The 98 Fund Launches $2 Million Capital Campaign to Build The Alaska Project Lodge
This Lodge creates a permanent gathering place for veterans, surviving families, and the broader military community at The Alaska Project in Alaska.
The 98 Fund is proud to announce the launch of a $2 million capital campaign to build a permanent lodge at The Alaska Project, a retreat property in Palmer, Alaska, created to serve and connect families of the fallen, veterans, veteran support organizations, and volunteers.
For more than a decade, The 98 Fund has grown from a small group of motivated USMA Alumni wanting to provide scholarships for the classmates of their fallen, into a robust non-profit that is home to a place where people come together to remember, reconnect, serve, and heal.
Now, we are ready to build the next chapter.
The Alaska Project Lodge will become the heart of the property, providing a permanent gathering space for the people and organizations The Alaska Project was created to serve.
From a vision to a place of connection
The Alaska Project began with a desire to care for the children of fallen West Point classmates by providing mentorship and meaningful experiences with people who knew and served alongside their parents.
In 2019, that vision evolved into a mentor-led retreat in Alaska, bringing surviving spouses and children together with veterans and others who had known their loved ones. Through shared experiences, outdoor adventures, service projects, and conversations around the campfire, relationships began to form across generations.
Over time, the mission has continued to grow.
Today, The Alaska Project serves not only surviving families, but veterans and other organizations supporting the military community. More than 500 people have participated in The Alaska Project since its inception, including more than 100 survivors. The property itself has grown alongside that mission.
The Alaska Project now includes 12 cabins with sleeping capacity for 32 people, a bathhouse, maintenance and storage facilities, a large dining pavilion, a commercial kitchen capable of serving 60 people, and other infrastructure that makes retreats and gatherings possible.
But there is still something missing...
Rendering of The Lodge
A place to gather
The Alaska Project has always been about more than a physical property. It is about what happens when people who have experienced service, sacrifice, and loss have the opportunity to spend time together in a place designed for connection.
It is a conversation around a campfire.
A shared meal after a long day.
A hike through the Alaskan wilderness.
A story about a loved one who is no longer here.
A veteran mentoring a young survivor.
A group of people realizing that, despite their different experiences, they don't have to carry everything alone.
The planned lodge will give those moments a permanent home. The lodge is envisioned as a two-story, year-round gathering facility that will provide the central space the property needs to continue expanding its programming and serving more people.
It will create additional opportunities for:
Retreats for surviving families and veterans
Peer support and mentorship
Workshops and educational programs
Shared meals and community gatherings
Meetings and gatherings for veteran-serving organizations
Quiet reflection and remembrance
Year-round programming at The Alaska Project
Most importantly, it will provide a place where people can simply be together.
Building for the future
The Alaska Project has been built carefully, one project at a time, through the generosity of donors and the extraordinary efforts of volunteers.
That spirit will continue with the lodge.
The $2 million capital campaign represents an investment not only in a building, but in the future of The Alaska Project.
The lodge will allow the property to become more than a seasonal retreat destination. It will provide the infrastructure needed to expand the number of people who can be served and create new opportunities for organizations that share The 98 Fund's commitment to veterans, surviving families, and the military community.
The goal is simple: build a place that will continue serving people for generations.
Our first milestone: $1 million by November 1
Our ultimate campaign goal is $2 million. But we are setting an important first milestone along the way:
We are working to raise $1 million by November 1.
Reaching that first $1 million will put us halfway toward the funding needed to build the lodge and will give this project the momentum it needs to move forward.
We know that reaching $2 million will take a community. It will take the people who have been part of The Alaska Project from the beginning. It will take veterans and surviving families who understand firsthand why this place matters. It will take donors, volunteers, friends, corporate partners, and people who may be discovering The Alaska Project for the first time. And it will take many individual gifts of all sizes.
Every contribution brings us one step closer to opening the doors of the lodge.
Help us build what comes next
The Alaska Project exists because people believed that the sacrifices of our fallen should never be forgotten and that those left behind deserve community, connection, and support.
That belief has carried this project from an idea into a living, growing place in Alaska.
Now we have an opportunity to build something lasting.
A lodge.
A place to gather.
A place to remember.
A place to heal.
A place to serve.
A place that will welcome veterans and surviving families for years to come.
We invite you to be part of the next chapter of The Alaska Project.
Help us reach $1 million by November 1 and $2 million to build the Alaska Project Lodge.
The future of The Alaska Project is something we can build together, and we hope you'll be part of it.
