years to mid-teen, need winter boots, coats, hats and the like. And, she said, they have been asking for a trampoline for a while.
"I think this year, their wish will come true," Kippi said from her home on Thursday. "I wouldn't mind buying a car, but that's not going to take me hunting and fishing and berry picking."
The average ASRC shareholder owns 100 shares of ASRC stock, which rang in this year at $100 per share in total. The most recent dividends bring the total dollar amount distributed since incorporation, in the form of dividends, to nearly $740 million.
"This $100 total per share payout illustrates that ASRC can follow a strategic business plan based on the traditional values of the Iñupiaq culture; values like cooperation, sharing, compassion and stewardship," said Crawford Patkotak, ASRC board chair and executive vice president of shareholder programs, in a release last week.
Meanwhile, in Atqasuk, Kippi lamented on the hard times she has faced in the past and how she "almost didn't make it last year" financially.
Besides the equipment and improvements to her three-bedroom home, Kippi said she, like most others, will place bush orders for food items. Retail giants like Fred Meyer and Wal-Mart often send large orders to villages off the road system, she said.
"It's not going to be wasted on drugs or alcohol or anything like that," she said. "I'm a single parent, so I rely on this."
Kippi's story is not uncommon. Last week on Facebook an open group called "Dividend Testimonies" popped up, with over 150 members joining within a few hours. The venue allows and encourages shareholders to announce their plans for the money.
There were dozens of stories from folks around the state who plan to fill their fuel tanks, travel, visit with family, donate to local charities, make mortgage payments or invest in their children's education. The overwhelming trend in the various posts was gratitude.
"This past year was the hardest for me and my family ... but now I'm totally debt free, paid a year of rent and electricity," shared a woman from Barrow. "We bought a new car that will last us for years. I can't thank ASRC enough. I know this next year will be so much easier."
Sharon Thompson, the executive director of the Arctic Slope Community Foundation, hopes that the foundation will see some of the money doled out by the corporation. Already, anonymous donations are trickling in.
A recent Anchorage Daily News article shed more light on Barrow's alcohol problems and ongoing struggle with bootlegging. But, said Thompson, there is so much more to the dividend and the community.
"It only portrayed one side of the picture," she said. "There are individuals that make poor choices, but you have a lot more individuals making positive choices for them and their family."
The foundation promotes healthy, culture-rich communities through giving back.
"Our mission is to help strengthen our cultural traditions and improve the quality of life," she said from Barrow.
The foundation receives grants but relies mostly on donations. And this is the perfect time for the community members to chip in for a worthy cause.
The foundation was created in 2009, got its nonprofit status in 2010, and applied for its first grants in 2011. Thompson is the only paid employee.
With the inflated dividends, "this is the first year we have actively pushed to encourage community donations," she said. "It's something that hasn't been done before. It's a whole new culture of giving that we're trying to introduce."
Around town, Thompson has witnessed the positive outcomes of the dividend: Houses purchased for young families, hunters prepping for spring harvest with the purchase of snowmachines and other supplies, and college savings accounts bursting at the seams, just to name a few.
And she's hoping locals will consider taking a small amount to make a tax-deductible donation to the cause closest to her heart.
"The donations we receive provide support for community projects that occur on the North Slope," she said, noting that the Point Hope playground and helping Barrow's search and rescue squad purchase new snowmachines for their efforts are just a couple of examples of the work that the foundation has done.
Wainwright's Janet Ahlalook fought back tears when talking about all the joy the dividend will bring to her and her family.
Among the many household items and repairs, Ahlalook, who now lives in Fairbanks with her husband and three kids, plans to visit family in Bethel and Wainwright, trips that until now have been out of reach because of the high cost of travel to the villages.
The Ahlalook's oldest child was adopted after Janet's husband's sister passed away just a few months after she gave birth.
And now, they want to take their daughter back to Bethel so she can learn more about where her mother came from and meet more of her family.
"I want to take her around town and say 'this is where your mother played basketball and this is where she went fishing,'" she said. "I've always thought about it but talking about it makes it seem real. And now we can actually do it."
Ahlalook is a stay-at-home mother. Her husband, Mark, works on the North Slope and is gone at least 50 percent of the time, she said. But with one income, he has to work a lot.
"For us, the dividend is assurance that we're going to be fine," she said. "The money is good for the communities. There are so many more positive things happening … it's amazing.
"I am truly thankful to be a shareholder."
Spring whale hunting in Wainwright is also on the tentative agenda as is the purchase of a wood stove and hooking up water to their home.
"It opens up so many opportunities and lets us enjoy life," Ahlalook said. "We can truly breathe easy."
This story first appeared in The Arctic Sounder and is republished here with permission.