Posted by Jayson Smart, Program Officer

Earlier today Rasmuson Foundation and Providence Health & Services co-sponsored a Health Care Provider’s Forum on the topic of federal health care reform. See last Tuesday’s Rasmuson Foundation blog post here for details about the event.

The University of Alaska Anchorage Student Union was ‘abuzz’ this morning with approximately 170 participants representing a broad range of interests in health care service delivery and policy. The audience included several members of the State of Alaska Legislature, along with representatives from major health care agencies, mental health service providers, physicians, insurance providers, private employers, human resource professionals, and state agencies.

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The topic of health care reform is probably something you have been hearing about at an ever-increasing rate. The landmark legislation passed earlier this year, formally known as the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2009, encompasses a broad range of provisions from establishing specific consumer protections regarding health insurance coverage, to requiring state governments to establish temporary high-risk insurance pool programs and insurance exchanges.

Implementing this legislation requires extensive work and coordination between state government, insurance companies, health care agencies and institutions, private providers, social service organizations, and private employers.

In Alaska, taking on this charge has significant meaning. Alaska is known for its “can-do” spirit, driven by a desire to chart our own destiny toward self-sufficiency and independence. Responding to significant changes in our health care system will be handled little differently than other major challenges (and opportunities) we have faced. With this “spirit” of Alaska in mind, the time has come to convene stakeholders in a comprehensive dialogue and set of strategies to address impending changes.

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Rasmuson Foundation makes a significant investment in the field of arts education with the idea that students, artists and communities will be better off in the long run. This investment by the Foundation, $900,000 in the past seven years, has literally connected thousands of young people with local, national and international artists.

This support, leveraged with an incredible commitment by partners such as the Alaska State Council on the Arts (ASCA), the Alaska Arts in Education Consortium (AAEC), school districts, presenting and producing companies and other arts organizations, has yielded greater understanding, critical thinking skills, and community connectedness for Alaska’s younger generations.

This blog post is timed to coincide not only with “Back to School,” but also with the upcoming National Arts in Education Week (September 12-18, 2010), which was ratified by the U.S. Congress in late July 2010 as a way to promote and showcase the important role of arts education in producing engaged, successful and college/career-ready students. Learn more at the Arts Education Partnership website. In the past 15 years, a notable amount of research has been generated to explore the outcomes of exposure to arts and cultural experiences at a young age. The Americans for the Arts has created a national arts education campaign to provide information regarding outcomes, strategies and other resources. Learn “quick facts” regarding the benefits of arts education here.

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posted by Jordan Marshall, Initiatives & Special Projects Manager

The 14th annual Educational Tour of Alaska for Grantmakers kicked off today with a 7 a.m. departure from Seattle, Washington. First stop: Bethel, Alaska. Each year, the Foundation invites a small group of grant makers from the South 48 to visit Alaska. The goal is to provide an opportunity for our peers from Outside to gain knowledge about Alaska and about philanthropic opportunities throughout the state. 

The Ed Tour takes place the same week as the funeral for former U.S. Senator Ted Stevens who, along with four others, died tragically in an airplane crash near Dillingham one week ago. Although many of the people the Tour is scheduled to meet changed their plans to attend his funeral in Anchorage midweek, in Bethel today a good number of the people we hoped to meet were still available today.

We saw the Yukon Kuskokwim Health Corporation (YKHC) Pre-Maternal facilities, the Yuut Elitnaurviat “People’s Learning Center” and its new dental health aide therapist center, we toured the Tundra Women’s Coalition shelter and the Association of Village Council Presidents’ Yuut Yaqunviat “Where People Earn Their Wings.” In Napaskiak we saw the community’s K-12 public school (“Home of the Hawks”), the health clinic, and the Head Start building. 

Among our tour guides today was Gene Peltola, president and CEO the YKHC. He shared a story with the group that epitomizes the recollections many Alaskans are experiencing this week. “In 1998, Senator Stevens spoke with me,” recalls Peltola. “He said: ‘Gene, how can we avoid having to seek fisheries disaster relief each year?’ and he  asked for a comprehensive training plan for the region. We gathered the elders and local leaders and came up with the concept for the Yuut People’s Learning Center. 

“Another example is when Senator Stevens said he could help with a residential health treatment center. And, again, in consultation with local leaders and elders, the Denali Commission was born. 

“The way I see it,” concluded Peltola, “everybody in Alaska is indebted to Senator Stevens – especially in rural Alaska.” 

We could not have said it better.

