It's best to give--and to receive: how Alaska businesses and nonprofits may collaborate to maximize outcomes.

• Author: Von Imhoff, Natasha
• Position: SPECIAL SECTION: Corporare 100--Philanthropy - Column

The opinions expressed herein are those of the author.

I have a twelve-year-old son who, the moment he earns his allowance, asks to go to the store to buy candy or some cheap plastic toy. I am teaching him--with varying degrees of success--about saving for big ticket items versus spending on quick consumable junk. This past Christmas, we were walking into a store and saw the Salvation Army kettle bell ringers. I put some cash into the red kettle and encouraged my son to do the same. He looked at me and said, "Why would I want to do that?" I explained that we live in a community and it takes all of us pitching in to make it work. He eyed the bucket with suspicion. "Where does the money go once I put it in that red thing?" I replied, "Ah, Grasshopper. Now that is a question worth exploring."

Nonprofit Landscape

According to the December 2014 report titled, "Alaska's Nonprofit Sector: Generating Economic Impact," produced by the Foraker Group, there are 4,800 charitable nonprofit organizations in Alaska, generating $4.4 billion in direct expenditures and employing more than thirty thousand people.

(See pie chart at above right.)

These organizations run the gamut and include healthcare, arts and culture, conservation, human services, and animal welfare, among others.

The Sweet Spot in the Middle

So I asked several people in my community, "Why do we have nonprofits?" Sammye Pokryfki, vice president of Programs at the Rasmuson Foundation, answered, "Because a healthy society needs particular goods and services that don't yield a profit margin."

Dennis McMillian, president of the Foraker Group, described it like this: "Nonprofits fill the sweet spot in the middle, between the for-profit sector that looks for a return on investment and the government sector which provides funding for items that simply have to get done like transportation and public safety."

With that in mind, what does an Alaskan family need to survive or thrive? Expand on that concept to a community level and think about who can deliver it. Profit seeking businesses can fill some needs; the government will take responsibility on several other things; but for everything else, the nonprofit business model fills that niche.

Without nonprofits, our society would be incomplete. Many Alaskan families would not survive, let alone thrive.

Most People Can't Resist Adorable Puppies

Alaska has about twice the number of nonprofits per capita when compared nationally. Why so many? Rural states tend to have a higher per capita ratio than more urban states because of dispersed populations and high travel costs. In Alaska, in particular, there are less government entities, defined in this case as cities and counties. As a result, the service gaps that normally would be covered by the government are instead offered by nonprofits.

With 4,800 charitable nonprofits to choose from, how should a business or individual go about assessing their choices?

McMillian breaks down the nonprofit landscape like this, "About 10 percent [of donors] give based on a pull on their heartstrings. This means they give only to the downtrodden--or to a cute puppy."

I confirmed the puppy theory with Heather Beaty, program manager of Pick.Click.Give. (PCG), the Permanent Fund Dividend charitable contributions program. In 2014, the PCG category "animal protection and welfare" received the most money donated through the program. Puppies...