The Foraker Group

Now is the time for all of us to protect the people we serve, our staff, and the community at large. We all have hard decisions to make about what policies we put in place for our employees, how our services may change, and what to do about planned events. Here is a collection of resources to help you to make those decisions. We will continue to keep this page updated as we learn more.

Thank you to our COVID-19 Response Donors

THE LATEST

• Applications will open for the Municipality of Anchorage Nonprofit Relief grant program at noon on Monday, October 19, 2020. The grant program will make available over $4,000,000 of CARES Act funds to eligible nonprofits, and $50,000 from the Rasmuson Foundation that will be dedicated to arts and culture nonprofits.  Cook Inlet Lending Center (CILC) will process applications for this grant program and distribute the funds.  Learn more here. You can listed to a recording of the Q&A session we hosted here.
• Nonprofits with 50 or fewer employees can access free attorney consultations to help with COVID-related legal issues, such as government relief programs, commercial leases, contracts, and employment law questions. The program is run by Alaska Legal Services Corporation. You can find more information here.
• Lenders are beginning to accept loan forgiveness applications. The SBA recommends using the EZ PPP Forgiveness Application if your organization qualifies. You can find the regular PPP Forgiveness Application here. The SBA, in consultation with the Treasury Department, also released a simpler loan forgiveness application for Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans of $50,000 or less. You can view the forgiveness application and instructions here. The SBA is offering PPP forgiveness webinars every Wednesday in October, register here. Contact your lender if you have questions.
• In response to COVID-19, the Alaska Department of Revenue has released temporary guidance that allows nonprofit permittees to sell raffle tickets online to in-state purchasers. You can learn more from our webinar with Katrina Mitchell, Gaming Manager at the Department of Revenue. You can find the recording here.
• Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) –  The law includes a complex set of temporary paid leave mandates and employer reimbursement provisions, as well as funding for free coronavirus testing, food nutrition security, and Unemployment extension.
  • You can find analysis from the National Council of Nonprofits describing how the Act affects nonprofits here.
  • To help Alaska nonprofits better understand the provisions of the act, Manley & Brautigam P.C. in Anchorage prepared this material for us.
  • The Department of Labor has created a helpful FAQ you can find here.
  • To comply with the FFCRA, employers are required to provide employees with this poster to let them know their rights under this legislation.
• The Department of Treasury and Internal Revenue Service has issued a three-page guidance implementing the Presidential Memorandum allowing employers to defer withholding and payment of the employee’s portion of the Social Security tax. Notice 2020-65, posted on August 31 on IRS.gov, makes relief available for employers and generally applies to wages paid starting Sept. 1, 2020, through Dec. 31, 2020. The employee Social Security tax deferral may apply to payments of taxable wages to an employee that are less than $4,000 during a bi-weekly pay period, with each pay period considered separately. No deferral is available for any payment to an employee of taxable wages of $4,000 or above for a bi-weekly pay period. See the IRS news release.

RELIEF FUNDS

• Coronavirus Nonprofit Relief Fund
• City of Sikta
• Fairbanks North Star Borough 
• City of Palmer
• Soldotna CARES
• City of Fairbanks Recovery Grants
• City of Kenai Recovery Grants
• City of Petersburg Recovery Grants
• Sealaska: $1 million relief fund to help Alaska Native communities and nonprofit organizations delivering urgent recovery services.
• Premera Rural Health Fund: Grants up to $100,000 to healthcare organizations that serve Alaskans outside of the urban centers.  The next application review deadline is August 1, 2020.
• Muni Arts and Culture Grant Opportunity
• AK Can Do – a partnership between Alaska Community Foundation and United Way of Anchorage, funded by many generous donors including The Rasmuson Foundation
• United Way of Anchorage: Anchorage Cares COVID-19 Response Fund
• United Way of Southeast: COVID-19 Response Fund
• United Way of Tanana Valley: COVID-19 Response Fund
• The Alaska Community Foundation: Alaska COVID-19 Response Fund
• Mat-Su Health Foundation: Target Wellness Grants for Coronavirus (COVID-19) Prevention and Response
• Alaska Mental Health Trust Authority: COVID-19 Response Grant Program
• Bethel Community Service Foundation: YK COVID-19 Relief Fund
• Juneau Community Foundation: COVID-19 Relief Fund
• Homer Foundation: COVID-19 Response Fund

