Posted by Aleesha Towns-Bain, Program Associate

It’s a whole lot easier to get excited about oral hygiene when you get to brandish an oversized toothbrush like a sword—ready to take on the evils of plaque buildup and banish cavities for life with a flourish. At least that’s what I thought when I saw photos of a young tooth-brush wielding cowboy at the MouthPower exhibit, which made its first stop in Juneau earlier this spring.

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When Ed Rasmuson took to the stage on Saturday, May 22 to celebrate the completion of the latest expansion of the Anchorage Museum at Rasmuson Center, it was a culminating moment in the decades-long vision of the Rasmuson family to build a great museum for all Alaskans.

Seated in the front row during the opening ceremony, in the atrium named in her honor, was Mary Louise Rasmuson. Stalwart champions of the arts, Mary Louise and Elmer Rasmuson were involved with the Anchorage Museum since its inception.

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This year was my first experience with Rasmuson Foundation’s Individual Artist Awards (IAA). I had the privilege of helping put together the announcement event that took place May 18, which gave me a chance to look over each artist’s work and, in a way, get to know them a little bit. What I learned was that each artist is an original thinker, and their unique approach to their discipline is what makes their work significant.

Rasmuson Foundation Chairman Ed Rasmuson, in his opening comments at the IAA announcement event, reminded us that the idea for the artist awards came from feedback gathered from the arts and culture sector that emphasized that “support directed to practicing artists themselves” was needed to ensure Alaska has a vibrant art and culture community,

A vibrant art and culture community in the state also ensures the creation of art that is unique to Alaska. Among many of the 29 award recipients, one commonality existed: Alaska has shaped them and their work. (more…)

“Are nonprofits drowning in paperwork and distracted from purpose as a result of grantmakers’ application and reporting requirements? Do the same practices that grantmakers use to increase effectiveness end up over-burdening both grantmakers and grantseekers – and diminishing their effectiveness?”

These questions are the crux of a national effort underway called Project Streamline. Project Streamline is a collaborative effort of grantmaking and grantseeking organizations working to improve grant application and reporting practices. This national effort is the catalyst for the Foundation’s own new project, Special Operation Rationalize Thunder (SORT). While the name is intended to invoke a smile, staff has started the serious work of reviewing our grant processes and asking hard questions.
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Earlier this month, Rasmuson Foundation president and CEO Diane Kaplan spoke at the Alaska Library Association conference about the current state of funding opportunities for Alaska’s nonprofit sector. To compose her remarks, Diane sought short, informal updates from funding partners on their charitable giving/ grantmaking outlook for 2010. Many graciously responded (thank you again!) This information was so well received at the conference that we thought it would be of use to the general field.

For Rasmuson Foundation’s 2010 forecast, please click here.  

Here’s the news from our partners:

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The state of Alaska is 50 years young, yet holds a diverse and unique history. As the 49th state goes into its next half-century, it is a great time to look back at all that has shaped us as a state and as Alaskans. In the just-released book, Alaska at 50: The Past, Present, and Next Fifty Years of Statehood, Ron Spatz suggests that “the rich diversity of Alaska’s people” sets us apart from others.

Alaska at 50, edited and with a forward by Dr. Greg Kimura, is a collection of essays by Alaskan artists, politicians, activists, newsmakers and observers. The book was developed through the Alaska Statehood Experience (ASE), a project of Rasmuson Foundation and Alaska Humanities Forum (AKHF) with support from the National Endowment for the Humanities. Through ASE, 24 projects were provided support to commemorate and explore the process of becoming a state. These projects include performances, dialogues, historical research and publication, art, and radio. All aim to preserve pieces of Alaska’s history. Some projects and performances are geared towards children or destined to become a part of classroom curriculum to provide students with a fun and engaging way to learn Alaska’s history.

A full list of ASE projects is available here. Upcoming and current events funded through ASE include: (more…)

It is rare for Rasmuson Foundation-funded projects to make their way outside Alaska. Some, however, have broad, national appeal. One such project, “For the Rights of All: Ending Jim Crow Laws in Alaska,” a new film by all-Alaskan filmmaking shop Blueberry Productions, tells a distinctly Alaska story, but one which promises to reshape the way some Americans think about themselves.

The hour-length documentary film, which premieres September 22 in Washington, DC, at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian, focuses its lens on Alaska’s civil rights movement, culminating in the Anti-Discrimination Act of 1945 and Elizabeth Peratrovich’s speech to the Alaska State Senate calling for the end of Jim Crow laws in Alaska. This particular chapter of the famed American Civil Rights movement, though it took place right here at home, has piqued national interest. Look for it on your local public television from coast to coast “For the Rights of All” has been scheduled for broadcast November and December 2009 by most major PBS affiliates, including on Anchorage’s KAKM December 1.

“For the Rights of All” is an affirmative story of Alaskans who, in the pursuit of justice, successfully claimed the moral and intellectual highground, mastered the democratic process, and asserted their rightful place as legal equals,” says director and producer Jeffry Silverman. “It’s a triumph of the system, democracy at its best.”

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Foundation President Diane Kaplan has met with the nonprofit community across the state over the past few weeks, discussing the impact of the current economic environment.  This week, she offers the following summary and observations:

In Alaska during any given week, it is not unusual for me to put a shovel in the earth at a groundbreaking, to cut a ribbon with an oversized scissor, or to present a check to a grateful recipient.

These last two weeks have been a little different. I’ve been in Eagle River, Juneau, Sitka, Kodiak, Fairbanks, Kenai, Homer, Anchorage and Wasilla. I’ve been meeting our grantees where they live and giving them the news. Most of it is not pretty.

For several years in the mid-2000′s, a convergence of circumstances created a land of opportunity for Alaska nonprofit organizations as they endeavored to improve worn-out facilities, to enhance critical services and programs, and to advance their long-term sustainability. Senator Ted Stevens was the Senate Appropriations Chair and sent billions of dollars home. Unprecedented oil revenues pumped hundreds of millions of dollars into outsized state capital budgets. The major oil companies-operating under a compact with the State of Alaska which tied their annual charitable giving to the price and volume of oil-were giving three to four times their normal level of donations. And sustained high returns in the markets pushed foundation giving way beyond their normal levels and saw wealthier individuals feeling spendy. Life was good. A savvy nonprofit could find the money to build whatever they felt they needed.

So much for that.

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Good things come to those who wait. In June 2005, Rasmuson Foundation awarded $250,000 to University of Alaska Anchorage‘s LitSite Alaska to support a site redesign and content upgrade that could significantly change the way people access and experience Alaska history. Accordingly, much of the project’s success was predicated upon forging new content and technology partnerships.

Today, LitSite Alaska, an interactive Web site with a wealth of information, insights and stories about the history, diversity, culture and traditions of Alaskans and IBM announced that the global technology leader would bring native language and stories to life using its cutting-edge speech technology. Over 1,000 pages of text have been enhanced with audio files, using IBM WebSphere Voice Server text-to-speech software. These audio files even include uncommon pronunciations of Alaska Native names and words such as KwaashKiKwaan, Tlingit, and Inupiaq.

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