By SUZANNE DOWNING
July 11, 2026 – As Alaska celebrates the 50th anniversary of the Alaska Permanent Fund, the Alaska Permanent Fund Corporation is asking residents to help preserve the history of one of the state’s most enduring institutions.
The corporation has launched its 50th Anniversary Media Collection Project, inviting Alaskans to submit photographs, videos, historical images, family stories, quotes, and other materials that capture the people, places, and communities connected to the Fund over the past five decades.
Selected submissions may be featured in the APFC’s annual report, anniversary video, website, social media channels, public education materials, and future communications as the corporation documents the Fund’s legacy.
The project offers two ways to participate.
Members of the public can upload photos, videos, and stories directly through an online Dropbox portal, while photographers, videographers, historians, researchers, archives, museums, and other organizations are invited to respond to a Request for Information if they have existing collections or ideas for paid historical documentation projects.
APFC says it is looking for materials that reflect everyday Alaska life as well as significant moments in the state’s history, including families, communities, work, public gatherings, intergenerational traditions, historic events, and ordinary scenes that help illustrate how Alaska has changed since the Permanent Fund was created.
The anniversary commemorates a milestone that traces back to 1976, when Alaska voters overwhelmingly approved a constitutional amendment creating the Permanent Fund. The amendment dedicated at least 25% of certain state mineral revenues, which were primarily oil royalties, to a permanent investment fund designed to benefit both current and future generations of Alaskans. This was due to the fact that Alaskans do not own subsurface rights in Alaska, and therefore cannot lease their own land for oil development.
The first deposit into the Fund was made on Feb. 28, 1977, totaling $734,000. The Alaska Permanent Fund Corporation was established in 1980 to professionally manage and invest the assets, operating independently under a board of trustees with a fiduciary responsibility to protect and grow the Fund.
Today, the Fund has grown to approximately $91 billion, making it the largest sovereign wealth fund in the United States. According to APFC, the Fund has generated well over $100 billion in investment returns since its inception while helping finance Permanent Fund Dividends and providing a major source of unrestricted revenue for state government.
Although many Alaskans most closely associate the Fund with the annual Permanent Fund Dividend, the Fund itself and the dividend program are distinct. The first PFD checks were distributed in 1982 after lawmakers revised the payment formula following a US (Zobel v. Alaska, later Zobel v. Williams) Supreme Court ruling that struck down an earlier residency-based distribution method. Since then, dividend amounts have fluctuated based on Fund earnings, legislative policy, and Alaska’s fiscal circumstances, as determined by the Legislature. Since Gov. Bill Walker vetoed half of the Permanent Fund dividend in 2016, Alaskans have not been given a full dividend, per the statutory formula, by the Legislature. It’s been 10 years since that historic veto cost Alaskans their share of oil royalties.
The 50th anniversary comes as the Permanent Fund continues to occupy a central role in Alaska’s finances. In recent years, earnings from the Fund have become one of the state’s largest revenue sources, fueling ongoing debates in Juneau over the size of Permanent Fund dividends, state spending, and long-term fiscal policy.
For the anniversary, however, APFC’s focus is on preserving history.
The corporation says it hopes Alaskans from every region will contribute images and stories that capture not just the Fund itself, but the people whose lives have unfolded during its first half-century.
More information about the Media Collection Project, submission instructions, and the Request for Information are available at APFC’s 50th Anniversary Media Collection Project.
