The Foraker Group

A special thanks to those who who donated to Foraker through Pick.Click.Give.! We’re honored that our work is among the causes you care most about – together we are creating a thriving nonprofit sector that meets diverse community needs across the state. Thank you all!: Stephanie Allen Lisa Aquino Deena Bishop Bruce Botelho Laura Cameron Angela Cox Elizabeth David Diane Kaplan Gabe Layman Jillian Lush Jordan Marshall Joel Neimeyer Joan O’Keefe Rebecca Savidis Geri Simon Chellie Skoog Michael Smith Joy Steward John Van Alstine Bernie Washington Laurie Wolf Bill Wright… Read more »

This month we are taking a moment to say YAY! We don’t do that very often. Okay, I think we’ve only done this one other time in our 18 years at Foraker – that’s when we launched our book, Focus on Sustainability, A Nonprofit’s Journey. So, for the second time we will pause for a moment and celebrate the launch of our new website. I hope you will take some time to explore it because, after all, we built it for you. First, what I hope you notice is it’s still us – serving as your support, your Partner, and your friend in strengthening your mission from the inside out. I hope you see yourself and what you want to do, whether it’s finding a network of support, or diving… Read more »

Executive Leadership Initiative Mentoring and community for executive directors in their first three years of leadership. We believe successful leaders are supported leaders. With the Executive Leadership Initiative we have created a safe space where you can find tools and resources to help you grow into your role as executive director. During this program you will strengthen your board relationship, explore management and planning strategies with an experienced mentor, and learn from a network of peers. Applications are due December 7. The program starts January 30. Learn More. … Read more »

Create a more fulfilling and engaged work life. Do you want to discover your unique strengths as a leader and how to apply them more fully for better results? Do you understand how your sense of purpose drives your work or connects to mission? We invite you to apply to the Catalyst in Nonprofit Excellence program. Apply today! What is Catalyst? Catalyst is a results-oriented personal and professional development program designed to help you discover your intrinsic ability to create excellence and grow your network of support. With a cohort of peers, you will explore tools that will elevate your leadership. The series is broken into five sessions that build on each other. Each step is separated by some time to allow you to integrate and apply your learning and prepare… Read more »

There has been a new development in the ongoing efforts to dismantle the Johnson Amendment. Here’s the scoop from the National Council of Nonprofits: “The U.S. Senate approved with broad bipartisan support its version of a $154.2 billion, four-bill fiscal 2019 spending package that does not include the anti-Johnson amendment language adopted in the House-passed bill. That House provision would effectively prohibit the Internal Revenue Service from enforcing the Johnson Amendment against churches for even the most egregious violations.” Alaska Senator Lisa Murkowski has been appointed to the conference committee working on a compromise budget proposal and she is in position to play a pivotal role in helping protect the Johnson Amendment.  We ask Alaska nonprofits to join us in preserving nonprofit nonpartisanship by contacting Senator Murkowski with this short but powerful message: “Partisanship has… Read more »

  Congratulations to Carol Gore, President/CEO of Cook Inlet Housing Authority and member of the Alaska Census Working Group, who has been named chairperson of the U. S. Census Bureau’s National Advisory Committee (NAC). Carol, who previously served as vice-chair of the NAC and who serves on its Committee on Racial, Ethnic and Other Populations, is the only member of the 27-person body who hails from Alaska, a state that poses unique challenges when it comes to the decennial census. As chair of the NAC, which acts as a critical channel of communication between the Census Bureau and on-the-ground practitioners across the country, Carol will continue to advocate for a fair and accurate count in 2020, especially for historically undercounted populations. And as the only member of the NAC representing… Read more »

Change is palpable right now – from the world stage, to the national landscape, to our local communities, to our organizational front porch. We see change in large ways in recent headlines marking the passing of American icons like Senator John McCain and Aretha Franklin, the Queen of Soul. And we see it in everyday life in our own families and communities. And, of course, our seasons are changing far too fast for most of us as we move into the waning summer days that feel more like fall with every gust of wind and change in leaf color. In eulogies and in daily life, in the confessions of great scholars, and in the ramblings at the water cooler, I am in awe of the constancy of change. Change can… Read more »

Every two years we ask you to tell us how you compensate your staff. With your participation in the Foraker Salary & Benefit Survey, we are able to create a tool for Alaska nonprofits to use in making important personnel decisions. The survey is designed 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 report can be used to find information relevant to you – breaking the data down by job titles, organization budget size, and by sub-sector. Again this year, we are asking organizations to specify staff gender in order to gauge pay equity in our sector. The link to the survey will take you to a secure online area… Read more »

There has been a new development in the ongoing efforts to dismantle the Johnson Amendment. Here’s the scoop from the National Council of Nonprofits: “The U.S. Senate approved with broad bipartisan support its version of a $154.2 billion, four-bill fiscal 2019 spending package that does not include the anti-Johnson amendment language adopted in the House-passed bill. That House provision would effectively prohibit the Internal Revenue Service from enforcing the Johnson Amendment against churches for even the most egregious violations.” We don’t know who will be appointed to the joint House/Senate Conference Committee, which will be tasked with coming up with a compromise budget proposal, but we ask Alaska nonprofits to join us and nonprofits across the country to preserve nonprofit nonpartisanship.  We are asking Alaska nonprofit leaders to get in touch with the three… Read more »

Foraker has a team of more than 20 consultants ready to help you strengthen your organization. Meet a few of the most recent additions to our team: Sammye Pokryfki has joined our consulting team and is available for board facilitation and executive consultation. Sammye has worked in the nonprofit sector as a staff, board member, volunteer, and mentor for 35 years. Before joining Foraker as a consultant, she experienced a yearlong sabbatical that included outdoor adventures in some of the most beautiful places on earth (including Alaska). Sammye’s most recent professional position was at Rasmuson Foundation where she worked from 2005-2017. Sammye is a proud UAA Alumnus with bachelor’s degrees in English and Social Work, and a master’s degree in Social Work. She received UAA’s Alumni of Distinction Humanitarian Award in 2016 and… Read more »