ALASKA HUMANITIES FORUM
Through connection, we build community
Programs and results
What we aim to solve
Many of the issues that threaten the stability and health of our communities are rooted in a lack of connection, engagement, and perspective. We want to change that. The Alaska Humanities Forum designs and guides experiences that bridge distance and difference, foster connections, build capacity, and deepen understanding among Alaskans.
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
Educator Cross Cultural Exchange (ECCI)
The Educator Cross-Cultural Immersion (ECCI) Program is an experiential program to help public school educators in urban Alaska better serve their Alaska Native students, communicate across cultural differences, and incorporate Alaska Native Ways of Knowing and Learning into their classrooms. Funded by the U.S. Department of Education’s Alaska Native Education Program, ECCI has operated across the state of Alaska for the last fifteen years.
During the program, educators receive graduate-level credit for completing coursework in cross-culturally competent pedagogy, enhanced by an immersion experience at an Alaska Native Culture Camp. Educators attend a 1.5 day orientation in late May, travel to a Culture Camp during the summer, attend a 1.5 day debrief in September, and submit reflective coursework.
The Creating Cultural Competence of Rural Early Career Teachers Project (C3-2
The Creating Cultural Competence of Rural Early Career Teachers Project (C3-2) provides a unique experience for teachers new to the Lower Kuskokwim and Northwest Arctic regions of Alaska to better understand the traditions, heritage, values, and culture of their new home.
The humanities can be viewed as a pathway to providing humans with an in-depth understanding of their environment through the culture of its people. Side-by-side with local youth, elders, and other regional culture bearers, C3-2 Project teachers will experience cultural immersion, reflective learning, and exploration of the environment to help better prepare them for teaching and continued learning in their new home.
Support will continue throughout the school year as C3-2 Project teachers are paired with a local cultural mentor from their village. First and second year teachers, new to the profession, will also be paired with a master teacher through the Alaska Statewide Mentor Project (ASMP).
Take Wing Alaska
Take Wing Alaska assists students from the Lower Kuskokwim School District with the transition to urban, post-secondary education. Beginning at the end of the sophomore year and continuing through high school graduation, each student participates in three immersion experiences on the campuses of University of Alaska Anchorage, Alaska Pacific University and University of Alaska Fairbanks.
Take Wing Alaska guides the students in focusing not only on academic skills, but also inherent cultural strengths they can refer to and rely upon in the midst of a challenging life shift. Program staff maintains regular contact with Take Wing Alaska participants through phone calls, emails, social media, newsletters, and check-ins with students and their family members. A final component includes on-site clubs to facilitate social and emotional learning.
Leadership Anchorage
Leadership Anchorage is the premier leadership development program for established and emerging Alaskan leaders seeking to expand their impact in the community. We recruit a diverse cadre of leaders with a range of experiences. The focus is to deepen leadership capacity in individuals by learning through the lens of humanities, diverse group experiences, and personal reflection; all in the context of the dynamic issues leaders of Alaska currently face.
Leadership Anchorage strives to provide a "full experience" in leadership training development. Diverse participants build a network of peers, are nurtured through a mentor relationship that often continues beyond the program, prepare and implement a community service project and apply their leadership training throughout the program. Participants emerge from the program prepared to advance in and fill new leadership roles, fueled by the desire to tackle a diverse array of community problems and challenges. The program seeks to ensure that the leadership of our city represents all of its citizens.
Leadership Anchorage is designed to introduce leaders across a range of experiences- from establishing to "emerging/promising leaders" in all sectors of our community, including business, government, non-profit, neighborhood, and ethnic organizations. We build a community of accomplished professionals and civic leaders in Anchorage and Alaska. Our goal is to make sure these leadership voices are heard and are at the table in the mix of city and statewide decision-making.
Consequently, group diversity is essential. Individuals proceed through ten rigorous, full-day sessions of interviews, speaker presentations, readings and group activities designed to facilitate the development of critical leadership skill sets. The keystones of the program include: one-on-one mentoring with an individual jointly selected by participants and the program leader, a group project fulfilling an expressed need in the community, and a series of readings and exercises that bring the humanities to life. When a Leadership Anchorage class graduates, the community is enriched with individuals who know how to get things done, know how to operate in a diverse world, and think carefully about the ethical and personal demands of leadership.
Grants
The Alaska Humanities Forum's Grant Program funds humanities-based projects. In order to fulfill its mission, the Forum supports grant projects that:
Educate the public in the humanities and pass on the values, methods, and wisdom of the humanities to future generations of Alaskans.
Create access to humanities resources and experiences.
Engage the public in civic dialogue and exchange.
Preserve our history.
Explore a sense of personal identity and a sense of place through history, traditions, and new ideas that support our living heritage.
Promote cross-cultural awareness and empathy.
Apply traditional bodies of wisdom to present concerns.
There are two grant programs at the Forum:
Annual Grants: Funding up to $10,000 for general humanities projects.
Mini Grants: The smallest grant program with funding up to $2,000. These projects have a rolling deadline.
