Philanthropy Northwest (PNW) announced last week the merger of PRI Makers Network and More for Mission to establish Mission Investors Exchange. In their blog post, PNW said that Mission Investors Exchange will be a resource for foundations and related organizations that use investments as tools to achieve their philanthropic goals.
“The new organization reflects the growing interest among foundations in using a range of financial strategies, including both below-market and market rate investments in their philanthropy,” explained Peter Berliner, managing director of Mission Investors Exchange.
Program-related investments (PRIs) and mission-related investments are financial tools that allow foundations to accomplish their missions and charitable goals outside of traditional grantmaking, and can be structured as low-interest loans, equity investments, linked deposits, and loan guarantees.
“With life-threatening winds blowing and huge waves breaking across the Bear’s wooden deck and hull, [Captain Micheal] Healy would have to… send men high into the riggings to break loose ice, or adjust sail, while others had to clear ice from the decks if the ship was to stay on course and remain seaworthy. And, staying the course was essential to successful Alaskan operations.” – From “Captain ‘Hell-Roaring’ Michael A. Healy, U.S.R.C.S.” by James O’Dell
My father, Elmer Rasmuson, was occasionally fond of sailing analogies, and might have likened Rasmuson Foundation’s adaptation to ever-changing economic conditions to that of a captain’s vigilance at righting a ship’s course, even under the most adverse conditions. As Terrance Cole, author of “History of Rasmuson Foundation” wrote, dad understood the importance of “adjusting sails and tacking against the wind in order to remain on the true heading.”
The USCG Healy (right) breaks ice around the Russian-flagged tanker Renda 250 miles south of Nome, Alaska, Jan. 6, 2012. The Healy is the Coast Guard's only currently operating polar icebreaker. DoD photo by Petty Officer 1st Class Sara Francis, U.S. Coast Guard.
Although it’s safe to say neither my father nor the Foundation were literally challenged to “brave high seas, strong, bitter, piercing winds, ice floes and Arctic cold,” as did the storied Michael Healy, namesake of the U.S. Coast Guard icebreaker which aided in last winter’s emergency fuel delivery to Nome, one is tempted to apply the sailing analogy to the many careful and deliberate adjustments we made last year to keep our ship on course and true to mission.
Great news today from the Board of Dental Examiners meeting! The Board affirmed their commitment to extend courtesy licenses that allow out of state dentists to practice dentistry in underserved communities on a volunteer basis. The Board also agreed to streamline the application for academic-based dental programs with dental students to prevent barriers and delays in future visits. We appreciate the Board’s quick action to keep this important program moving forward.
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A problem in many – if not most – rural villages is lack of regular, routine dental care and prevention strategies. The result is high rates of dental decay among rural children, and dental problems that go untreated until extensive and expensive treatment is required. It is not uncommon that children need extensive dental work requiring general anesthesia and surgery.
As part of a broad initiative by Rasmuson Foundation to address oral health in rural Alaska, villages in western, interior and southeast Alaska have been on the receiving end of some welcome dental blitzes. Between February 2008 and December 2011, dental teams have been to Kasigluk, Fort Yukon, Venetie, Beaver, Circle, Arctic Village and Yakutat. More than 700 Alaskans have been treated, nearly half of them children.
Despite the tremendous impact of these outreach trips, they are at risk of being discontinued on Monday.
As noted in a previous blog post, last year Rasmuson Foundation surveyed grantees’ perceptions about our operations, and one strong finding was the perceived value of ‘non-monetary assistance’ — activities such as advice, facilitating collaborations, and advocating on behalf of the sector. This story, from Food Bank of Alaska, highlights how nonprofits and philanthropy partner beyond the grant to make good things happen in Alaska.
Guest post by Susannah Morgan, Food Bank of Alaska
The Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) is a safety net that provides meals to low-income kids when school is out, and essentially extends the USDA National School Lunch Program through the summer months to insure children receive adequate nutrition. SFSP is particularly underutilized in Alaska. For every 100 kids who get a free or reduced-price lunch during the school year, only 9.5 kids get a meal through SFSP in the summer. READ MORE
It was the X-ray machine that was the big problem. To this day, I swear the medical assistant at clinic took a shot six times and nothing registered after the film was run through the developing fluid.
Even if the film had come out, it would still have had to be mailed to Juneau for an X-ray technician to read. That took days.
That was in 1998, when I first came to Skagway, and dang if I can’t remember what I thought I broke. The machine was a true relic and so outdated that parts were hard to come by and had to be scavenged or jury-rigged. Still it was a testament to Alaska ingenuity.
When the clinic did get the money for a replacement, it was too big to fit in the room so walls had to be moved.
About a year later, as editor of the Skagway News, while covering a city council meeting I doubled over and started sweating. I thought “heart attack.” The pain in my gut was so bad it was all I could do to hobble from the meeting to home and into an intensely hot bath.
It didn’t really help.
Next morning, when I went to see my provider, Lynn Cameron, an advanced nurse practitioner, who said I needed an ultrasound.
