The Foraker Group

The Alaska Department of Health and Social Services (DHSS) has announced a grant program for Alaska nonprofits that will be funded with $35 million from the CARES Act. The program is being administered by the Alaska Community Foundation (ACF). You can learn more about the program in this DHSS press release. To review the guidelines to determine if your organization is eligible and to apply, please go to the Coronavirus Nonprofit Relief Fund page on the ACF website.

If you need assistance on compliance or help applying, let us know. Send us a note at info@forakergroup.org, or call us at 907-743-1200. We have services that can help you including assistance with grant writing.

Foraker President/CEO pointed out to the committee that the current rule that says nonprofits and small businesses cannot access the AK CARES program because they have received assistance through PPP or EIDL is “disastrous.” She continued: “Allowing groups access to AK CARES who get other types of funding like PPP or EIDL or local government funds are critical ingredients to a recipe for fixing what is broken. We strongly encourage changes that support nonprofits to get back on their feet.”

Laurie’s full testimony is here.

We are pleased that media in both Alaska and around the country are reporting on the impact COVID-19 is having on the nonprofit sector and the many organizations that continue as best they can to serve their communities. On this page, we will share the reports of how we and our partner the National Council of Nonprofits are working to ensure that the sector is part of both state and federal relief programs. And we’ll share with you some stories of ways that Foraker Partners and other Alaska nonprofits are managing the crisis.

Foraker testimony, House Labor Committee hearing on COVID relief — July 9, 2020. Laurie Wolf says to the committee: “Allowing groups access to AK CARES who get other types of funding like PPP or EIDL or local government funds are critical ingredients to a recipe for fixing what is broken. We strongly encourage changes that support nonprofits to get back on their feet.”

Nonprofits get creative amid pandemic — KDLL, June 15, 2020. Read about the strategies being adopted by Hospice of the Central Peninsula.

State working to get $290M CARES Act funds to small businesses, nonprofits — KTVA, May 21, 2020. This week the Alaska State Legislature cleared the way for more than $1 billion in funds from the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act — also known as the CARES Act.

Alaska’s Nonprofits Support Swift Disbursement of CARES Act Relief Funding — Laurie Wolf testimony to the Senate Finance Committee, May 18, 2020.

To the House Labor and Commerce Committee: Include Nonprofits in the State’s Disbursement of CARES Relief Funding — Laurie Wolf testimony, April 25, 2020.

Alaska Humanities Forum to distribute emergency funding from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) to support Alaska’s cultural organizations — Anchorage Press, April 23, 2020. Grants of up to $10,000 will be available to cover operational costs and financial duress caused by COVID-19 closures and cancellations, and the resulting loss of earned revenue.

Alaskans join to create $1 million fund in support of COVID-19 recovery — Press release from Rasmuson Foundation, April 23, 2020. Individual Alaskans, corporations, and other organizations have contributed $1.4 million so far to AK Can Do fund.

$484B More in Stimulus Funds Headed for Release: What’s Included, What’s Not — Nonprofit Quarterly, April 22, 2020. Bill passes the Senate and is expected to be voted on in the House today.

Fairbanks Community Food Bank meets increased demand during COVID-19 pandemic — KTVF, April 13, 2020. The Fairbanks Community Food Bank (FCFB) has adjusted its operations amid increased demand and social distancing guidelines during the COVID-19 pandemic.

How life inside a mental health treatment facility changed in a COVID-19 world — KTUU, April 12, 2020. Programs at nonprofits like Akeela are finding ways to continue serving residents.

Donors asked to contribute $500,000 to feed children and families in Anchorage — Anchorage Daily News, April 9, 2020. Bean’s Cafe and The Children’s Lunchbox are spearheading the campaign.

Many team up on new “AK Can Do” Fund — Anchorage Press, April 9, 2020. A new statewide fund connects donors in every Alaska community with families and organizations facing dire economic hardships from the coronavirus pandemic.

