We are pleased to offer travel assistance for Foraker Partners attending the 2015 Leadership Summit who live outside the Anchorage area. The deadline for applying is Friday, February 27. Click here for details and an application form. Because funds are limited, please review the criteria carefully to determine if you or a member of your organization is eligible. You will be notified no later than Tuesday, March 10, if we are able to assist you. Assistance will include one free night at the Hotel Captain Cook and a stipend toward airfare. You may apply for lodging or a stipend toward airfare – or for both. If you have questions, please call us at 907-743-1200…. Read more »

How is this summit different from other conferences? Foraker summits are dynamic learning and sharing environments. We come prepared to not just listen and absorb but to immerse ourselves in the experience and truly engage with each other. Foraker is committed to supporting you in your work and the summit is an important part of that commitment. We know you have knowledge to share and want opportunities to learn – this is your space to do both. The 2015 Foraker Leadership Summit: “Transform. Create. Lead: As a sector – As organizations – As individual leaders” To be held April 20-21, Hotel Captain Cook in Anchorage — Register now… Read more »

Who will we hear from? We are gathering national and international leaders who will share their insights and engage us in looking more creatively at our work. We hope you are as excited as we are about the line-up of speakers: Meg Wheatley, an internationally acclaimed writer and speaker, who will explore a new and exciting perspective about what it means to be a host leader in our organizations. Zaid Hassan, author of The Social Labs Revolution: A New Approach to Solving Our Most Complex Problems, who will help us take a fresh look at how we tackle the challenges facing our organizations. Richard Evans, CEO of EmcArts and a partner with Foraker and Rasmuson Foundation on an arts initiative called New Pathways, who will explore ways we can all… Read more »

During the Foraker annual meeting yesterday, Dennis McMillian announced that he is stepping down as President/CEO. In response to McMillian’s announcement, Foraker outgoing Governance Board Chair Steve Marshall said that as the founder and leader who has guided Foraker’s growth for 15 years, McMillian has embraced its purpose of strengthening Alaska nonprofits with creative insight and a passion to help the sector become more sustainable and resilient. “Under Dennis’s leadership, Foraker has successfully made the transition from “start-up” to an organization that is highly respected among its peers in Alaska and across the country,” Marshall said. Click here to read the press release that provides more details on Dennis’s announcement…. Read more »

Alaska’s nonprofit sector accounts for $6.5 billion in direct expenditures. $4.4 billion is generated by charitable nonprofits, or 501(c)(3) organizations. $2.1 billion comes from other 501(c) organizations. The sector employs 39,000 people – or 12% of the state’s workforce – an increase of 7,000 from 2010. Nationally, the nonprofit sector makes up 10.6% of the workforce. These are just a few of the statistics that are part of our latest economic impact report — and they demonstrate the economic significance of the sector in Alaska. Read the report here…. Read more »

December 31 marked the last day in the office for our good friend and Foraker “go-to” person, Vicki Lewis. Vicki has been with us almost since we opened our doors. She has managed the education program, kept a million balls in the air during our Leadership Summits, and brought a delightful sense of humor to the office. Even though she is retiring, Vicki promises to check in with us when she’s not spending time with her granddaughter. For more than a decade, Vicki has helped edit and proofread this newsletter. So if you find a few typos in this edition, it’s because we haven’t yet found someone with her keen eye for detail to catch our oversights. Thanks, Vicki, for your dedication to Foraker, our Partners, and to the sector…. Read more »

In less than one month, new rules go into effect that benefit nonprofits in their relationships with local, state, and federal governments. The Office of Management and Budget’s Uniform Guidance, published at the end of last year, mandates that governments at all levels must reimburse nonprofits for some or all of their indirect costs (sometimes called administrative or overhead costs) for work performed under a wide variety of contracts and grants when federal grant money is involved. For the past year, federal agencies have been revising their regulations in order to ensure consistency with the new federal reforms. OMB is expected to release Interim Final regulations from most federal agencies that will take effect by December 26, and all governments at all levels will be obligated to follow the new… Read more »

The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and the Council on Financial Assistance Reform (COFAR) released new regulations scheduled to take effect on December 26, 2014 that will have a significant impact on nonprofits. While the results promise to be positive for nonprofits, the regulations will require changes in the way grants and contracts are managed when federal grant funds are involved. Please click here for review from the Council on the new regulations…. Read more »

Periodically I review the Letters from the CEO archive to make sure that I don’t repeat myself (too much), and to monitor how many months in a row I’ve written one of these articles. We have published the newsletter since 2004 and it became a monthly service in 2006. In July we marked the 100th publication! In our October newsletter, I shared my thoughts on what it’s been like to develop these monthly messages. I hope you have found them helpful and that you’ll share your thoughts with me. Click here for the article. –Dennis… Read more »

You can manage much of the information on your organization on line. Use your Partner log-in to update your board list (so each board member receives the monthly newsletter and other important information), review your Partner Assessment Survey, and assure that contact information is correct. If you have questions, contact Andrew Cutting at 907-743-1221, or via email at acutting@forakergroup.org…. Read more »