The Foraker Group

Do you have an opinion on the state’s proposed changes to Medicaid payment rates for select hospital and long-term care facilities? Then don’t miss this opportunity to speak up, and your voices heard! The State of Alaska Department of Health will be holding a public hearing on its proposed payment rates at 10:00 a.m. on June 23, 2023: http://notice.alaska.gov/211175 Need more information on proposed rates? Learn more here: https://health.alaska.gov/…/RateReview/Rate-Setting.aspx… Read more »

At Foraker, we often talk about nonprofit sector data as BAD or best available data. Unfortunately, most data aren’t even BAD, but instead are anecdotal based on a small survey or a narrow, unrepresentative sample. Even worse, it is data that grabs you with a “click bait” title and results in trying to sell our sector something. I crave representative data and find myself skipping to the end of every report to see how the data was collected and if Alaska was even included in “national research.” Sadly, it often is not. For these reasons, we are committed to working with Partners to gather the very best data we can from a variety of trusted sources to produce Alaska’s Nonprofit Sector: Generating Economic Impact. It is a big lift, so… Read more »

We are grateful for a thoughtful and dedicated community of nonprofit leaders. Thank you for making the 2023 Leadership Summit a place of reflection and learning. Together, we are creating a resilient and reimagined Alaska! How will you take the concepts you learned back to your organization? For starters, you can log back into the conference app for the next 3 months (until August 12) to watch the recorded sessions and download the handouts. We have posted the slides we have available from the speakers. We encourage you to review what you have learned with your team – board, staff, and volunteers. If you took a professional portrait with Photo Emporium, you can find your photos to download here. Here are some additional ways you can continue to connect and integrate what you’ve learned: Executive Directors – join us for the next CEO… Read more »

Are you an Alaska nonprofit or tribal leader? Do you want to enhance your management skills and explore new techniques to effectively lead your organization? The Foraker Certificate in Nonprofit Management features courses developed to apply classroom teachings to your workplace, case studies directly related to issues facing Alaska nonprofits, and a network of fellow professionals to last a lifetime. We are now accepting applications for the fall 2023 cohort. The deadline to apply in June 9…. Read more »

The Alaska Community Foundation will be accepting applications through April 26 for grants from their Strengthening Organizations Fund. Awards will support nonprofit staff and boards of directors to access tools, develop practical skills, and cultivate systems needed to effectively achieve the organization’s mission in the areas of leadership development, organizational development, program development, collaboration and community engagement, and evaluation of effectiveness. Foraker is ready to stand beside you if you choose to engage with us through our capacity-building services for this grant…. Read more »

Foraker will raise rates starting July 1. The increases were carefully considered by the finance committee and approved by the Governance Board. Even with these rate increases, Foraker services are still available below Alaska’s market rates. To ensure that Foraker Partners fully understand the cost of our services, we continue to publish our complete rate structure on our website. The increase on July 1 will impact all our services including consulting, education programs, and cohort offerings. Financial Shared Services, Leadership Transition, and now From Bias to Belonging engagements will be billed as a scope of work and will also reflect the rate increases. The rates for joining as a Foraker Partner will not increase. (Partnership rates are assessed on a sliding scale based on annual budget size). As always, we will find… Read more »

A new season is upon us. April brings us many variations of religious holidays – Ramadan, Easter, Passover – reminders of new beginnings and a time to reimagine what is next for ourselves and our communities. I have been doing my own reflection as we work to prepare for the upcoming Leadership Summit happening virtually May 4 and in person May 11 & 12. Our Leadership Summits aren’t ordinary conferences where a group of experts stands at the front of the room to tell you what you should know. Instead, you are at the center of the space – holding and owning, thinking and talking, and reimagining together, from the thoughts being shared, what might come next. The genesis of this year’s Summit is actually found in a newsletter article… Read more »

We’re partnering with the National Council of Nonprofits to learn more about the workforce shortage in the nonprofit sector. Is your nonprofit struggling with unfilled vacancies, long waiting lists of people seeking services, chronic burnout, and other challenges like employee turnover? Or is the crisis of nonprofit workforce shortages a thing of the past? A major survey and report in late 2021 identified the scope of the problems related to nonprofit workforce shortages and identified both public policy and practical solutions that have helped organizations hire and retain the staff they need to advance their missions. We invite you to complete the survey and help the nonprofit sector tell its story…. Read more »

Alaska Board Match is an online match tool created to help nonprofits establish more diverse, inclusive, and welcoming board rooms. This site also assists in pairing Alaskans ready to serve local nonprofits in need of board members. Have you created an account for your organization? Find your next high performing board member today!… Read more »

Are you getting spam emails and phone calls about the Employee Retention Tax Credit?  While we don’t recommend engaging with the marketing calls, we DO recommend finding a trusted source to see if your nonprofit is eligible. If your organization experienced a shut-down due to COVID-19 in 2020 or 2021, and revenues declined as a result, you may be eligible.  The program is active through April 2024 for 2020 credits, and April 2025 for 2021 credits.  We recommend contacting your CPA firm (perhaps the one who prepares your 990) to help you determine if your organization is eligible, and assist with the filing.  These services will come with a fee, which could be calculated as a percentage of the credit received…. Read more »