In an effort to increase individual philanthropy in the Alaska, Foraker is pleased to be a part of the planning of Wills Week offered and facilitated by The Alaska Chapter of The Association of Fundraising Professionals.  Wills Week (May 9 -13) is designed to increase the number of Alaskans who have wills and provide nonprofit professionals with the knowledge and tools they need to help people make charitable investments. Details and registration for individuals who want more information on wills and training opportunities for nonprofit professionals is at www.alaskawillsweek.org… Read more »

Thanks to everyone who participated in Pick.Click.Give. this year. With pledges of $3.19 million, 2016 marked the second highest level of donations since the program started eight years ago. Jason Grenn, PCG manager, has reported that a total of 29,543 individuals made 49,856 pledges. Of the 543,879 people who filed for a 2016 Permanent Fund Dividend (PFD), 5.5% of them chose to share with a PCG organization. You can review the results for all organizations in alphabetical order by clicking here, or by total pledge amount here…. Read more »

The Certificate in Nonprofit Management is designed for Alaska nonprofit professionals in leadership positions who want to enhance their management skills and explore a full range of issues and best practices to use in their organizations. The 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 July 1, 2016…. Read more »

We are in the final stretch of the Pick.Click.Give. campaign —  for many nonprofits this is the most important time to encourage giving to their organization. Thousands of Alaskans have yet to file for their PFD. As the March 31 deadline draws near, your organization has the opportunity to connect with potential donors and share your mission widely. To encourage your efforts, the Alaska Community Foundation has announced several bonus grants for organizations in the final push of the campaign: – THREE $5,000 bonus grants (one for the organization with the highest % increase in donations from 2015 to 2016, one for the highest increase in donors from 2015 to 2016, and one for the organization with the greatest increase in total donations from 2015 to 2016.) – A $1,000 bonus grant to a first-year… Read more »

Alaska’s nonprofit sector got some great news this Friday when the U.S. House of Representatives voted to make important charitable giving incentives permanent. Alaska nonprofits have been working with Foraker and other state nonprofit associations to help bring positive change to federal law. The incentives will help to promote, encourage and reward charitable giving to nonprofit organizations of all shapes and sizes. The legislation passed the Senate earlier in the week and is now on the way to President Obama for signature. The legislation includes components that encourage small businesses to make food donations to local food banks, encourages private landowners to conserve land by establishing conservation easements, and fosters increased charitable giving by individuals through their Individual Retirement Accounts or IRAs. According to Laurie Wolf, Foraker President/CEO, “this federal legislation brings real change… Read more »

Alaska leads all states when it comes to the rate of giving through the crowdfunding site GoFundMe. A recent story in the Alaska Dispatch says that Alaskans gave 53 cents per resident, compared to 47 cents per resident for Washington D.C., the next closest area. Total giving through the site by Alaskans from Nov. 1, 2014, through Oct. 31, 2015, was just over $390,000. Foraker President/CEO Laurie Wolf was interviewed for the article, which you can read here…. Read more »

Foraker released Preparing to Fund Your Capital Project in Alaska and Beyond in April 2015; the revised version of the guide is now available. Building a new facility for your organization – or remodeling or renovating a current structure – is a major undertaking. In many cases, it’s a journey into a world filled with terminology, infrastructure, and decisions that are new to many staff and board members. As with other types of fundraising, securing the money needed for a major capital project is managed by a certain set of rules, vocabulary, and timelines. More often than not, you do not have all the training and experience you need to feel comfortable on this venture. That’s okay. The intent of this guide is not to compile all the wisdom and rules of fundraising for a capital… Read more »

Giving USA’s annual report on philanthropy is a publication on the sources and uses of charitable giving in the United States. The report finds that philanthropy in America has experienced one of the most significant jumps in recent history, at an estimated 7.1 percent. To view the report highlights, click here. To purchase the full report, visit the Giving USA website.    … Read more »

Pick.Click.Give. is currently accepting applications from nonprofit organizations that would like to participate in the 2016 charitable giving campaign. Applications must be submitted each year. The deadline for filing is March 31, 2015. Click here for more information…. 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 »