What are you hearing? This is a consistent question I am getting. It is a good one because the question in itself tells us a lot about the state many of us are feeling – uncertainty, unpredictability. In 2009, we talked about a “new normal” in reference to the national economy after the downturn in the stock market. Our new normal today is measured more by what we don’t know. We are asking each other “what are you hearing?” I’m asking the same thing from other people. We crave certainty so that we can respond accordingly. Alas, we have a new normal. That said, one thing I am hearing, which I have been writing about frequently, as have others across the country, is the resurgence of civic engagement. By sheer numbers,… Read more »

Let’s try an experiment. Close your eyes and imagine an entire industry – say tourism. Now imagine the kinds of jobs being done. What did you see? Were the jobs being done only by for-profit businesses? Was government involved? How about nonprofits? My guess is that since you are reading a nonprofit newsletter you are likely inclined to see a fuller picture of the way we work in Alaska – one where nonprofits work next to government and for-profits to make our economy work. And yet, while you might know this, I have experienced on too many occasions that when talking about our economy the assumption is different. The line of thinking goes something like this: Growing Alaska’s businesses is good for the economy and, equally true, decreasing the number… Read more »

At Foraker, we have always been champions for the one-page strategic plan. We savor a clearly stated, motivational, and grounded document that offers a map and a compass. The map tells you about the future and the compass reminds you of your true North – your DNA – your core purpose and values. Time and again, we see the value of this tool in your toolbox. But not until recently had I considered the power of a single word as a planning guide. Recently I was meeting with my peer support team from my own Catalyst experience and as we were going around the circle talking about the upcoming year and our goals, one of my colleagues honed in on it for us. “One word,” she challenged. New energy surfaced…. Read more »

The phones are ringing, people are stopping by, and emails are piling up. It could be just another day at the office, but that’s not what I am hearing or seeing. Instead there is urgency. There is commitment. There is pent up energy that wants to do something – and they are turning to you. In this post-election landscape, there is energy. If we could bottle it and store it until we had more time, more capacity, or more understanding, that would be ideal – but ideal is rarely our nonprofit reality. I have said many times since this election that perhaps the only certainty in this new landscape is the focus we can bring to our work. Your missions did not change. Your values did not change. You knew… Read more »

“The best laid plans.” We generally say this when things go astray from our original intention. We say this with the assertion that we had a plan in the first place. We have all sorts of plans in our nonprofit world. We have big picture definitions of success like strategic plans and theory of change, and annual plans that address budgets and operational priorities. And we have plans that are both strategic and tactical like fund development or communication plans. Planning can get a bad reputation in our sector both from our own team and from those outside our organization with whom we partner. The root of those concerns generally falls into four categories: What exactly is a plan? What difference will the plan make? Who is responsible for creating… Read more »

There are days when I am confronted with a blizzard of data. It can leave me feeling either disorganized or stuck. And I sometimes see others caught in this storm – some contending with heady emails or a commissioned report, or others with a friendly offering from a mission partner or a trusted source. I see it in boardrooms in piles of spreadsheets or board packets the size of days-gone-by phone books. The intentions are good. More data means more information, right? But if we are in the blizzard and don’t know what to do with this data, is it helping us? Have you been caught in this storm? Do you find yourself knowing that you are supposed to do something with it, but what? There is also another kind… Read more »

It’s back-to-school time, and families all over Alaska are shifting their schedules, settling in to new routines, and preparing for the fall and winter. At Foraker we are getting into our fall routine with the launch of our new training schedule. We are also watching the leaves turn just as fast as we are noticing our fall and winter days filling up with board and staff planning retreats. We anticipate this routine every year, and we are ready. Like most back-to-school conversations, we thought we would share what we did over the summer and what’s in store for the new “school year.” This summer, we went on three different kinds of expeditions. The first was our regular hiking trail. This is the route we have traveled with minor adjustment for… Read more »

You have heard us talk many times about a central theme of the Foraker Nonprofit Sustainability Model – the right people. This topic has many layers to it. It’s about recruiting and engaging the right board members at the right time and equally about the critical partnership between the board and the CEO. Getting either of these wrong can create huge distractions for the organization as it struggles internally with trust and communication instead of focusing its work on the leadership required to deliver mission. These experiences are far too common and, while we offer many tools to help boards and staff get recruitment on the right track, many organizations bypass this help and hope for the best. This is a whole topic worthy of many newsletter articles, but today I… Read more »

As we mark our country’s celebration of independence this week, I am ruminating on the strength of our interdependence. Indeed, we see far too many examples these days of people who speak of independence in a way that is dividing us. Some days those voices come with great power, both real and perceived. Independence – and equally interdependence – doesn’t mean that we are all going to agree all the time. When he visited the United States in the mid-1800s, the French statesman Alexis de Tocqueville keenly observed that the success of American democracy was the result of “associations of a thousand kinds.” Today our sector is still incredibly diverse and includes all political parties and every religion, all of which, like many of you, are organized under the federal… Read more »

There are productive conversations occurring in our state and our sector about the economy and its impact on organizations – and there are other conversations that aren’t so productive. I have been pleased with the approach of many of our nonprofit leaders to their budgets and to figuring out ways to find stability and resiliency in the face of uncertainty. I have seen new thinking, creative ideas, and a recommitment to the best practices of our work in building operating reserves, focusing on unrestricted cash, and diversifying revenue. Unfortunately, while many in our sector are setting a great example, there are still too many conversations about how our sector is wasteful and not accountable or transparent enough in the way we spend our resources. I hear and read most of… Read more »