Providing Support For Our Communities

COMMUNITY ESSENTIALS People Propel®

Since 2012, People Propel® has subsidized the purchases of a variety of essential equipment, including ATVs, appliances, boats, snowmachines, fishing gear, heating systems and even the occasional renewable energy resource. Last year, we opened two rounds of People Propel®, in which we accepted 867 applications. In total, we provided approximately $2 million in financial support and helped community residents purchase more than $6.7 million in equipment, which further contributes to the region’s economic development.

This program is designed to support residents in every aspect of their life, from day-to-day travel to heating homes in the winter to subsistence activities in traditional hunting and fishing sites. In rural Alaska, where distances are vast and the terrain is often rugged, motorized equipment and appliances have become essential to our way of life. Equipment purchased through the People Propel® Program sees regular use and can easily be serviced at CVRF shops if they ever break down or suffer normal wear and tear. In this way, CVRF helps provide for the entire lifecycle of a machine, ensuring that our residents receive the most value possible from this program.

Without support from People Propel®, these essential machines and appliances would be much more expensive for our residents — sometimes prohibitively so. “Thanks to CVRF, everyone in our communities can apply for this 30% subsidy, and I’m so grateful for that,” said PETER J. PAUL, an elder and longtime resident of Kipnuk, who purchased a boat and other appliances alongside his family with People Propel®. What he saves on equipment through People Propel®, he puts toward other necessities: food and fuel in winter, travel to medical specialists when necessary, and repairs on the boat he uses for subsistence fishing. CVRF’s subsidy enables our residents to purchase more goods and participate in the region’s economy, further stimulating economic development opportunities in our region.

SUPPORTING ALASKAN COMMUNITIES

Since 1999, Yukon Delta Fisheries Development Association has operated a skiff-building facility, Yukon Marine Manufacturing, which enables residents build their own motorized boats.

In 2020, the People Propel® Program helped subsidize purchase of six of these boats, thus increasing the impact of our programs on Alaskan communities.

Thanks to CVRF, everyone in our communities can apply for this subsidy, and I’m so grateful for that.

PETER J. PAUL, KIPNUK

PETER J. PAUL