There wasn’t one in town.
Lucky for me I was leaving the next day for Anchorage to go to the annual journalism conference. She gave me pain pills that I just couldn’t keep down.
I went straightaway from the plane to the doctor, where the ultrasound technician showed me the little white dots on the screen. Gall stones.
As good as the health care professionals at the clinic and the Emergency Medical Technicians in town are, my case was not unusual. READ MORE
Alaska suffers from the effects of substance abuse. It remains one of our most serious health and social problems, and is a contributing factor in suicides, crime, domestic violence, child abuse, unemployment, school dropout rates, juvenile delinquency, and other issues.
Substance abuse and dependence are associated with substantial health and social costs, and we need public-private partnerships and long term strategies to prevent, intervene early, treat and help people recover.
In July 2008 at the invitation of Rasmuson Foundation, a group of 20 Alaska leaders, guided by a facilitator with expertise in the subject, gathered for a two-day think tank retreat to formulate new ideas about how to address substance abuse in Alaska. The challenge at this and subsequent meetings was to identify immediate changes that could be made in existing systems and to brainstorm long term strategies for moving the needle on this issue.
Rasmuson Foundation, the Alaska Mental Health Trust, and Mat-Su Health Foundation signed a Memorandum of Agreement to dedicate financial and human resources to exploring the best way for organized philanthropy to have an impact.
This partnership initiative was given the name “Recover Alaska.” It suggests not only the process of individuals recovering from substance abuse, but also recovering, reclaiming and restoring what’s best about Alaska’s families and communities.
Through Recover Alaska, we have educated ourselves more fully about the problem and potential solutions, consulted with local and national leaders, and looked at other broad-based public health initiatives, such as the tobacco cessation movement, for lessons learned.
Utilizing the services of a consultant and the expertise of the think tank group, a plan was formulated that includes strategies at multiple levels including policy change, marketing to affect social norms, and centralized resource and referral mechanisms.
We are under no illusion that this work will be easy. Or that change will be rapid. Substance abuse is a complex and multifaceted issue that affects every part of our community. However, it is imperative for Alaska that we begin our recovery.
Do you have suggestions for how we might better face the challenges of recovery?
In order to successfully empower communities and support them in addressing the needs they have related to substance abuse and mental health, an equally powerful effort must be taken to address the social determinants of health in our communities. As stakeholders in Alaska look to address substance abuse and mental health, I imagine this is being strategized comprehensively, by providing a holistic approach. As the collective vision comes together to address promotion, prevention, treatment and recovery, we should also consider the impact that social determinants of health have on exposure to risk. I have recently been inspired by The WHO publication, Equity, Social Determinants and Public Health Programmes, which can be found at http://whqlibdoc.who.int/publications/2010/9789241563970_eng.pdf. As many in the prevention field (myself included) spend the bulk of their work/career doing program implementation, providing services and working with individuals. This shift (at least in my thinking) to looking at the cause of the cause and approaching the issues from another direction seems promising to me. I am hopeful this promising endeavor includes an effort to repair some of the problems in the social safety net in communities with higher disparity. If we could successfully work towards addressing all stages of the issue, by incorporating public health and behavioral health models, while empowering communities, I believe Alaska will reclaim and recover what’s best about our families and communities. Communities intuitively know what they need. As a member of the community of Alaska I am looking forward to being a part of the change, starting with me, with my neighborhood and my community. READ MORE
RASMUSON FOUNDATION says: May 2nd, 2012 at 12:32 pm
Ben -thank you for weighing in on this topic. READ MORE
Ben Herrington says: May 2nd, 2012 at 10:56 am
Since I arrived in Alaska I have realized so many great things about those that call this place home; a sense of independence, adventurous spirit, strong beliefs, and a love of the joys of life.
However, what has been most disappointing to me is the lack of respect that I often witness, which coupled with an overblown sense of entitlement, has created a selfishness which I have never witnessed before. How can we expect each other to show respect for anything, when it is a common occurence to witness an entire bag of trash surface with the melt? How can people be expected to show self-restraint and abstinence from anything, when it is difficult to find a social or community event at which there is not a place to purchase large amounts of alcohol? How can we expect our children to have a healthy and respectful attitude about life, when we live purely for the moment, show respect only for what we each individually enjoy, and disregard the concerns of others?
This, as I see it, is the worst type of entitlement. The independent sense of live-and-let-live exists, but to such a point that there is a belief that "I should be able to do whatever I want, take it if it is there, and if it affects someone else, that is their problem." Independence is a right that comes with a responsibility. A responsibility to family and community. If Alaska is to change and improve on any level, it has to begin with the values of its citizens. We have to stop thinking of only our own convenience, our own moment, and to recognize the "sensitive dependence" of everything around us. Just about everything we do has affects someone else. We need to be cognizant of those effects, and respect the well-being of everyone that we affect. READ MORE
RASMUSON FOUNDATION says: May 1st, 2012 at 1:53 pm
Myra - thank you for the update. It's helpful to know what others around the state are seeing and doing around this issue. READ MORE
RASMUSON FOUNDATION says: May 1st, 2012 at 1:52 pm
As some of you might recall, Rasmuson Foundation posted a blog a few months ago sharing our Tier 1 goals for the New Year.
