A message from Foraker’s President/CEO Laurie Wolf: As nonprofit leaders we make difficult financial decisions every day and are driven to do what is best for the communities and people we serve. We know that the essential services we provide, the gifts we create for our communities, and the economic opportunities that are derived from our sector all work because we do it as partners with government, business and industry, and individual philanthropists. No one operates in a vacuum, and we need each other. Even if your organization receives no direct government funding, each decision by our policy makers has an impact on the people and places we serve. This is Alaska – we are all connected. When faced with a drastic budget proposal earlier this year, Alaskans spoke up… Read more »

To Alaska Nonprofit Leaders: This morning the Governor’s office released its proposed Fiscal Year 2020 budget. All budget documents can be found on the website for the Office of Management and Budget. I encourage you to examine the proposed budget and understand what it can mean to your mission and your organization. I also encourage you to keep three important points in mind: Please know that the work you do matters. Remember that this is a proposal. There is a long road ahead of us before a final budget is approved. The legislature is the only branch of government with the power to appropriate money, which it does through a comprehensive budget bill. When the governor receives this bill, he can veto all or portions of it (the line-item veto),… Read more »

Last week members of the Alaska Census Working Group met with the Interim Director of the US Census Bureau, Dr. Ron Jarmin, at the Alaska Federation of Natives Convention.  Jarmin announced on stage that Toksook Bay, Alaska will be the first community in the United States to be counted in the 2020 Census, a significant gesture that highlights the importance of reaching remote and hard to count populations. The Census Bureau also launched recruitment efforts to hire Alaskans for the 2020 Census. Are you interested in working on ensuring a fair and accurate count in Alaska?  Learn more about the job openings below: Area Manager (covering Alaska) (Anchorage, GG-13) Area Manager (covering Alaska) (Anchorage, GG-11 to 12) Partnership Specialist (Mat-Su, GG-7 to 12) Partnership Specialist (Fairbanks NSB, GG-7 to 12)… 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 »

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 »

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 »

The nonprofit sector is a fundamental component of a healthy democracy. We see the sector as the foundation for virtually all social and civil rights movements in our country. What starts as a grassroots voice grows to a movement and is most often sustained through the framework of the sector. The movements for civil rights, disability rights, women’s rights, and others all took hold in our sector. These issues continue to need our attention. They are amplified and joined now by new movements we recognize as #MeToo, #BlackLivesMatter, and in response to gun violence #NeverAgain, to name just a few. It is no wonder that the fastest growing classification of nonprofits is 501(c)4, which gives organizations more ability to lobby and advocate with a stronger voice. These issues generate hot… Read more »

Last night the House and Senate Appropriations Committees released the text of the omnibus spending bill that will fund the federal government through the current fiscal. Lawmakers DID NOT include a provision to repeal or weaken the longstanding Johnson Amendment, the law that protects charitable nonprofits, houses of worship, and foundations from partisan politics.  This is good news for Alaska’s nonprofit sector! Thank you to those that signed the Community Letter in Support of Nonpartisanship and picked up the phone to call our congressional delegation, and congratulations to all! Our partner, National Council of Nonprofits, has put together a list of highlights from the 2,232-page bill that they have deemed most relevant to charitable and philanthropic organizations. Their list includes: Arts, Culture, and Community Engagement: The legislation would fund the… Read more »

Last year we shared with you attempts in Washington D.C. to repeal the Johnson Amendment. This is the provision of the federal tax code that protects charitable, religious, and philanthropic organizations from getting involved in candidate endorsements. The National Council of Nonprofits had led the charge to save this important provision, and we’re proud that Alaska nonprofits have stepped in, too, to let our delegation know about the danger of repealing this long-standing protection from partisan politics. Another attempt is underway this month to once again repeal the Johnson Amendment. Some congressional leaders hope to consolidate a huge array of legislative proposals into a massive bill to be passed by March 23 that would provide funding for the rest of the fiscal year. (See article below.) And one of the riders being… Read more »