We want to hear from you! What are the greatest barriers you face in your ability to meet your mission? What would strengthen your capacity? We’re conducting research with four other states – Washington, Oregon, Montana, and Idaho – to gain a comprehensive look at the sector across the Northwest. Foraker will use the survey findings to reflect on our strategies to better meet your needs here in Alaska.
Your organization’s participation will allow us to provide you with an analysis of how your nonprofit compares to others in the region in these categories:
To receive the analysis after the survey closes, please provide your email at the end of the survey (optional).
Your contact information and answers will remain confidential – only the trends that emerge will be reported. The survey will take less than 30 minutes to complete. We’re requesting that the survey be completed by the executive director (or their designee) or in the case of an all-volunteer organization, by the board chair.
Take the survey here. The deadline to participate is May 3.
When does the fun part start? More than any other question I received over a few days with a recent cohort of executive directors, this was the question that grabbed everyone’s attention. Everyone wanted to know. Everyone needed to know. I could see it in all the faces on my screen – I could feel it in the urgency of their voices. I knew that question all too well as I have asked it so many times in my career. And because I had found my answers enough times, I was in a position at that moment (and all the other times I have heard this question) to hold some space for the answers to unfold. I say unfold because it is a journey for each person to find both the grace and energy that comes with an answer – I knew that myself, and I knew that not everyone is so lucky.
But at this moment, as I stared back at these phenomenal new leaders with all my hopes for them, I also knew that any truth I had to offer would likely feel unsatisfying at least initially because they wanted an answer – perhaps even a literal moment on the calendar like somehow at 1 year, 3 months, and 4 hours this work was finally going to match all the excitement they felt when they accepted their position. And, not only was there not one answer or a specific date and time, I knew then and now, even as a wave of sadness took hold, that if they were left alone to figure it out without support or were unable to locate the answer, then they would not last in their roles. So I leaned in, too.
Let’s face it, the last four years have forever changed not just how the work gets done but our expectations of work itself. Countless published articles are trying to tell the story of where we are now – a story of staff shortages, broken business models due to government cuts or lack of payment, declining philanthropy and a general lack of unrestricted cash, high board turnover, loss of volunteers, and high demands by staff for competitive compensation and ultimate working flexibility. Not that the staff piece is bad, to be clear, but the stress and strain for leaders who are pushed and pulled and expected to make impossible decisions is real every single day now. The need to find our joy and stay in the work on any given Tuesday is not just real – it is essential to our missions.
I wonder, as I think about each of you reading this, how you are doing. Truly. How are you finding the fun and hanging onto the joy? I sure don’t have all the answers but just as I did at that moment with the group of executives, I am doing now because we could all use some support to find the fun and joy in this work – regardless of title or tenure in our organizations. So engage some board member allies, ask a friend, drink a few cups of coffee with another executive, hire a coach or a mentor, and consider a few of these ideas together. Do whatever it takes that works best for each of you to tap into the fun and joy that got you into this work in the first place.
The following ideas are not perfect and there is no one way, but maybe these ideas will spur other ideas to help you find your answers so you can stay longer and enjoy the work more.
As I think about how all five of these ways can lead us to more fun and more joy, I see a common denominator – choice. Choosing to ask a question in a new way, choosing to dive in, choosing to refocus, choosing to rest. In all of the ways, the feeling and exercising of choice make all the difference. One of my favorite lessons in our Catalyst for Nonprofit Excellence program is all about choice. The choice of getting to do the work rather than having to do the work. You are doing the work regardless, but even shifting one word in how we show up to that task or that day can shift the whole experience. Truly. Try it. This “have to/get to” reframe can be used in countless moments and each time it reminds us of the freedom to choose how we will show up to the hardest and most joyless days and turn them into the same days that make us feel like we can fly.
Let’s find some more fun together and fly.
-Laurie
Help us create a tool for Alaska nonprofits to use in making important personnel decisions. Your participation in our salary and benefits survey allows us to generate a report to help you establish a salary for a new position, evaluate salary norms within the Alaska nonprofit sector, and compare your organization’s benefit offerings and total compensation competitiveness.
Why should I participate?
