Rasmuson Foundation and the Alaska Community Foundation (ACF) announced nearly $100,000 in Strengthening Organizations grants to eighteen capacity-building projects. These grants support Board, staff, and volunteer training and leadership development; strategic planning; financial management and consultation; fundraising and donor development plans; and community building. Examples of awarded grant projects include:
- OPT-In Kiana, an organization based in northwest Alaska formed to empower youth and young adults to have a voice in their community, will work with Foraker Group to develop an Executive Transition Plan, including recruitment and training of a new Executive Director.
- Anchor Point Food Pantry, which has been serving the hungry in Kenai Peninsula with empathy, respect, and honesty since 2006, will undertake strategic planning to address an unprecedented increase in community needs in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
- Fairbanks Shakespeare Theatre, which works to deepen appreciation of, and expand and diversify the audience for, Shakespearean and classic theatre in Interior Alaska, will take advantage of external training programs to build and strengthen its Board of Directors.
Strengthening Organizations was launched in 2012 in partnership with Rasmuson Foundation. Through two rounds of grantmaking in 2022, a total of $241,261 was awarded to 53 capacity-building projects statewide.
“Nonprofit organizations play a vital role in sustaining thriving communities in Alaska,” said Nina Kemppel, CEO and President of the Alaska Community Foundation. “That’s why Rasmuson Foundation and the Alaska Community Foundation have partnered for over a decade to invest in developing the capacity of our local nonprofit sector.”