Responding to a Sector in Crisis: A Shared Effort to Support Alaska’s Nonprofits

Alaska’s vast geography and unique challenges have always required nonprofit organizations to be resilient and innovative in serving communities across the state. From rural villages accessible only by plane to urban centers grappling with rapid boom and bust economies, Alaska’s nonprofits have become experts at addressing complex, interconnected problems.

But this year, that resilience is being tested like never before. Nonprofits are facing a convergence of crises: federal grant freezes, impossible budget cuts, shifting federal policies and directives, and difficult decisions about how to manage services and staff in the face of these compounding pressures. Through all of this, nonprofit staff and boards are doing their best to keep meeting their missions and making lives better for the people of Alaska.

In 2024, Alaskan organizations were planning for unprecedented levels of federal funding available through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the Inflation Reduction Act, and related federal legislation tied to infrastructure, economic recovery, and community resilience. ACF participated in strategy conversations with the Alaska Conservation Foundation, Alaska Federation of Natives, Alaska Venture Fund, the Denali Commission, First Alaskans Institute, Rasmuson Foundation, and others to consider how to support local, Tribal, and nonprofit organizations’ access to new federal resources.

In December, the Alaska Community Foundation (ACF) joined a focused group of nonprofit and technical assistance providers convened by the Alaska Municipal League and The Foraker Group to identify who was doing what, what gaps still existed, and how the sector could strengthen support for local governments, Tribal entities, nonprofits, and utilities in managing and reporting on federal awards. 

This timing proved prescient. Just weeks later, a series of executive orders and administrative shifts dramatically altered the landscape. Instead of navigating how to manage new funding, many organizations suddenly faced canceled grants, frozen awards, and growing uncertainty. The early coordination intended to support opportunity quickly became the backbone of a collective crisis response.

Partners pivoted quickly from preparing for an influx of grant funding to facing federal funding cancellations and disruptions. Within days, the Foraker Group, the Alaska Municipal League, and RurAL CAP organized, answered calls, surveyed constituents, providing legal and advocacy updates, began to build an impact report, and put up a website to share essential resources for affected organizations. ACF moved swiftly to fund the three organizations. We were the first—and for several critical months, the only—funder to support this coordinated response. While our flexible resources are limited, we recognized that these strategic, coordinated actions could help organizations navigate the immediate turbulence and plan for longer-term sustainability.

The scope of the problem is enormous: according to research conducted by Foraker in partnership with the University of Alaska Anchorage Center for Economic Development, Alaska received $38 billion in federal grants in 2023. Even if every foundation in the state liquidated its assets through grantmaking this year, we would not come close to matching the typical annual federal outlay. We are a young state with a small population deeply dependent on federal support.

However, recognizing the limits of what private philanthropy can accomplish has clarified our strategic focus. Rather than attempting to fill an unfillable gap, we are investing in what we do best: strengthening organizational capacity, fostering collaboration, and mobilizing resources strategically to help nonprofits adapt and thrive despite uncertainty.

For over a decade, the ACF has offered Strengthening Organizations capacity-building grants to nonprofits throughout the state. Recognizing that affected organizations need immediate support to pivot and plan, we are launching a redesigned program in mid-August 2025 with targeted enhancements:

• Priority for organizations with specific federal funding impacts (frozen funds and canceled grants)
• Streamlined application with fewer, more targeted questions
• Simplified award structure providing unrestricted funding between $5,000 and $10,000
• Single funding cycle to reduce the administrative burden on both applicants and our team

Importantly, we are designing this process as both a grant competition and a listening and learning opportunity. We believe our communities collectively possess the wisdom needed to address these challenges, and we are committed to amplifying and sharing those insights across the state.

In partnership with Philanthropy Northwest and Rasmuson Foundation, we have been actively convening funders across Alaska through virtual and in-person gatherings. These efforts encourage collaboration, support aligned grantmaking and facilitate peer learning. Since early 2025, we’ve consistently shared intelligence from our grantees and partners about emerging needs.

Since 1995, the Alaska Community Foundation has experienced remarkable growth, expanding our assets under management while distributing over $200 million in grants. We currently steward more than 2,000 funds, and many have untapped giving potential. We are working systematically with our fundholders and advisors to identify inactive funds and activate available resources for immediate community impact. Through regular communication with ACF donors and fundholders, we provide strategic updates on current needs and encourage generous, timely giving.

The nonprofit sector’s resilience has always been one of Alaska’s greatest assets. While the current crisis is unprecedented in scale, our response builds on decades of collaborative problem-solving and adaptive innovation. The Alaska Community Foundation is committed to leading through this challenge—not by attempting to single-handedly solve every problem, but by leveraging our unique position to strengthen the entire ecosystem.

We cannot replace federal funding, but we can ensure that Alaska’s nonprofit organizations have the tools, resources, and support they need to navigate this transition and emerge stronger. Through strategic grantmaking, collaborative leadership, and relentless focus on organizational capacity, we are helping to build a more resilient and sustainable nonprofit sector for Alaska’s future. In the words of Foraker CEO Laurie Wolf, this isn’t just a marathon ahead, “this is an ultra-marathon.”

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