In summary, the Foundation laid out our 2012 plans to:
• Increase the number of Tier 1 awards by 25 percent (to 120 awards);
• Continue to get to know you better and encourage you to approach us with questions and ideas;
• Conduct more Tier 1 workshops (the next workshop is in Kodiak, April 27); and,
• Develop more connections in geographic areas where we don’t get as many applications, including the Mat-Su Borough, the Interior, Copper River Region, Northwest Arctic Borough and Arctic Slope.
Invigorated by the nine-plus hours of daylight we’ve gained since January, we’re happy to report that, unlike the fate of so many New Year resolutions, we are off to a fine start on the Tier 1 front. We’ve offered six grantee workshops (including in Kenai, Fairbanks, and Juneau) and have seen a healthy boost in incoming applications. Through April, we have awarded 43 Tier 1 grants for a total investment of $880,385 so far in 2012. That’s 15 more grants and $409,087 than we awarded through April last year (see table below). Our average Tier 1 award has increased by $3,902 in 2012 to $20,474. READ MORE
Posted by Cassandra Stalzer, Communications Manager
As I was doing my research and homework for today’s Social Media for Alaska Nonprofits event, I came across several items that I thought might be useful to the nonprofit sector. I’m listing them here. If you have suggestions to add to this list, please let me know!
Nonprofits on Facebook is a page that shares examples of nonprofits using Facebook for fundraising, advocacy, volunteer recruitment, and issue awareness.
Alaska Community Foundation President Candace Winkler discusses Alaska philanthropy at the recent Foundations on the Hill event.
Alaska Community Foundation (ACF) President Candace Winkler was invited to provide the testimony about permanent community endowments to the Alaska State Legislature. Below is a written version of her testimony, which she gave on March 29, 2012.
“The Alaska State Legislature is currently considering two pieces of legislation that would support the growth of endowments across our state. House Bill 290 and Senate Bill 225 together would establish an endowment program, the Endow Alaska Grant Program, which would provide public dollar for dollar challenge funds to support the growth of community-based endowments across Alaska. ACF is a strong proponent of this legislation and believe it provides a pragmatic way to encourage and grow individual philanthropy and invest in Alaska’s future.
“Many of us in the nonprofit and development world know that Alaska has low levels of individual giving. The proposed legislation would utilize State resources to maximize and grow private gifts to charitable endowments and would help build a culture of philanthropy that extends far beyond the dollars raised.
“Plus Alaskans have a clear understanding of the value of endowments given the impact the Permanent Fund has on our lives. We know the value of preserving principal for future generations and future needs. READ MORE
National Endowment for the Arts Chairman Rocco Landesman addresses foundation leaders at the annual Foundations on the Hill gathering in Washington, DC
(On March 22, National Endowment for the Arts Chairman Rocco Landesman addressed a group of foundations about how the idea of creative placemaking evolved into ArtPlace, a new, national initiative to revitalize communities through the arts. Rasmuson Foundation was an inaugural investor. In January, ArtPlace announced that seven Alaska organizations were among the finalists for $15 million in creative placemaking grants. We share Landesman’s remarks here.)
The last chairman of the NEA was a poet, and he made great advances in the agency’s work with poetry, literature, and Shakespeare. When my appointment was announced, I think the theater community puffed up a bit and said, “Great! Now it’s our turn.”
Sadly for them, that has not turned out to be the case. I think my tenure at the NEA will be remembered for two things, our focus on creative placemaking and our partnerships with other federal agencies and all of you in the private sector.
Let me start with creative placemaking, which is simply the ways in which communities use the arts to help shape their social, physical, and economic characters. Or to put it another way, cities and towns literally change when you bring artists to the center of them. I witnessed this first hand during my time in New York City as I watched the transformations of everything from Times Square to the South Bronx. And now that I am at the NEA, I have seen this happen from Sitka, Alaska, to Opa-Locka, Florida. In each of these towns, I saw the same three critical ingredients for success:
A history and tradition of the arts. You can’t just parachute into the desert and make something happen…I mean, not unless you’re in Marfa, Texas, or at Burning Man.
A committed philanthropic sector: 87% of the support for the arts in this country comes from non-governmental funds.
Local political leaders that “get it.” And almost all of the mayors I have met in the past three years do.
The Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) is a safety net that provides meals to low-income kids when school is out, and essentially extends the USDA National School Lunch Program through the summer months to insure children receive adequate nutrition. SFSP is particularly underutilized in Alaska. For every 100 kids who get a free or reduced-price lunch during the school year, only 9.5 kids get a meal through SFSP in the summer. 
As I was doing my research and homework for today’s 
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