Shortly after I started here, the board held a retreat to determine our course for the next season. The strategic plan that came out of that retreat noted three overarching areas the Board wanted to focus on. Without fully unpacking them, the items were:

1. Attract and Steward Donors
2. Deepen Organizational Effectiveness and 
3. Build Internal Capacity.

We have been working towards number three for the past two years, through fiscal planning, strategic alignment, and grant development. The goal was to add a position that will be instrumental in our vision as a foundation of reaching $20 million under management and through bequests by 2028. Last week, after a lengthy application process, we were notified that the MJ Murdock Charitable Trust has awarded the Homer Foundation a three-year capacity-building grant to hire a Director of Development and Marketing. This additional capacity makes it possible to reach out further and more thoroughly into our entire service area. We are so pleased and grateful to the folks at MJ Murdock who saw in us the ability to continue to grow and serve this region as the choice for local long-term philanthropic solutions. 

Thank you MJ Murdock Charitable Trust for investing in the southern Kenai Peninsula.  

Be on the lookout for a job announcement on our Facebook and other places such as the Foraker Group jobs board and similar sites.

Mike

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We’ve Moved

After many years in the same office, the Homer Foundation has moved… next door. We are still in the bottom level of the corner building on Ben Walters but have moved to a larger suite. If you come by the office, know we are in the old location of Kenai Peninsula Youth Court who is now in our previous suite. Our mailing address remains the same: 3733 Ben Walters Lane, Suite 7, or PO Box 2600, Homer, AK 99603.

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Welcome New Fund

We are excited to announce a new field of interest fund, the Anchor Point Fund. 

A field of interest fund, the Anchor Point Fund’s purposes to create a place to allow people to donate to help nonprofits serving the Anchor Point community. 

This fund is an acorn fund, which means the donor does not have the fund minimum of $10,000 but is committed to raising the difference in the next two years. If you’re from Anchor Point, keep your eyes open for announcements on how and where to give. 

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Recent Grants

You have helped make a difference in your community! See how your support has impacted the world around you:

The Conservation Fund

Congratulations to our most recent grant recipient, the Conservation Fund! This is a nationwide organization dedicated to practicing conservation to achieve environmental and economic outcomes. Their most recent project in Alaska is here in Kachemak Bay, with the acquisition of a 5-acre beachfront property which will secure and greatly improve public access for the  Saddle Trail in Halibut Cove.  According to Alaska.org,  Saddle Trail is one of the most used trails in Kachemak Back State Park and  is critical for recreation and trail access.  The end goal is to turn this property over to the state parks who have long desired to secure the property, but did not have the resources.  The Conservation Society  is currently working to raise the funding needs to permanently protect it for the public. The Board of Trustees was pleased to provide a leadership grant of $20,000 grant from the Homer Foundation as one of the first sources of funding towards their goal of $300,000.

To find out more about this project and the ways to support it here: 

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Philanthropy Fact of the Month

The least charitable state in the union in 2018 was Nevada. At the opposite end of the scale, the most generous states were Minnesota, Utah, and New York.