It’s that time of year again: Calista Corporation is preparing to give out its Elder Benefit Distribution to more than 2,500 original, Elder shareholders this year.
Each Elder will get $325, regardless of how many shares they own. Dec. 18 is the day when the money will be direct deposited or sent via mail. Calista has encouraged its shareholders to choose direct deposit because of how unreliable air travel is in rural Alaska.
There’s more good news: the pot of money for all of Calista’s dividend programs has grown. Last year, Calista doled out $9.5 million through its three distribution programs; this year it's $10 million. That’s because the Akilista portfolio grew by 15 percent this year.
The Akilista distribution is Calista’s biggest, and shareholders received $2.97 million in 2019. But while there’s more money for shareholders, the number of shareholders has also increased, with a total of 31,000 receiving money this year.