Calista authorizes $400 payments to more than 3,500 original shareholders 65 and older

Calista Corporation's board of directors has authorized a $1.4 million Elders' Benefit Program distribution for 2026, paying $400 to each original shareholder who is at least 65 years old as of Dec. 2, the corporation announced Thursday.

More than 3,500 elders are eligible, nearly 140 more than in 2025. Payments go out by direct deposit or by paper check sent through first-class mail on or before Dec. 11.

Elders who need the payment sent to a new bank account or mailing address have until noon Alaska time Nov. 30 to update it through MyCalista.com, the corporation's free shareholder portal, or with fillable forms at calistacorp.com/shareholder-forms-center.

"This Elders' Benefit Program was created to support our Elders, as they have supported us," said Willie Kasayulie, chair of the Calista board. "We are grateful to our Elders for instructing our youth in our cultural values and how to succeed in life."

A majority of shareholders voted to create the program at the 2007 annual meeting. The board has authorized a distribution every year since 2008, when the first totaled $375,750. In 2023, the board paid $350 per elder, for a total of more than $1 million, according to Calista's announcement that year. The program has paid $13.7 million to date.

The benefit is a flat amount per eligible elder. The November Akilista distribution, by contrast, pays about $1.14 per issued share; that $4.95 million payout is scheduled for on or before Nov. 13, with about $2.5 million going to Yukon-Kuskokwim Region households.

Calista said its Settlement Trust distributed a record $20.8 million to shareholders in 2026, nearly $1.8 million more than last year. That total includes the spring distribution, the Akilista distribution and the elders' benefit.

The elders' benefit goes only to original shareholders. Calista has since enrolled descendants and others who missed the original 1971 enrollment, and it now has more than 40,100 shareholders. The corporation says it has declared more than $186 million in dividends and distributions since it was formed.