REOPENING

• The State of Alaska has a five-phase plan with specific guidance for various industries, including information about physical distancing and hygiene protocols. The phase III/IV guidance is here. Check out their extensive FAQ for more information. The State issued new resources for businesses to encourage COVID-19 precautions; see COVID-Conscious Business Toolkit info HERE and HERE.
• Alaska SBDC has released 10 industry-specific guides for reopening including childcare, business office, and at-home services.
• If you missed Reopening Safely: A conversation with Dr. Zink and Natasha Pineda, you can find a recording of the session here.
• The Center for Disease Control and Prevention has print resources available for posting reminders and guidelines for your staff. They also released health protocols for various sectors seeking guidance on safely reopening from stay-at-home orders:
  • Workplace decision tree
  • Youth programs and camps decision tree
  • Childcare programs decision tree
  • Schools decision tree
  • Mass transit systems decision tree
  • Restaurants and bars decision tree
• The State of Alaska has a five-phase plan with specific guidance for various industries, including information about physical distancing and hygiene protocols. The phase III/IV guidance is here. Check out their extensive FAQ for more information.
• For data on the coronavirus in Alaska, visit the Alaska Coronavirus Response Hub
• The EPA has guidance for building and maintenance professionals to follow to help protect office buildings from COVID-19.
• As Alaska slowly reopens its economy and eases restrictions, some Alaskans are wondering how much socializing is reasonable if we hope to continue to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Dr. Zink is urging Alaskans to voluntarily keep track of their social interactions as restrictions continue to ease and keep their social bubble small.
• The Alaska Manufacturing Extension Partnership can help connect buyers in need of bulk orders of PPE to manufacturers.  Request PPE at Alaska-MEP.com
• For Anchorage nonprofits, you can find the Municipality’s roadmap to reopening here. You can also use the Frontline Business Safety Initiative (A volunteer effort to support businesses that work directly with the public on a daily basis or prepare food for the public with masks, gloves, or hand wipes.)

EMPLOYER RESOURCES

• In response to the pandemic, the Department of Homeland Security recently released temporary policies for completing the I-9 form which is used to confirm that an individual is authorized to work in the United States.“Because many areas are under stay-at-home orders due to COVID-19 and some online renewal services have restrictions, employees may experience challenges renewing a state driver’s license, a state ID card, or other Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification, List B identity document. Considering these circumstances, DHS is issuing a temporary policy regarding expired List B identity documents used to complete Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification…Beginning on May 1, identity documents found in List B set to expire on or after March 1, 2020, and not otherwise extended by the issuing authority, may be treated the same as if the employee presented a valid receipt for an acceptable document for Form I-9 purposes.”  For further details on the temporary policies, you can learn more here.
• Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) – On March 19, the President signed into law, H.R. 6201, the Families First Coronavirus Response Act. The law includes a complex set of temporary paid leave mandates and employer reimbursement provisions, as well as funding for free coronavirus testing, food nutrition security, and Unemployment extension.
  • You can find analysis from the National Council of Nonprofits describing how the Act affects nonprofits here.
  • To help Alaska nonprofits better understand the provisions of the act, Manley & Brautigam P.C. in Anchorage prepared this material for us.
  • The Department of Labor has created a helpful FAQ you can find here.
  • To comply with the FFCRA, employers are required to provide employees with this poster to let them know their rights under this legislation.
• Are you considering laying off or furloughing staff – this Foraker resource Managing Layoffs, Furloughs, and Reductions in Force will help guide you.
• The IRS extended more tax deadlines, including Form 990-series returns and notices. See Notice 2020-23 and Rev. Proc. 2018-58 for more information, including a complete list of affected forms, tax payments, and other time-sensitive actions.
• The Department of Revenue is waiving fees for Biennial Reports required of all Alaska entities every other year.  If your organization is currently out of compliance or are required to file your report in the next 60 days, you can log in to the State of Alaska Department of Commerce website and register for two years for free. Learn more here.
• In response to the pandemic, the Department of Homeland Security recently released temporary policies for completing the I-9 form which is used to confirm that an individual is authorized to work in the United States.“Because many areas are under stay-at-home orders due to COVID-19 and some online renewal services have restrictions, employees may experience challenges renewing a state driver’s license, a state ID card, or other Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification, List B identity document. Considering these circumstances, DHS is issuing a temporary policy regarding expired List B identity documents used to complete Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification…Beginning on May 1, identity documents found in List B set to expire on or after March 1, 2020, and not otherwise extended by the issuing authority, may be treated the same as if the employee presented a valid receipt for an acceptable document for Form I-9 purposes.”  For further details on the temporary policies, you can learn more here.

