The Foraker Group

We are teaming up with the UAA Department of Economics and Rasmuson Foundation to bring philanthropy researchers to Alaska. Join us, in person, or online to hear the latest research and learn how you might apply it to your fundraising strategies. The last two lectures in the series are scheduled for the following dates: May 22: Does Fundraising Create New Giving? Join in person in Anchorage or online. June 28: Fundraising through online social networks: A field experiment on peer-to-peer solicitation. Join in person in Anchorage or online…. Read more »

For more than a decade, we have provided an array of organizational and leadership development services and offered some limited executive search services. We are now bringing those offerings into a comprehensive service called Transitions: Search & Succession. In this new service, we see leadership transition as an opportunity for positive change. We are scaling up to help nonprofits across Alaska to navigate both planned and unplanned transitions for key leaders in your organizations. All of us at Foraker look forward to seeing how the new search and transition service will benefit your organization as your key leaders make their next move. We are committed to not just standing beside you, but to being your valued guide along the way. Learn more here…. 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. The application deadline is June 3. Learn more here…. Read more »

Thank you is the best place to begin. Thank you to all of you who made space in your life to show up and be present for two full days of the Leadership Summit and to those who took the extra day to come to our pre-conference classes. Thank you for stepping in and stepping up to comfortable and uncomfortable conversations. Thank you for making space to laugh and connect and learn and dance. Thank you to our sponsors that walked alongside us to offer travel scholarships and keep two days of powerhouse presenters affordable and available to the sold-out house of just over 500 attendees. Thank you to our enthusiastic and all-in board members who hosted breakfast roundtables and lunch time conversations and breakout sessions. Thank you to staff… Read more »

As Joan mentioned in her remarks, she is making a special offer available to attendees of our 2019 Leadership Summit.  Many of you did not get the info a link to join so we  wanted to make sure you had all the information you needed to consider joining.  Here’s a brief note from Joan. Thanks to all of you for your gift of service to Alaska and for the opportunity to participate in a stellar conference.  As I mentioned I have an online membership site for a very modest monthly subscription (cancellable at any time – seriously!) called The Nonprofit Leadership Lab.  We started this adventure 2 years ago for board and staff leaders of small-midsized nonprofits for whom coaches and consultants would be cost prohibitive. Many of our members… Read more »

Take a minute and picture your dream team – both board and staff. Got it? Okay. Why? Why are they your dream team? Is it because of their skills or their approach? Or their experience or their understanding of the world? Or their connection to mission? Or their ability to ask hard questions? Or their ability to get along? Or something else? Jot down a few thoughts. Now ask yourself: Does your dream team reflect your mission, the issues, the community, and the context in which mission and your larger cause operates in the world? The challenge for most nonprofits – maybe including yours – is that the answer currently is no. Addressing the challenge of creating a diverse team is an important part of our decision making tool, the… Read more »

Sultana, Foraker’s fiscal sponsorship, is now accepting applications for fiscally-sponsored organizations! If you are interested in learning more or receiving an application, please contact Chellie Skoog, Vice President of Programs at cskoog@forakergroup.org. Sultana exists to support groups and projects in the preliminary stages of their development, offering opportunities to incubate ideas, employ staff, and provide the stability that funders need to make initial investments. Understanding that not every new idea needs a new nonprofit and that not every nonprofit is ready to stand on its own, Sultana is a “safe place” for projects to germinate until they understand what long-term form, if any, they should take. What does a Sultana fiscal sponsorship entail? Projects that partner with Sultana receive the fundamentals of a fiscal sponsorship relationship, including financial, grant management,… Read more »

Recovery Resources Nonprofit Resources for your organization Apply for public assistance (emergency protective measures and earthquake-related debris removal, as well as for repairs to infrastructure damage). The deadline to apply is April 1. More information can be found here: http://ready.alaska.gov/Earthquake SBA Loans – The US Small Business Administration provides low-interest, long-term disaster loans to businesses of all sizes, including nonprofit organizations (and individual homeowners and renters – see below) to repair or replace uninsured/under-insured disaster damaged property.  As a business, you may borrow up to $2 million for physical damage. BA is providing one-on-one assistance to disaster business loan applicants at a Business Recovery Center in Eagle River. No appointment is necessary. Resources for those you serve Alaska Disaster Hotline (free legal assistance available for earthquake survivors): (855) 743-1001 The type of legal… Read more »

There is a line often directed to nonprofits that has been circulating for as long as I can remember. It goes something like this: “If only nonprofits could operate more like businesses.” For sure this is said not to insult, but with the best intentions. But for those of us in the field, who take our role of mission stewardship seriously, the intention is lost because it implies that we are acting recklessly and in disarray while our counterparts have the proven model. I mention this because it seems right now, perhaps more than most times, we should share the way we run our nonprofit corporations and stand up as a model to both business and government. Let us not forget that the C in our 501(c)3, 4, 6, 12,… Read more »

Foraker is piloting our first ever Fund Development Planning cohort in Anchorage this summer. This is a cost-effective way for your organization to put a fund development plan into place with a group of peers and experts on hand. Apply today! With the Fund Development Planning (FDP) cohort you’ll find a safe space where you can discover new tools and resources to help you write and implement your fund development plan – with a group of peers going through the same experience. During your FDP cohort, you will craft a gift chart that is real for your organization, learn how to launch or strengthen your board’s fund development committee, develop your organization’s philosophy of philanthropy, write fund development goals and objectives that are realistic for the next 1-3 years, practice… Read more »