$16M funneled into Alaska healthcare system via CARES Act — KTUU, April 8, 2020. Announcement from Alaska’s congressional delegation. Will go to variety of Alaska nonprofits and tribes.

How Alaska’s nonprofits are feeling the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic — Alaska Public Media, April 8, 2020. Interview with Laurie Wolf.

Foraker head talks about challenges faced by nonprofits due to COVID-19 — Anchorage Press, April 6, 2020. Interview with Laurie Wolf.

The unique struggles of nonprofits during COVID-19 — KTUU, April 3, 2020. Interviews with Foraker President/CEO Laurie Wolf and Rasmuson Foundation President/CEO Diane Kaplan.

Camp Fire to offer child care for healthcare workers and first responders starting Monday — Alaska Public Media, April 3, 2020.

The $2 trillion coronavirus stimulus bill encourages Americans to donate to charity — MarketWatch, March 31, 2020. Interview with Rick Cohen, National Council of Nonprofits.

Foraker survey reveals dire straits due to COVID-19 crisis — Anchorage Press, March 27, 2020. Report on Foraker’s recent survey that measured the impact of the crisis on Alaska nonprofits.

Congress put together a $2 trillion relief package. What happens next? — Talk of Alaska, Alaska Public Media, March 27, 2020. Program features a question and comments from Laurie Wolf on support for nonprofits.

A New Mission for Nonprofits During the Outbreak: Survival — New York Times, March 27, 2020. Interview with National Council of Nonprofits CEO Tim Delaney.

COVID-19 puts Alaska nonprofits at risk — March 27, 2020. Press release reporting on a Foraker survey conducted March 16-24. Over 450 organizations from every segment of the nonprofit community and every part of the state confirmed that their ability to deliver services is deeply impacted as a result of the pandemic.

Congress is expected to pass another piece of COVID-19 legislation by the end of this month. It is important to reinforce with our Alaska delegation and other members of Congress that nonprofit policy solutions need to be included in each relief and recovery effort. We are essential to a healthy economy. You can make your voice heard by signing the new Nonprofit Community Letter sponsored by the National Council of Nonprofits. Foraker has signed, and we urge all Alaska nonprofits to join us and your colleagues from around the country to do the same.

The CARES Act enacted by Congress in March extended economic relief programs to some nonprofits, but the law fell short in many areas. The Nonprofit Community Letter calls for improving the Paycheck Protection Program, providing loans to mid-sized and larger nonprofits, creating a nonprofit jobs expansion program, and strengthening charitable giving incentives – among other provisions.

You can sign the letter here. But don’t delay. The deadline is this Friday, July 10. We are staying in close touch with our delegation to let them know about concerns that still exist with federal relief programs. All three – Senator Murkowski, Senator Sullivan, and Representative Young – have been responsive to these concerns, and we appreciate their support of the sector.

Accountability and responsibility are often used synonymously but responsibility is marked by two fundamental differences – emotion and depth of commitment. These differences can have a profound impact when it comes to making change. The way I see it, and the way we think about it in our Catalyst program, is that to be accountable is to understand all the facts of the matter but to be responsible is to feel and engage our emotions and our moral truth.

To understand these ideas separately means that we can begin to understand how someone can be accountable to the truth without feeling the emotional weight of the responsibility to act based on the truth. Perhaps this compartmentalizing of accountability and responsibility has found itself at the center of very heated conversations about wearing a face mask in public. For many people it seems they can make the distinction between being accountable to the fact – masks save lives, or it is the law – and feeling the personal responsibility for donning a mask. Unfortunately, this distinction is infuriating to many who enter the debate with the emotional commitment that comes with responsibility already in place. The chasm is wide between these groups and there is little that a rant on Facebook or a clever meme will solve. Those in public health have seen this schism play out their entire careers whether it was about the use of seat belts, or condoms, or clean needles, or car seats. The facts are simply different from the emotions to make the changes we need to keep ourselves and everyone else safe.