BUDGET & FINANCES (including federal relief funds)

• Looking for more information about funding inside the CARES act? Here is an excellent spreadsheet from Kamehameha Schools in Hawaii that gives a break down of all the grants including those from the Department of Education, Department of Health and Human Services, Department of Agriculture, Department of Housing and Urban Development, and more.
• The SBA will resume accepting Paycheck Protection Program applications from participating lenders on Monday, April 27, 2020 at 10:30am EDT. With the additional funding provided by the new COVID-19 relief package, SBA will resume processing EIDL Loan and Advance applications that are already in the queue on a first come, first-served basis.
• One of the most important things you can be doing right now is scenario planning. There are a lot of unknowns, but if you listen to this webinar and use this Financial Scenario spreadsheet template to guide you, you can make more informed decisions.
• Now may be a good time to check in with your leadership team and board to watch out for other financial red flags. You can use our Indicators of Financial Crisis to do so (a printable version can be found here).

PUBLIC POLICY

• We are closely tracking a number of federal, state, and local issues that will impact nonprofits.  We are advocating for the HEROES Act. We encourage you to sign-up for bulletins from the National Council of Nonprofits. Council staff in Washington D.C. are on the front line advocating for nonprofits and sharing information as they receive it.
• Information and resources can be found on the COVID webpages for each member of Alaska’s congressional delegation. We thank them for all they’re doing to ensure that nonprofits are covered by federal relief programs, including joining us on our call: Navigating Federal Relief for Nonprofits with the Alaska Congressional Delegation 
  • Senator Lisa Murkowski’s webpage
  • Senator Dan Sullivan’s webpage
  • Congressman Don Young’s webpage

COMMUNICATION

• Foraker has put together a crisis communication guide specifically for the coronavirus. You can watch our recent crisis communication webinar here.
• Kivi Leroux Miller, one of our past Leadership Summit presenters, has guidance on communicating changes to your event.
• Joan Garry stresses the importance of communicating well and reinforcing your commitment to your mission.
• Laurie discusses communicating with all your stakeholders in this webinar – Leading During COVID-19

EQUITY

• Vu Le gives us food for thought in this article – A few things for nonprofits and foundations to consider in light of the Coronavirus.
• In order for individuals to receive their stimulus checks – they either need to have filed their 2018 or 2019 taxes OR notify the IRS of their payment information. You can help your clients and stakeholders receive their stimulus checks by directing them here.

FUNDRAISING

• Foraker put together tips and reminders for fund development work during COVID-19
• If you missed our free webinar you can watch the recording here: Re-imagining Your Fundraising Efforts with Laurie Wolf (slides are here)
• The Association of Fundraising Professionals has put together an extensive COVID response guide here.
• Here is a list of digital fundraising platforms to help you take your event virtual from our friends at Washington Nonprofits:
  • Auctria – online fundraising / auction platform
  • CauseVid – nonprofit stewardship video platform
  • Classy – online fundraising platform
  • Give Lively– free fundraising platform
  • Funraise– online fundraising platform / donor database
  • GiveSmart– online auction / event software

WORKING REMOTELY

• Two common questions we receive are – can our board meet electronically, through a program like Zoom or Skype? and can our board vote on a question by email? We have answers for you here.
• Need some tips for hosting a more effective virtual meeting? Foraker has you covered.
• We could all be better at working remotely. TechSoup has some ideas for you.
• The Montana Nonprofit Association has ideas on everything from setting up your home office to file sharing.