The Foraker Group

Posted Under: Advocacy

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Anchorage Foraker Partners and friends:

We ask that you participate in an important survey that will help the community develop a five-year plan focused on making Anchorage more economically resilient.  The survey is part of an effort by local organizations to develop what’s called a Community Economic Development Strategy (CEDS) for Anchorage.

The CEDS Survey can be found here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ANCHCEDS and is open to residents of the Municipality of Anchorage until February 7.

Completing this CEDS survey provides the opportunity for Anchorage nonprofit boards, executive leaders and staff to have a say in the community’s long-term economic vitality.  We know that a strong, healthy and dynamic nonprofit sector makes Anchorage a better place to live, work and raise our families – the kind of community we are all proud to be a part of.

The CEDS survey asks your opinion about what makes Anchorage’s economy strong, what makes it weak, opportunities for building a stronger local economy, and the threats.  The survey also asks for specific action and changes to the economy that will yield positive results.

While we at Foraker do not intend to tell you how to answer the survey questions, we would like to provide some context that might help as you respond to the survey questions:

• The collective purpose of Anchorage nonprofits to serve the greater good has powerful economic and social impacts.
• Anchorage’s nonprofits are essential ingredients in growing a diversified, sustainable and healthy economy.
• Every  state and local government dollar spent in Anchorage is leveraged and multiplied into philanthropic and earned  income investments in the local and state economies.
• State and local government investment in the nonprofit sector creates jobs, through direct and indirect methods, and induces other jobs to be created.
• In Alaska, nonprofits create roughly 63,000  direct,  indirect and induced jobs totaling $2.5 billion in wages and salaries, representing roughly 12% of the Alaska statewide workforce – a large portion of that job creation happens in Anchorage.
• Anchorage nonprofits deliver essential services that effectively and efficiently meet the community’s most pressing needs, partnering with government, business and other nonprofits.

Add your voice to the many nonprofit boards, executive leaders and staff members who want their voices heard as Anchorage works to build and maintain a resilient economy.  Please share the survey link and this message with your own board and staff – the more voices the better!
Thank you,

Laurie Wolf, President/CEO
The Foraker Group