Climate Impacts and Community Connection – Western Alaska Flooding | Clean Energy | Wildfire Preparedness

Hello Friends,

Alaska is vast, but the connections between our communities run deep. We are connected by our shared relationship to the lands and waters that sustain us, and by the responsibility we feel to care for them and each other.

This month has shown just how vital those connections are. A catastrophic storm struck Western Alaska, prompting the largest emergency evacuation in state history and leaving widespread damage across coastal communities. As climate change drives stronger storms and delays protective sea ice, these events are becoming heartbreakingly more common. In the days since the storm, Alaskans near and far have stepped up to help, offering shelter and supplies to families and supporting the recovery effort.

Now more than ever, we see how much Alaska’s resilience depends on us standing together, not only to provide immediate relief, but to build systems that help our communities thrive in the places they have called home for generations.

To learn more about our work or any of the projects mentioned in this email, please drop us a line.

The Alaska Venture Fund Team

News & Views

Updates, stories, and perspectives shaping our work.

Support Western Alaska Disaster Relief Efforts

This month, a powerful fall storm struck Western Alaska with unprecedented force, leaving a swath of destruction across more than a dozen low-lying villages in the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta. Learn more about how affected communities and organizations across the state are responding—and how you can help.

Learn More

Supporting Alaska’s Clean Energy Future: Q&A with AVF’s Clean Energy Program Director

After serving as an energy committee aide in the Alaska State Legislature, Shaina Kilcoyne has returned to Alaska Venture Fund to lead our Clean Energy Program. AVF’s Energy Fellow Simran Bhathal sat down with Shaina to discuss how we are advancing resilient, affordable and locally-led energy projects across the state.

In the News: Reviving a Coming-of-Age Ceremony Through Community

Nodoyedee’onh is a Dene coming-of-age ceremony being revived through gatherings hosted by a group of Alaska Native girls known as the Moontime Circlers. In partnership with the Alaska Native Birthworkers Community, these family gatherings have grown into community events. At the 2025 Elders & Youth Conference in Anchorage, women of all ages participated in a workshop celebrating this tradition.

Helena Jacobs, ANBC Program Director and AVF Partner, shared “It’s been really healing to support them, to empower them with knowledge about their bodies, and to surround them with love and support throughout these big transitions in life that can sometimes feel scary or isolating.”

Read & Listen to the story

Empowering Communities on the Frontlines
of Fire and Climate

As climate change accelerates wildfire risk, AVF’s Alaska Wildfire Resilience Initiative is taking a holistic approach to strengthen community wildfire safety, ecosystem health and local preparedness.

Next month in Fairbanks, the AWRI team will host two workshops to equip local governments, fire departments and organizations with the tools to develop clear, actionable wildfire protection and evacuation plans.

Developing Community Wildfire Protection Plans Workshop | Nov. 17-18 | Fairbanks, Alaska
Wildfire Evacuation Planning Workshop | Nov. 19-20 | Fairbanks, Alaska

For more information, contact our wildfire team at wildfire@alaskaventure.org.

In Case You Missed It

◊	Alaska’s largest solar farm is proving clean energy and local food can grow together—a model of practical, place-based innovation adapted to the climate of the North.

◊	Bristol Bay, home of the world’s largest wild sockeye salmon, recorded another strong season, with early data showing an increase in fish numbers.

◊	“The federal opportunity on the clean energy side may be diminished right now, but the market opportunity is massive.” During National Clean Energy Week, Senator Lisa Murkowski underscored the importance of investing in clean energy.

◊	A new study found that solar power is now cost-competitive with diesel in many of Alaska’s rural communities.

◊	A statewide Alaska Native Arts Directory has been newly established to promote and connect Alaska Native artists.

◊	After smoked salmon trended on TikTok, the New York Times examined the deep traditional and cultural roots of this cherished Alaska food.

Video: Fur Sheds & Smokehouses with Heather Douville

In this video for MeatEater, Kootink Heather Douville of Southeast Alaska gives a tour of her fur-sewing shed and smokehouse rooted in cultural Tlingit practices.

Watch Video

Alaska Ven‌ture Fu‌nd
Denali Tower North
2‌5‌5‌0 Denali Street
Suite 7‌2‌3
Anchorage, Alaska ‌99503‌

Alaska Venture Fund is a project of the New Venture Fund. New Venture Fund is a registered 501(c)(3) charitable organization.

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