The Foraker Group

Hey new Executive Directors – we have a program designed for YOU! In our Executive Leadership Intensive we’ll share tools and resources to help you take the next step in leading your organization and increasing your job performance. The deadline to apply is December 7. Learn more here…. Read more »

Are you feeling it? Are you hearing it? Election anxiety – it’s a thing. It might look different across the country but we are not immune in our great state. The rising rates of COVID infection are only exacerbating our collective anxiety. Overlay a reckoning about the deep inequities experienced in our communities not just by the ravishes of COVID right now but by historical trauma, and we have the perfect storm for deep and real anxiety. What we also know is that the collision of COVID and the election has something else in common: it takes all of us to participate and believe in the greater good for change to occur. If your anxiety is being stoked and you are having trouble finding the right things to say –… Read more »

Applications will open for the Municipality of Anchorage Nonprofit Relief grant program at noon on Monday, October 19, 2020. The grant program will make available over $4,000,000 of CARES Act funds to eligible nonprofits, and $50,000 from the Rasmuson Foundation that will be dedicated to arts and culture nonprofits.  Cook Inlet Lending Center (CILC) will process applications for this grant program and distribute the funds. $2.5 million of the grant program will be set aside for general nonprofits, while $1.5 million of the grant program will be set aside for arts and culture nonprofits.  Qualified applicants will be eligible to receive grants of $7,500, $15,000, or $30,000 depending on the recipient’s gross revenue. The grants may be used to cover costs of operational interruptions caused by the COVID‐19 pandemic and local emergency… Read more »

We call these days “blursday.” They are endless and full, and one day bends and folds into liminal space. These are days where the virus has done more than bring isolation, death, and sorrow – it has revealed and exploited the deep inequities that already existed, and its wake only deepens our fears about each other and about the state of our nation. In this “in-between time,” we hold our breath waiting for the next revelation  that we know will come, and we are never sure from which direction. Will it be in the new way we respond to our work with agility and speed that we didn’t even know we had? Or in the new life of teacher-parent-worker that we never thought was possible but yet is happening? Or… Read more »

Help us create a tool for Alaska nonprofits to use in making important personnel decisions. Your participation in our salary and benefit 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. The survey will take approximately 30 minutes to complete. You’ll need a list of your employees’ positions and their wages (Note: we are collecting data for 48 position categories, so not everyone at your organization may fit in the categories.), your employee handbook, and a description of your benefit plan. The link to the survey will take you to a secure online area that allows you to add key information about wages and benefits. If you participated… Read more »

The National Council of Nonprofits is hosting a free webinar on September 24 at 11:00 AKDT to answer questions about COVID-related paid leave requirements. During the webinar, speakers from the U.S. Department of Labor will: Walk participants through the requirements of the laws Explain which employees and employers are and are not covered Discuss the concept of intermittent family leave in the context of school reopening Address the recent federal court decision and changes to Labor Department regulations effective September 16 You can register here…. Read more »

The SBA is processing very few PPP loan forgiveness applications and banks across the nation are waiting to hear from congress. There is increasing pressure on congress to automatically forgive loans less than $150,000, but it is unclear when and if that will happen. Most banks in Alaska are not accepting PPP loan forgiveness applications. That being said, when the banks are accepting the applications – you’ll want to understand the process. To that end, the SBA Alaska District Office is hosting free webinars on September 23 & September 30 from 1:00-3:00 pm to review PPP loan forgiveness, including an overview of the forgiveness requirements, a walkthrough of PPP forgiveness applications, and the appeals process. Register here…. Read more »

There is one week left to make sure ALL Alaskans are counted in the 2020 Census. We’re sure you’ve heard us say… there are roughly 3.2 billion reasons why the census matters to Alaska! This number represents the total federal dollars flowing into our state ($3.2B) based on census data. Nonprofits directly receive 18% of that money, and even more as indirect funding. That’s why it is critically important that we take an active role to make sure that an accurate census count takes place. We only get one chance every 10 years to get this right, so we need you to jump in and help make it happen for Alaska. Nonprofits play an important role in outreach. Community-based organizations like yours make a big difference in encouraging participation from… Read more »

The work of change is loud and strong and in the street. It is also quiet and subtle and continuous. It is inside and outside. It is in a person’s head and body and soul and woven throughout an institution’s culture – glimmering in its people, practices, and principals. It is personal and collective. It is not about better or worse ways. It is not about ending or stopping but about starting and momentum. It is about the commitment to change. It will take all of us. Some things will be simple and obvious, but mostly it is hard, and it is worth it. We each begin this journey in different places so the idea that there is one way might be a good way to sell something or promise… Read more »

The National Council of Nonprofits provided the following information on the executive order that was issued by the President on August 8. “The Department of Treasury and Internal Revenue Service has issued a three-page guidance implementing the Presidential Memorandum allowing employers to defer withholding and payment of the employee’s portion of the Social Security tax. Notice 2020-65, posted on August 31 on IRS.gov, makes relief available for employers and generally applies to wages paid starting Sept. 1, 2020, through Dec. 31, 2020. The employee Social Security tax deferral may apply to payments of taxable wages to an employee that are less than $4,000 during a bi-weekly pay period, with each pay period considered separately. No deferral is available for any payment to an employee of taxable wages of $4,000 or… Read more »