The Foraker Group

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 »

So many choices. So many great ideas. So much wishful thinking. We all have been in these meetings. It’s a real struggle to sort through all you are hearing and doing to get to the things that matter the most. Add the need to generate revenue, and the pressure can be overwhelming on a good day. So how do you choose which activity to run with? How can you be sure that whatever you choose will get you closer to not just more money, but more mission? Having a clear sense of your business model is certainly an essential step. But once you know if your mission is going to be primarily powered by earned income or charitable income only gets you off the starting line. Now you have to… Read more »

Join us for a thought-provoking session with Building Movement Project Co-Director, Sean Thomas-Breitfeld,as he leads us through the Race to Lead findings, which challenge the way the nonprofit sector has been approaching the racial leadership gap.  Date: Thursday, September 20, 2018 Time: 8:30am – 11:30am Where: Campfire Conference Room @ the Mountain View Services Center – Anchorage, AK Event Background: The Building Movement Project has surveyed more than 4,000 respondents nationwide about their current nonprofit job, interest in leading a nonprofit, training/supports, views of leadership, and personal background. The findings from the survey, found in the report, Race to Lead: Confronting the Nonprofit Racial Leadership Gap, challenge the way the nonprofit sector has been approaching the racial leadership gap. They show more similarities than differences in the background and preparation… Read more »

We are pleased to announce that Wendy Lindskoog has joined the Foraker Governance Board. Wendy is the Vice President of Communications and External Affairs at BP Alaska. She is an accomplished executive with 30 years of community and government affairs experience and extensive legislative, agency, and policy expertise. Wendy is no stranger to the nonprofit sector – she is a dedicated community member and serves on the boards of the Resource Development Council and the Alaska SeaLife Center. Wendy’s participation on the Governance Board marks another example of the generous support from BP and its employees for Foraker’s mission to strengthen Alaska nonprofits. We have been honored to have six BP employees serve on either the Governance or Operations Boards. And we greatly appreciate BP’s support both as a long-time… Read more »

In our May newsletter we let you know about changes that are occurring in the Pre-Development Program, or what has become known at Pre-D. Pre-D was launched in 2006 with the goal of helping to plan sustainable capital projects – or those that contribute to the long-term viability of the organization and the community it serves. Pre-D has been supported by the Alaska Mental Health Trust Authority, Denali Commission, Mat-Su Health Foundation, Alaska Housing Finance Corporation, and Rasmuson Foundation. We want to remind you that even though Pre-D is not accepting new projects, a wealth of information has been gathered over the 12 years of the program and much of it is available on our website. Included on this page is a handbook we developed – Preparing to Fund Your Capital Project… Read more »

Seventeen-percent – that number represents the average of Alaska’s workforce that works for nonprofits. In rural and remote rural Alaska, it can be as high as 40%. Rarely is the sector talked about as an industry, but if we were, we would be the second largest Alaska industry based on employment – right behind oil and gas. The data is compelling for many reasons. One is the opportunity to look closely at what we are doing in the sector to both attract and retain this workforce. In 2006, Tom Tierney published an article in the Stanford Social Innovation Review called The Leadership Deficit in which he articulated his view of our future as a sector. A key element of that future was a high turnover of Baby Boomers and a… Read more »

We have two new series for you to take this summer: Managing Your Nonprofit – The Essential Toolkit A  webinar series featuring courses on sustainability, human resources, board development, finance, and fundraising. Are you new to a management position or to the nonprofit sector? Are you looking to apply nonprofit best practices to your workplace? In this series we’ll explore the core framework for running a nonprofit and the elements that will help you to make sound management decisions. The series will include five courses – each two hours in length – to enhance your nonprofit management skills. The fee is $200 for the series; $125 for Foraker Partners. Learn more here.  Your Guide to Media Relations: The Strategies & Techniques for Effective Communication Join us for a webinar series… Read more »

The Alaska Division of Insurance is working to stabilize and reduce health care coverage costs in the small group market – those employers with 50 or fewer employees, which includes many nonprofits. To develop a clear path forward, the division is surveying small businesses and nonprofit organizations to identify issues and barriers to affordable health care coverage. Foraker supports the state’s efforts, and we encourage you to participate in this survey to help them develop realistic, effective options for improving affordability in Alaska’s small group health insurance market. The deadline to participate is June 30…. Read more »

Happy Summer, everyone. I bet you were thinking: “there is no better topic to celebrate summer than tax reform.” Right? Well, lucky for all of us, this isn’t as much about the policy of tax reform as about what we need to do to follow the new rules and position ourselves differently for philanthropic success. So pour yourself a glass of iced tea, open the window, and let’s talk. When nonprofit leaders are asked about what their organization is doing as a result of tax reform, the common response over the last six months has been “nothing.” I understand how that can sound like the right answer, especially if you don’t have staff. However, you really can do things right now to adjust to the new rules. If you do… 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 program 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. Learn the essentials in each of the key areas of nonprofit management: Strategic Planning & Direction Organizational Development Board Development Marketing & Communications Fundraising Public Policy Human Resources Volunteer Engagement Budget & Finance Business Planning Evaluation Apply today – the deadline to submit an application is June 1, 2018! … Read more »