Where we work
External reviews
Our results
How does this organization measure their results? It's a hard question but an important one.
Total number of grants awarded
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Related Program
Grants
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Holding steady
Context Notes
2020 grants included CARES act funding
Goals & Strategy
Reports and documents
Download strategic planLearn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.
Charting impact
Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.
What is the organization aiming to accomplish?
The Alaska Humanities Forum is dedicated to connecting Alaskans and strengthening communities across Alaska. We envision a culturally diverse, economically vibrant, and equitable Alaska where people are engaged, informed, and connected. We design, facilitate, and support experiences that bridge distance and difference - programming that shares and preserves the stories of people and places across our vast state, and explores what it means to be Alaskan.
In short: through connection, we build community.
What are the organization's key strategies for making this happen?
Since its founding in 1972, the Forum has been bringing Alaskans together to think critically and to talk - across perspectives, values, and backgrounds - about things that matter. We have three overarching strategies:
1. Strengthen communities by developing, connecting, and empowering community leaders. Our Leadership development programs emphasize equity, critical thinking, and collaboration in addressing the complex economic, social, and political issues of Alaska's communities.
2. Develop Alaska's future through programs that use cultural immersion, reflective learning, and place-based exploration to better prepare and connect educators and youth in rural and urban communities across the state.
3. Increase access, engagement, and understanding by leading, hosting, and funding public events, programs, and community discussions.
What are the organization's capabilities for doing this?
Our staff is innovative, strategic, and continually learning as well as assessing community needs. We work with board members, contractors, and partner organizations and agencies to develop the skills and resources needed to deliver and continually improve our programming.
What have they accomplished so far and what's next?
- Leadership Anchorage (LA) was founded in 1997 and now has an alumni network of over 400 people making a difference in communities across Alaska through a range of roles across sectors and industries.
- Creating Cultural Competence (C3) served 64 educators across 6 school districts in 2018. C3's impact over the past five years is significant: twice as many C3 teachers were retained in LKSD compared to non-C3 teachers; in NWABSD, 1.7 times as many C3 teachers were retained compared to non-C3 teachers. The C3 induction model becomes cost effective by year 2 or 3, depending on the scale of teacher replacement in a district. Increasing cultural competency, as the C3 Project does, increases teachers' grit and growth mindsets.
- Our youth programming served 1081 students across the state in 2019. Among participants in Take Wing Alaska, we have seen a 30-50% increase in 4-year high school graduation rates and 39% of students enrolled in post-secondary education programs.
- The Forum facilitated 44 conversations within 7 communities in 2019, bringing over 1165 people together to connect across differences and to consider new perspectives and ideas.
How we listen
Seeking feedback from people served makes programs more responsive and effective. Here’s how this organization is listening.
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How is your organization using feedback from the people you serve?
To identify and remedy poor client service experiences, To identify bright spots and enhance positive service experiences, To make fundamental changes to our programs and/or operations, To inform the development of new programs/projects, To identify where we are less inclusive or equitable across demographic groups, To strengthen relationships with the people we serve
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Which of the following feedback practices does your organization routinely carry out?
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What challenges does the organization face when collecting feedback?
Financials
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Operations
The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.
Connect with nonprofit leaders
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- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
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Connect with nonprofit leaders
SubscribeBuild relationships with key people who manage and lead nonprofit organizations with GuideStar Pro. Try a low commitment monthly plan today.
- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? Learn More about GuideStar Pro.
ALASKA HUMANITIES FORUM
Board of directorsas of 08/02/2023
Moira K. Smith
Enstar
Term: 2020 - 2022
Kristi Williams
Calista Corporation
Term: 2019 - 2022
Bruce Botelho
Anne Hanley
Cordelia Qiġnaaq Kellie
Ilisagvik College
Aminata Taylor
Campfire Alaska
Don Rearden
UAA
Thea Agnew Bemben
Agnew::Beck
Stephen Qacung Blanchett
Juneau Arts & Humanities Council
Emily Keneggnarkayaagaq Edenshaw
Alaska Native Heritage Center
Board leadership practices
GuideStar worked with BoardSource, the national leader in nonprofit board leadership and governance, to create this section.
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Board orientation and education
Does the board conduct a formal orientation for new board members and require all board members to sign a written agreement regarding their roles, responsibilities, and expectations? Yes -
CEO oversight
Has the board conducted a formal, written assessment of the chief executive within the past year ? Yes -
Ethics and transparency
Have the board and senior staff reviewed the conflict-of-interest policy and completed and signed disclosure statements in the past year? Yes -
Board composition
Does the board ensure an inclusive board member recruitment process that results in diversity of thought and leadership? Yes -
Board performance
Has the board conducted a formal, written self-assessment of its performance within the past three years? No
Organizational demographics
Who works and leads organizations that serve our diverse communities? Candid partnered with CHANGE Philanthropy on this demographic section.
Leadership
The organization's leader identifies as:
Race & ethnicity
Gender identity
Transgender Identity
Sexual orientation
No data
Disability
No data