The application for LA 28 is due by April 19, 2024. We highly recommend having the platform send a request to your reference in advance - you can do this prior to submitting your responses.
We encourage early submission!
Applicants who advance to the interview stage will be interviewed in late April and May. Applicants who submit early will likely be invited to interview early.
If you would prefer to answer the questions in the application by speaking with an AKHF staff member, or if you have any clarifying questions or concerns, email leadership@akhf.org.
KINDLING CONVERSATION
Connect with your friends, colleagues, and other members of your community through engaged conversations that deepen trust and strengthen relationships.
Each Kindling Conversation Toolkit offers a short Alaska-made film, text, audio recording, or photo-essay that acts as a springboard for discussion about a big question we all grapple with but rarely have the opportunity to discuss.
Conversations work best with 5-30 participants and are great for gatherings of all sorts, both in-person and online.
WHO CAN APPLY FOR A STIPEND
Anyone may host a community conversation. Individuals, tax-exempt organizations, and schools in Alaska are eligible to receive a $250 stipend to help defray the cost of hosting the program. You receive the funds after hosting the event and submitting participant surveys and a short final report.
If you have questions about the program, please contact Shoshi Bieler at sbieler@akhf.org.
TIMELINE
Kindling Conversation gatherings may be scheduled at any time of the year. Applications must be submitted at least 1 week prior to the event.
Kindling Conversation stipend recipients must host their conversation within 3 months of application.
REQUIREMENTS
Conversation hosts must apply for a stipend before hosting a conversation. Applications received after the conversation has been held will not be considered. In order to be eligible for the $250 stipend, the community conversation must be at least an hour-long and have at least five participants apart from the facilitator/host.
If the event is held by an organization or promoted to the public, the Alaska Humanities Forum must be acknowledged in event promotion and during the event itself.
Finally, the host must submit a VERY short final report within 3 weeks of the completion of the conversation. This final report includes attendance information, evaluation surveys to be completed by conversation participants, and a brief reflection by the facilitator.
ELIGIBLE EXPENDITURES
The Kindling Conversation stipend is an unrestricted stipend to defray the cost of promoting, hosting, and facilitating the event. The stipend recipient may choose to use the grant to cover food, advertising, printing, facilitation, or facilities fees, or anything else.
HOSTING MULTIPLE CONVERSATIONS
At this time, we are offering only one stipend per organization or individual per year without prior approval. Stipend recipients may contact us to host additional conversations after submitting their final report to see if there are funds available for additional sessions.
Please email sbieler@akhf.org with questions.
You don't need to be an expert, a professor, or a professional to make an impact on the cultural life of Alaska. If you cherish the richness that history, literature, and lifelong learning have added to your life and feel moved to help create an Alaska where the humanities inspire citizens to engage with ideas and one another, you can make a difference.
The Alaska Humanities Forum seeks active change-makers and community leaders, listeners and storytellers, fund raisers and friend raisers from across the state to join its board of directors. Board members can offer diverse perspectives, but are all committed to encouraging dialogue and sharing the stories that move us and make us Alaskans.
The board sets the Alaska Humanities Forum's policy and direction, and board members raise funds and strengthen the organization's statewide network of partners. The board meets quarterly (with additional committee work conducted via conference call or in person), and members serve a three-year term with the possibility of reelection to a second term.
To nominate a board member, please fill out the form here. Self-nominations are accepted.
Once elected, Board Members are expected to:
Mission
- Determine, understand, and support the organization’s mission.
- Be knowledgeable about the organization’s major programs.
- Convene and participate in long range visioning and strategic planning to ensure the organization’s future ability to carry out its mission.
Financial
- Establish fiscal policy and boundaries, including budgets and financial controls.
- Make a meaningful annual gift commensurate with personal ability.
- Assist in fundraising by, for example, identifying prospective donors, personally asking others to make a contribution, signing thank you notes, or making thank you phone calls to contributors.
Management
- Set policies for the organization’s operation and guide its general course from year to year.
- Select, evaluate and, if necessary, terminate the appointment of the chief executive.
- Ensure that the provisions of the organization’s charter and the law are being followed.
- Attend meetings in person or via teleconference.
- Serve on at least one committee of the board.
- Recommend qualified individuals with relevant skills and experience as possible nominees for the board.
Important as it is to understand what the duties of directors include, it is equally important to understand what they do not include.
Directors should not:
- Engage in the day-to-day operation of the organization.
- Hire staff other than the chief executive.
- Make detailed programmatic decisions more appropriately left to staff.
Please be sure to inform the candidate that the selection process involves several stages and is affected by a number of factors that do not in any way reflect on the quality of his or her candidacy. These qualifying factors vary from year to year, and candidates who are not selected for this year’s slate may be invited to remain in the pool for future consideration.
The Alaska State Council on the Arts (ASCA), the Alaska Arts and Culture Foundation (AACF), and the Alaska Humanities Forum (AKHF) are pleased to announce that nominations are now open for the 2024 Governor’s Awards for the Arts and Humanities. The deadline for nominations is June 8, 2024.
HUMANITIES AWARDS
The awards for Distinguished Service to the Humanities are presented by the Alaska Humanities Forum (AKHF) to recognize those Alaska individuals and/or organizations whose efforts have contributed to telling the stories of our past, present, and future, and whose work has helped build a more culturally diverse, economically vibrant, and equitable Alaska where people are engaged, informed, and connected. These awards honor the well-established -- as well as the lesser known -- that have stepped up and made an impact in our communities and our state. Eligibility is open to any individual, organization or institution that has made a significant contribution to the arts and humanities in Alaska, with the exception of current AKHF Board members, staff, or prior Award recipients. A list of prior awardees can be found here. For questions, please contact Polly Carr, pcarr@akhf.org.
2024 Humanities Award Categories
- Education: This award recognizes an Alaska individual or organization that has helped strengthen communities by contributing to a better understanding of the world, one another, and the human experience.
- Leadership: This award recognizes an Alaska individual or organization that has helped strengthen communities through their commitment to improve Alaska's social, economic, and civic life.
- Community: This award recognizes an Alaska individual or organization that has helped strengthen communities by forging connections between people across race, class, and cultural divides.
ARTS AWARDS
Each year, these awards are offered by the Alaska State Council on the Arts (ASCA). Eligibility is open to any individual, organization, or institution that has made a significant contribution to the arts in Alaska, with the exception of current ASCA Council members, staff, or prior Award recipients. A list of prior awardees can be found here. For questions, please contact Andrea Noble, andrea.noble@alaska.gov.
2024 Arts Award Categories
- Individual Artist: This award is for an individual who demonstrates artistic leadership and has received recognition based on merit and contribution to Alaska or their community. The nomination clearly shows that the individual has exhibited significant and successful impact on the arts in Alaska.
- Alaska Native Arts: This award is for an individual or organization that has successfully advanced Alaska Native language or culture through their work. The nomination clearly demonstrates that the individual or organization’s efforts have significantly improved the preservation, perpetuation, and active practice of Alaska Native arts.
- Arts Education: This award is for an individual or organization that demonstrates a long-standing dedication to arts education in Alaska. The nomination clearly shows that the individual or organization has significant and successful impact on arts education in Alaska.
- Arts Advocacy: This award is for an individual or organization that is dedicated to promoting the arts through volunteer, administration, legislative or professional efforts. The nomination clearly shows that the individual or organization has a long-standing, significant and successful impact on the arts in Alaska.
- Outstanding Arts Organization: This award is for organizations that have made a notable contribution to the arts and community development in Alaska. The nomination clearly shows the organization has long-standing, significant and successful impact on the arts in Alaska.
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