Our biennial survey of nonprofit salaries and benefits is now open. We encourage all Alaska nonprofits to participate. Why? Workforce Development: People power our missions and deserve fair compensation. To attract and retain talent, nonprofits must set competitive wages and benefits. COVID-19: Nonprofits are a vital part of Alaska’s economy and quality of life. Understanding how nonprofit employment is changing is an essential step in planning for what comes next. This year, the survey will ask a few questions about the impacts of the pandemic on nonprofit staffing, wages, and benefits. Pay Equity: We are collecting data on the gender of workers in all 48 positions listed in the survey to inform essential conversations about gender pay equity. This information will build on our recently released report about the gender pay gap… Read more »

Have you ever had the experience of thinking something and then suddenly it’s in every conversation and everywhere you look? I’ve been having that experience lately. So, what is it? Actually, it’s the effort to name a state of change and the very real experience of living “in-between.” Certainly, there are many people who live their whole life “in the hyphen” of their experience – meaning they are actively living in two or more cultures, two or more personas, or two or more roles. And I believe right now, and throughout the pandemic, we have all been living in this space. This in-between time has many names and many ways to navigate. Some years ago I was introduced to the word “liminality” by a friend and mentor Richard Evans. Liminality… Read more »

The IRS has introduced a new Form 1099-NEC, which is the new way to report payments to others that are self-employment income. It replaces Form 1099-MISC. The forms now have different due dates and penalties for missing the filing deadlines. Although the IRS Instructions for Form 1099-NEC say they are to start in 2022 for 2021 activities – THAT IS WRONG. 1099-NECs are due by the end of this month for 2020 payments made to independent contractors or for professional fees (February 1, 2021, because January 31 falls on Sunday).  Beginning with the 2020 tax year, the IRS now requires business taxpayers to report nonemployee compensation on the new Form 1099-NEC instead of on Form 1099-MISC. Similar required filing thresholds apply to the forms: if annual payments exceed $600, one… Read more »

As nonprofit leaders, it’s essential that we have the tools to make informed decisions. One of those tools is our Salary and Benefits Report – which gives us context and a comparative benchmark for compensation in Alaska’s nonprofit sector. What’s in the report? The 2020 Salary and Benefits Report features: Salary data for 48 positions including executive director, finance director, development director, administrative support, accountants, clinical support, and program staff Regional breakdown of data from Southcentral, Interior, and Southeast Alaska Data from organizations with budgets ranging from less than $100,000 to over $10 million Data from 20 types of nonprofits, including youth development, educational institutions, medical disciplines, arts, culture, and humanities groups Benefit data on medical, dental, vision, holidays and leave, retirement plans, life insurance, and more Data on gender pay gap… Read more »

Are you ready for planned change? What about change that isn’t planned? Have you and your board talked about executive transition? Whether you are a new CEO, near retirement, or somewhere in between, it’s critical to know how mission will last beyond you. In this class, we will lead you through the steps that will ensure that your organization successfully manages inevitable leadership change. Come to this session with your questions, your ideas, and your next steps. Along the way, we will share some tools and a process you might consider. This session is for CEOs/executive directors. We encourage you to bring your board chair or a board member along. Three sessions of Succession Planning: Assuring a Smooth Transition When You Change Leaders are on the schedule: Wednesday, February 12, 9:00 to… Read more »

It is necessary for us to reschedule this session. Please watch this blog and our class calendar for the new date and time. Support comes in many forms, both formal and informal. Come share and learn ways we can help one another as CEOs.  Maybe you are looking for specific connections to help move a project forward, or to navigate the political or economic climate. Maybe you are new to the field, or to your role. Maybe you just need a boost. Whatever the reason, we will explore the options together. Serving as a CEO doesn’t have to be lonely. Let’s connect and move ahead — supporting one another. CEO Connect — Supporting One Another will be held on Friday, November 22, 12:00 pm at the Foraker office, 161 Klevin St., Suite 101,… Read more »

Starting January 1, 2020, the federal rules change for determining which employees are entitled to overtime pay and which can be treated as exempt white-collar workers. To learn if you need to adjust your pay practices to ensure you are fully complying with the law, we invite you to join a webinar on Tuesday, November 5, at 11:00 am Alaska time. Details and registration are available here. In late August, the U.S. Department of Labor issued its Overtime Final Rule that raises the minimum salary threshold that white-collar employees must be paid to remain exempt from overtime. Effective at the start of 2020, the rule raises the salary threshold from $455 per week ($23,660 per year) to $684 per week ($35,568 per year). The new rule also raises the threshold… Read more »

There is a line often directed to nonprofits that has been circulating for as long as I can remember. It goes something like this: “If only nonprofits could operate more like businesses.” For sure this is said not to insult, but with the best intentions. But for those of us in the field, who take our role of mission stewardship seriously, the intention is lost because it implies that we are acting recklessly and in disarray while our counterparts have the proven model. I mention this because it seems right now, perhaps more than most times, we should share the way we run our nonprofit corporations and stand up as a model to both business and government. Let us not forget that the C in our 501(c)3, 4, 6, 12,… Read more »

Seventeen-percent – that number represents the average of Alaska’s workforce that works for nonprofits. In rural and remote rural Alaska, it can be as high as 40%. Rarely is the sector talked about as an industry, but if we were, we would be the second largest Alaska industry based on employment – right behind oil and gas. The data is compelling for many reasons. One is the opportunity to look closely at what we are doing in the sector to both attract and retain this workforce. In 2006, Tom Tierney published an article in the Stanford Social Innovation Review called The Leadership Deficit in which he articulated his view of our future as a sector. A key element of that future was a high turnover of Baby Boomers and a… Read more »

There is a common saying: “It is lonely at the top.” I have been contemplating this saying as I enter my 18th year in leadership, including my two and a half years as Foraker’s CEO. I’m thinking about this mostly because of hard conversations I’ve had recently with Alaska leaders, and because of studies like Daring to Lead, which suggests new CEOs often leave their jobs during their third year because they feel isolated. I am also thinking about it because while there are certainly times I experience isolation, for the most part this is an experience I have managed to avoid. What can make leadership less lonely? And how do we stay and thrive in our work? Some research points to creating environments of support. We believe in this… Read more »