We are also seeing the difference between accountability and responsibility play out as we talk about how nonprofit boards and staff leaders should be more diverse to more accurately reflect the people at the center of each mission. Plenty of facts point to why diversity matters. Many groups don’t dispute them and even express accountability – but action? change? Well, that requires the emotional commitment to change, because let’s face it – it will be hard work. And herein lies so many of our challenges.

We talk about injustices in our landscape whether they are built into our systems or are created along the way. But too often we talk about them without an avenue to feel personally accountable to the truth and responsible for changing it. The chasm between accountability and responsibility is deep and wide. If we are not careful, we fall into an abyss of blame, defensiveness, and obfuscation rendering ourselves stuck exactly where we started. Trust me, I get it. Change is hard. No one does it perfectly. No one gets it right all the time or even most of the time. If we really want the change we talk about, then we need to hold ourselves and each other responsible to take the next step, and then the next, and then the next. Action is the fuel in responsibility. And it is long past time to fill up our tanks.

So in the name of bridging the gap and accessing not just the facts but the emotional fortitude to effect change, I offer a few areas where we can focus together. These are areas long-discussed but still in need of wholesale change. Every one of you and your missions are at a different point of the journey between accountability and responsibility for action – some just beginning and others leading the way. Judgment and blame are useless distractions. Start where you are and move from there. Make no mistake, it will take all of us not just the ones leading the way to hold the truth and support the emotional weight of making systemic changes to better our missions, our sector, and our communities. We are in this together.

Which one will you pick of these topics? One, some, all? You choose – they all need you.

As the first step of many, below are three areas to move from accountability to responsibility. This first step is really about the accountability phase – the understanding of the truth. From there we move to the personal and organizational work it will take to own the action steps of responsibility. We are ready when you are.

1. Diversify your board and staff leadership. Is this your goal? Below are opportunities to get uncomfortably comfortable with the national facts. Next step: your facts. Remember, we are moving from accountability to responsibility so we can get to action. Each of these articles highlights a different component of the gaps in leadership our sector experiences every day.

• • The preeminent study on racial diversity in nonprofit board and staff leadership was done by Sean Thomas-Breitfeld with The Building Movement Project. A recently updated version of their 2016 report was released last year. Find out more here.
  • Citing the Building Movements Project, this article explores four steps to move from accountability to responsible action.
  • Interested in taking another set of steps. Check out this great list of action items from Eden Stiffman.

2. Close the gender pay gap. Despite progress, women still earn significantly less than men across the country, throughout Alaska, and, yes, in Alaska’s nonprofit sector. In the coming weeks, we will release some ground-breaking data on the pay gap in our sector. No surprise, we have work to do. We look forward to sharing ways to move from accountability to responsible action. Until then, know that the impacts of COVID-19 are only exacerbating the problem. No childcare, no assurance of school in the fall, no real solutions being offered as we navigate relief only means the gap will widen. Will this be the place where you take meaningful action?

• • In the meantime, you can find some information here to whet your appetite. This report includes some action steps, too.
  • We have other steps to share with you soon but these will get you started.

3. Achieve a full census count. Do you think this isn’t your issue? Think again. Every nonprofit mission, every community, every economy relies on an accurate census count. From ensuring voting rights to safe roads, to food security, to public education, to airports, to grocery stores – and for every federal dollar that comes directly and indirectly to your mission – the census matters. There is so much you can do, and now more than ever we need your action. Census is currently a casualty of COVID-19 but we can recover with your help.

• • Want to know more about the census from Alaskans, read a recent opinion piece here.
  • Are you ready to take action? Join the Alaska Census Working Group’s statewide campaign Alaska Counts and download our nonprofit tool kit to get started.

Maybe you are moved to action by all these issues, or maybe just one. In each, we must strive to get to both accountability and responsibility. The intent is not option paralysis – it is action. Know that you can count on us at Foraker to continue offering opportunities to stay both accountable to the facts and responsible in your next steps. After that – the steps are yours to take.