The Foraker Group

The challenges in this world today are many. They come in the form of weather disasters, war, climate change, human action, and many other causes. There are so many critical areas that call to us for action, it’s easy to understand how we can feel distressed and inadequate in the face of such overwhelming events. Today, I join you in considering how to respond in a way that helps us restore our energy, renew our faith, and strengthen our resolve to continue our critical work. There are no magic answers to these questions. But in the midst of disasters around the world, we are hearing and seeing stories of remarkable heroism by individuals and nonprofit organizations mobilizing in unprecedented ways to support and stand up for those who have fallen…. Read more »

The federal judge in Texas who temporarily enjoined the Obama Administration’s Overtime Final Rule late last year ruled this week that the Final Rule is invalid because the U.S. Department of Labor exceeded its authority in setting a high salary-level test that denied exempt status to executive, administrative, and professional employees without regard to their job duties. The judge interpreted the Fair Labor Standards Act as granting the Labor Department the authority to define and limit the white-collar exemptions based primarily on the duties they perform. Because the Overtime Final Rule would have revoked the exempt status of four million workers based solely on the increase in the salary level and without regard to the work they perform, the judge invalidated the rule. Today’s ruling in State of Nevada v. U.S…. Read more »

Tomorrow we mark the 97th>anniversary of the 19th Amendment, which gave women the right to vote. While we have seen much progress in rights for women, we know work still needs to be done. At Foraker, we are committed to this work with many others like the YWCA – especially in the area of pay equity. To add to the conversation, earlier this year we conducted research and prepared a report on pay equity in Alaska’s nonprofit sector. You can find that report here. Please join us in celebrating our achievements and re-committing to further advancing equity in our sector and others in Alaska…. Read more »

The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has published a Request for Information (RFI) in the Federal Register seeking comments from the public about how the white-collar regulations under the Fair Labor Standards Act should be updated. The Obama Administration had sought to revise the same regulations in 2016, but that effort was blocked by a federal court late last year. Under current law, employees working in a “bona fide executive, administrative, or professional capacity” are not eligible for overtime pay. Federal regulations determine which employees fall within those categories. In most cases, employees will be considered exempt from overtime if (1) the employee is paid on a salary basis (“salary basis test”); (2) the employee receives at least a minimum specified salary amount (“salary level test”) which is currently set at $455/week; and (3)… Read more »

Chellie Skoog has been named the new Vice President of Programs for The Foraker Group. Chellie is already familiar to many Foraker Partners. She has been teaching and consulting with us since 2013. Her specialty is helping organizations better manage their financial affairs, and she’s noted for assisting nonprofits that are facing fiscal challenges. Chellie says she is “excited to do the work that advances the health and well-being of communities around Alaska.” She calls Alaska nonprofits “unsung heroes” with staff and boards doing amazing things that frequently go unnoticed in the community. In announcing Chellie’s appointment, Foraker President/CEO Laurie Wolf said that Chellie brings “commitment, skills, and leadership to Foraker’s mission of strengthening Alaska’s nonprofits. We are very excited about what she’s going to accomplish in her new position.”… Read more »

We spend a lot of time in meetings. As seen by the thousands of articles written about meetings, we all know they can be better. Well, here is one more article because, let’s face it, meetings could be better. While all of the following ideas can be applied to all kinds of meetings, I am a true believer that it’s critical that board meetings, in particular, get as close to right as possible. Notice I don’t say perfect, since we are talking about a meeting of people and well, you get the point. There are so many components to a great meeting, however, we have to be motivated to change, which for most of us means we need to find the urgency to make a shift. Hopefully, urgency and crisis… Read more »

Join our team! Foraker is looking to fill two positions – an Administrative Assistant and a Program Director for our Pre-Development Program. The right candidates will have a passion for strengthening Alaska’s nonprofits. Check out the position descriptions to see if the job is a good fit for you or someone you know…. Read more »

Alaska law requires charitable organizations to register with the Department of Law prior to soliciting contributions of money or property in Alaska. Register your organization here to make sure you are compliant. For other areas of legal compliance, use this checklist to help keep your organization on track…. Read more »

Last night was one of many tense nights in the ongoing debate about healthcare in our country. There is a lot at stake for getting it right, and no easy solution for Alaskans. One sliver of hope was the impact that many individuals and organizations in our state had when they raised their voices to engage in a way forward to a healthcare solution. I am proud to see so many Alaska nonprofits urge the U.S. Senate to engage in a clear, bipartisan process. We all need to unite in the goal of providing access to quality, affordable healthcare coverage to more Americans. If your organization has been on the sidelines so far, there are still many opportunities in the coming weeks and months to engage. Here are 3 reasons… Read more »

Over the past several months we have explored the possibilities of changing the delivery model for our human resources shared services. The model we now use has been effective and well received, but we also want to improve and ensure we are meeting the needs of our Partners. In mid-May we held several focus group meetings on HR shared services and received excellent feedback. We are quite excited about the potential opportunities. We are now conducting a short online survey that builds on the insights from the focus groups and will further refine them. To assure that we have a broad range of feedback, we ask that you, as a Foraker Partner, provide your thoughts by participating in this survey. Should you have any questions, please do not hesitate to… Read more »