The report is only as good as the level of participation—the more participation, the more statistically significant and reliable data will be available to help Alaska’s nonprofit community advance conversations about competitive compensation practices. And, if your organization participates, you’ll receive a $100 discount off the price of the full report. The survey is open for participation through April 5, 2024.
What do I need to complete the survey?
The survey will take approximately 30-45 minutes to complete. You’ll need a list of your employees’ positions and wages, your employee handbook, and details about your benefits.
To assure your confidentiality, we will not disclose individual or organization-specific data, and we will not report data for categories that include fewer than three respondents.
Update March 6, 2024
This morning the subcommittee voted to preserve full funding for the Human Services Community Matching Grants and the Community Initiative Matching Grant. We did it! Nonprofit power at work! Thank you to everyone who reached out to the subcommittee. We will continue to monitor these appropriations as the budget makes its way through the legislative process. Please stay alert for announcements about opportunities to provide public testimony to the full Finance Committee.
March 5, 2024
The House Finance Subcommittee on Health and Social Services is proposing significant cuts to the Department of Health – Human Services Community Matching Grant ($300,000 or a 23% reduction) and the Community Initiative Matching Grant ($400,000 or a 70% reduction). These matching grants provide essential services to Alaska’s most vulnerable populations.
We need your action today. Please engage your board, volunteers, and staff to make your voice heard. Your action is needed TODAY. Contact the House Finance Subcommittee on Health and Social Services and tell them that breaking Alaska’s safety net is not an option. Let them know the harm to Alaskans that this cut will have today and into the future.
House Finance Subcommittee on Health and Social Services:
Human Services Community Matching Grant. The list of grantees includes:
Community Initiative Matching Grants. The list of grantees includes:
January is a time when we hold our annual meeting per our bylaws. We take care of Foraker’s business at this meeting including a review of our audit and our investments. It is a big day and one that makes me feel proud that we are doing all we can to support Foraker as a strong business that is working to strengthen Alaska’s nonprofits. Foraker’s board structure is unique compared to state associations and capacity building organizations. Our two statewide boards oversee Foraker. The Governance Board is responsible for legal, financial, and mission stewardship, and the Operations Board keeps us connected to the sector we serve. The Governance Board is comprised of leaders from the for-profit sector, local and tribal governments, higher education, and key philanthropies. It ensures that Foraker is strategically placed to advance Alaska’s nonprofit sector including tribal governments. The Operations Board is comprised of leaders from the state’s nonprofits, tribal leadership, and philanthropic practitioners. It serves as a sounding board for staff initiatives, helps monitor nonprofit issues and trends, serves as a neutral space for direct service and nonprofit philanthropy to meet, and advises the Governance Board to ensure alignment with our core purpose to Strengthen Nonprofits.
In this cycle, we said our thanks and farewell to Bryan Butcher, CEO of Alaska Housing and Finance Corporation, as he ended his nine years of service on our Governance Board, two as chair. Bryan’s kind heart and clear strategy were the perfect balance in and out of our boardroom. Truly his service was exceptional. We will miss him in all our rooms, and we are grateful he will stay on our finance committee and as a member of the Sultana New Ventures board. Please help me thank Bryan for his true commitment to strengthening the work of nonprofits and tribes across Alaska.
We also welcomed two new Governance Board members, Carol Gore and Ethan Tyler, and four new Operations Board members, Beth Trowbridge, Shane Iverson, Cynthia Libby, and Mariya Lovishchuk. These statewide leaders bring breadth and depth to our team, and we can’t wait to engage them all.
Finally, we also shared our gratitude with Jaeleen Kookesh, our outgoing Governance Board Chair. Jaeleen served two years in this position and was just the right leader for us at the right time. Her steadfast determination to keep us moving forward as we emerged from the impacts of the pandemic was insightful, inspiring, and on track. Please help me thank Jaeleen and know that she will continue on our board as she transitions in her career. Also, help me say congratulations to Dr. Pearl Kiyawn Brower who is Foraker’s new Governance Board Chair. Pearl was our Operations Board Chair, and we are so excited to work with her in her new role.
We are off to a great start with a wonderful board team.