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 »

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 »

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 »

Catalyst for Nonprofit Excellence is a results-oriented, tool-based program designed to increase your leadership skills. The program is open to senior leadership staff and board members committed to the nonprofit sector who are looking to be more effective in achieving goals and creating a more fulfilling, engaged work life. In this program you will: Discover your unique strengths as a leader and how to apply them more fully for better results Build a strong support network that helps you achieve your goals Transform workplace disputes and conflicts into opportunities for deeper understanding and positive change Become more effective in work and personal relations than ever before More information on the program can be found here. The deadline for applications is June 16, 2017…. Read more »

Recently we conducted a survey of the mood of the Alaska nonprofit sector. We wanted to measure what we had been hearing anecdotally. The mood survey is complete and we received a representative sample from organizations across the state and sector. What we learned didn’t surprise us – you are anxious. The more revealing answers lie in the details. Overall, board members have more anxiety than CEOs. This is interesting on several fronts: 1) There are more board members than CEOs so the anxiety has a multiplying effect. 2) Board members typically represent other sectors of our economy so they have a different perspective of how the economy is affecting the work. 3) CEOs are particularly adept at dealing with challenges and difficult situations – it almost comes with the… Read more »

On Thursday President Trump signed an executive order that could have a significant impact on the charitable nonprofit sector. Although the law has not changed and the executive order is somewhat confusing, it essentially instructs the IRS to look the other way when it finds that a nonprofit or religious organization violates the Johnson Amendment. This provision in the tax code, named after President Lyndon Johnson, is intended to keep politics and the money that flows to political candidates out of charitable nonprofits. Recently the Foraker Governance Board issued a statement calling for support for nonprofit partisanship, and we stand with over 4,500 nonprofits across the country who submitted a similar call through a letter to Congress. We feel strongly that any attempt to repeal the Johnson Amendment is completely… Read more »

Are you an Alaska nonprofit professional in a leadership position? Come enhance your management skills and explore a full range of issues and best practices to use in your organization.The Certificate in Nonprofit Management program features courses developed to apply classroom teachings directly to your workplace, case studies directly related to issues facing Alaska nonprofit organizations, and a network of fellow professionals. Information on program dates and a curriculum overview can be found here. The deadline for applications is June 2, 2017…. Read more »

At our leadership summit earlier this month, we launched a new tool to help you assess the financial health of your organization — it’s our “Indicators of Financial Crisis.” We all know that a stressed organization operating with the best of intentions can still make ill-advised decisions – especially in the financial arena – and the results can be damaging. We also know that sometimes seeing a financial crisis is difficult. Our new tool will help you spot if you’re in crisis or coming close to one. Once you know, you’ll be able to take the steps to recover. After you take the assessment outlined in this tool and if you believe action is needed you have several options. You can tap the expertise on your board or another outside resource. You may… Read more »

We appreciate the time committed by more than 450 nonprofit professionals who engaged in thoughtful and meaningful conversations this week at our leadership summit. For those of you who were not able to attend, you may review the presentations and handouts from our speakers on our website. Whether or not you were at the summit, we offer this list of ways we can continue to connect. 1. Participate in quarterly advocacy check-ins. Once each quarter, Director of Public Policy Mike Walsh hosts a dialogue on issues affecting the sector. Mark your calendars for June 7 at 9:00 am. for the next session. Remember – the best time to advocate is when your legislators are out of session and in your communities. You can also join our Public Policy Alert list to keep up with important policy issues…. Read more »