Ted, you made Alaska proud
Never rattled, never cowed
You gave your life to make us great
To give us one terrific state
The neediest, you’d not ignore
You’d find new ways to help the poor
Shelters for the most abused
Treatment for the ones who’ve used
Water, sewer, power too
Helping all, not just a few
You used the greatest common sense
To give us all a strong defense
You did what all Alaskans wish
By making sure there’s lots of fish
Education, health care too
Wouldn’t be much without you
Housing for our senior folk
Help from Eek to Kake to Tok
Public radio and art
You did it all with lots of heart
You’ve left Alaska well-endowed
Ted, you made Alaska proud

As mid-August rapidly approaches, we and our partners are busily putting finishing touches on the foundation’s 14th Annual Educational Tour of Alaska for Grantmakers. This is a special time of year for Alaska philanthropy because we proudly showcase the great work being done by our state’s innovative nonprofit sector. It is also a strategic time for us because we introduce Outside funders to people and projects that match their particular programmatic interests.

The most visible event during the perennial week-long, whirlwind tour is the “funders’ train,” an event that provides about 120 local nonprofit, corporate, and public sector leaders with a couple primetime hours to hobnob on the Alaska Railroad with our visitors from the Lower 48. We know that board members and CEOs consider the funders’ train a chance to positively advance the mission of one’s organization. We also know that there are people who look forward to receiving an invitation.

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We are making progress in the effort to streamline our grantmaking process. (Read more about SORT here). Our intent is to reduce unnecessary burdens on nonprofits and the Foundation, freeing both entities to spend more time and resources on achieving mission-critical activities.

The first and perhaps most dramatic improvement is that grantees who receive small grant (Tier 1 or small Tier 2) award letters dated August 1 will find a grant payment check included with the award package. This omits the step of submitting payment requests. Grantees will get funds sooner, the Foundation has less paperwork. Win, win. (Because this process improvement kicks in August 1, existing awards must use the old system as stated in your grant agreement)

Another change grantees will notice is that the final reporting process has been made simpler. Details are included in the grant agreement.

Soon we’ll have more changes to announce. We appreciate all feedback and suggestions as move through this SORT streamlining effort.

This morning we retweeted an item from Alaska Dispatch about some sobering statistics regarding broadband connectivity in the Last Frontier. Akamai Technologies, creator of digital operating environments for the Web, has released its global “State of the Internet” report for the first quarter of 2010. In the post “’State of the Internet,’ bad news for AK,” the Dispatch writes:

“The United States slipped a little in terms of average connection speed, coming in 16th and averaging overall 4.7 Mbps (megabits per second). The country with the fastest average connection speed in the survey was South Korea, which registered an astonishing 33 Mbps average.

“Alaska, sadly, was worst among U.S. states, with 2.7 Mbps average speeds, along with the highest percentage of residents whose access comes through ultra-slow connections, defined as less than 256 Kbps (kilobits per second).”

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The number of deaths among Anchorage’s homeless population is unacceptable. No fewer than 23 homeless people have been found dead in our parks, forested areas, private lawns, and various other urban locations in just over a year. The vast majority of these incidents involved alcohol.

Anchorage residents, public officials, and social service professionals are debating whether and where to introduce a Housing First facility in Anchorage. Our view is that this is a debate worth having. We as a community need to find a workable solution. It is both the right and fiscally prudent thing to do.

Homelessness in Anchorage is not new. The Foundation partners with a number of shelters, soup kitchens, and related services that respond to the need, including for those individuals who suffer from alcoholism. But options are scarce for people who suffer from a combination of chronic homelessness and substance abuse.

The approximately 400 chronically homeless, substance abusing individuals are less than 15 percent of Anchorage’s homeless – which includes couples and parents with children — who lack a fixed, regular, adequate nighttime residence. Not only do they find themselves in dangerous, unhealthy and violent situations, but they disproportionately burden our emergency resources.

The potential clients of a Housing First facility are the 200 or so “frequent flyers” at the city’s Community Service Patrol & Sleep-Off Center who make up 81 percent of the 20,000 annual CSP intakes. Read the rest of this entry »

While you might not be familiar with the word pipa, you have no doubt heard music produced by this 2,000-year-old, stringed, Chinese instrument. It is, to me, the sound of China.

Pipa virtuoso Wu Man has been travelling around Alaska sharing her love of the instrument not only for how it embodies the history and culture of China, her country of origin, but how it can be used in contemporary music forms. Wu Man is recognized as an outstanding exponent of the traditional pipa repertoire as well as a leading interpreter of contemporary pipa music by today’s most prominent composers, and collaborator with nationally reknowned artists such as Yo Yo Ma and the Kronos Quartet.

Wu Man is currently wrapping up her Alaska AIR (Artist in Residency) program after having performed a collaborative work with Alaska musicians titled “The Oort Coud” in Juneau, Sitka and Anchorage. (See previous posts about the Alaska AIR program here and here.) Read the rest of this entry »