Maybe it’s the fiscal climate, or maybe it’s the prevailing myths of our sector, but for whatever reason I find that nonprofit board and staff members alike have a common misperception – that our greatest competition is other organizations. This refrain comes up in fundraising conversations all the time, and far more subtly in explanations about why one organization cannot partner with another to achieve a greater result for the communities we serve. Those of you who follow our newsletter know this isn’t the first time I’ve brought up the subject of competing with one another. In our August newsletter I wrote: …as our state experiences economic uncertainty, our solutions need to be about what binds us together, not what separates us. We will have many opportunities to work together to… Read more »

Last week, a headline caused me to ruminate on a persistent challenge for us in how we do our work. The headline was: How 5-year old Sophia Cruz Changed the National Discourse on Immigration with a Note to the Pope. The challenge is: How do we know the right messenger for our stories? This is a question I find myself asking in a variety of contexts. Like me, you have likely found yourself in different roles within an organization – as a board member, staff member, volunteer, parent, ambassador, participant, advocate, or paid or unpaid advisor. On the inside maybe nothing changed – after all, you were still you. But the reality is that different roles create the opportunity for different voices to be heard.   There are days in my… Read more »

After 15 years at Foraker – preparing classes, teaching, facilitating, coaching and mentoring – I have adopted a few concepts that I believe can help people in the sector take a new look at the way they work. One is: “go slow to go fast.” I use this phrase particularly when advising organizations on how to approach effective, relationship-based fundraising. It is often true that nonprofits are in a big rush to raise money and will try any quick fix to bring in dollars. They simply forget that successful fundraising is never about money and always about relationships. And, relationships take time. “Going slow to go fast” means that we are willing to spend time doing what matters most for our organization so we have the greatest chance for success…. Read more »

Many things distinguish us as individual nonprofits – the type of service we provide, our location, the length of time we have been in business, the number of staff we have, the size of our boards. Still, as nonprofits there are at least six characteristics that let us know we are one. What I appreciate about the six is that they are framed in the positive. Often our sector is framed by what we are not, i.e. NOT-for-profit, or in the case of international organizations known as NGOs, NOT a government entity. As a result, some scholars have tried to retitle our sector in a more positive light – the social sector, the independent sector, or as Adam Braun said in a recent talk in Anchorage, “the purpose sector.” These… Read more »

Hello everyone. Thank you. I want to start my first communication with you by giving thanks because as I assume my new role as Foraker’s President and CEO, my heart is full of gratitude and my head is full of ideas. From the moment my selection was announced, the outpouring of support and ideas that came from so many of you has been incredible. I am listening. Succession in any organization can be a challenge, but the challenge is often not just relegated to the hiring of the new staff leader – it’s also all the other changes that can come alongside this shift. During this time of transition, I know my job is to focus on what is open for change and what should never change. If you have… Read more »

Jeff Jesse, the CEO of the Alaska Mental Health Trust and a Foraker board member reminds us, “How can I miss you if you never leave?” It is official, my last day as the CEO of The Foraker Group is June 30. In recent newsletters, I expressed an opinion that some Baby Boomers hold onto their positions too long because their job defines their identity. That in itself is not a problem for the institution but it could impact judgment about the best time to leave. But for certain, anyone whose life is their job probably needs to pay more attention to work-life balance. And leaders who believe their presence is required for the organization’s success are both delusional and ineffective. The most important job of the exec is developing the… Read more »

The fourth leadership summit is history. Like past summits we had a sell-out crowd, feedback was overwhelmingly positive, everyone stayed to the end, and the conversations begun at the summit continue to echo throughout the state. However, unlike past summits, feedback from this summit requires more analysis to understand the diverse and contradictory responses from participants. Richard Evans, CEO of EmcArts, which is a partner with Foraker and Rasmuson Foundation in the New Pathways program, received overwhelming positive mention. The speaker who received the most diverse feedback was Margaret Wheatley, the internationally renowned speaker and author who literally wrote the “book” on organizational management in the age of complexity. Over half of respondents loved her presentation while the rest were disturbed by parts of the same message – few were… Read more »

If you have been waiting to register for the Leadership Summit, time is limited. We WILL have a sold out, standing room only crowd in Anchorage on April 20 and 21. We’ve worked with the Hotel Captain Cook to squeeze a few more into the most important summit ever. You need to be there to learn how to face today’s challenges. Feedback from surveys after previous summits has been conclusive – people left inspired and with new ideas about how to thrive. National leaders who have spoken at our summits say that ours was one of the best conferences they had ever attended. We know that money is tight. While we can’t support everyone needing financial assistance, we will do all we can to get as many of your organizations… Read more »

Almost everyone is glad that last fall’s election is history – I know I am. We should give thanks for recycling efforts. Otherwise, the shear waste of paper on political ads would have been a tragedy. I recently heard that the only people thankful for the last election, other than the winners, were the firms that produced ads and the printers and commercial broadcasters that shared them with us. They had a banner year! I have served in an executive role in nonprofits for over 30 years. When I started my career, I learned that my public position on all things political was better left neutral. The lesson: the public does not differentiate my views from my organization’s position. Charitable 501(c)(3) nonprofits are forbidden to participate in electioneering or endorsing… Read more »

According to a long-term study on nonprofit executive retention, the role of the chief professional officer in nonprofits is becoming less and less attractive. While most executives report that the parts of their job that focus on mission-related activities remains very fulfilling, the rest of their duties are less than satisfactory. An alarming number of executives report that they plan to quit their jobs in less than three years. During a period when a leadership deficit is inevitable because Baby Boom executives are reaching retirement age, efforts to identify how to better support nonprofit leadership should be an emphasis for boards and funders. Read more of Dennis’s thoughts here…. Read more »