AFP AK Chapter Lunch & Learn - "The Ins and Outs of Donor Advised Funds"

"The Ins and Outs of Donor Advised Funds"

With $121.4 billion of assets in donor advised funds across the nation (as of 2019), there is great opportunity for grants to nonprofits. How do donor advised funds work? What do they provide to the donor? How can nonprofits receive grants from donor advised funds?  What does the nonprofit need to do when a grant from a DAF is received?

In Alaska, great attention was drawn to Donor Advised Funds in 2020 when Hilcorp as part of the Hilcorp Giving Program established for their employees over 1300 DAFs at the Alaska Community Foundation.  Now a year later, how are the funds working? Where are Hilcorp employees directing grants? How can nonprofits receive grants from Hilcorp DAFS? 

Join Lori Nelson, Manager, Public Affairs, Hilcorp Alaska, LLC, Elizabeth Miller, Vice President Development and Communications, Nancy Anderson, Development Director, Alaska SeaLife Center as we share and discuss this important information about Donor Advised Funds.

Lori Nelson is the Manager of Public Affairs for Hilcorp Alaska.  Prior to joining the Hilcorp team in 2012, Lori was the Statewide Director of Sales and Customer Service with Era Alaska.  She currently serves as Board Secretary for the Resource Development Council, is a member of the Petroleum Club Board of Directors, Past Chair of the American Cancer Society’s Statewide Advisory Board and past member of the Alaska Red Cross and Alaska Resource Education boards. Lori is a 22 year Alaskan and is excited to celebrate her son Grant’s high school graduation this spring.     

Elizabeth Miller, a Certified Fundraising Executive since 2000, has dedicated her career to fund-raising for Alaska nonprofits. After a 30+ year career at United Way of Anchorage, she joined the team at The Alaska Community Foundation in July 2019 as the Vice President of Development and Communications. A life-long Alaskan, Elizabeth grew up in Talkeetna. She attended college in Spokane, WA, where she graduated from Gonzaga University with a Bachelor’s degree in International Business. Elizabeth served on the AFP board in the early 2000s.  She received the Outstanding Professional in Philanthropy Award in 2002.  She and her husband of almost 24 years have one daughter and one dog. Elizabeth enjoys hiking and completed the Camino de Santiago in Spain in the spring/summer of 2019.

Nancy Anderson is the Development Director at the Alaska SeaLife Center.  She has been employed at the Center since 2005, and transitioned into the development department in 2014.  She now is the lead for fundraising activities, corporate and foundation funding opportunities, and strengthening and growing all donor connections to the Center.  She has leveraged her knowledge and passion for the Center's mission work into a successful program which benefits the entire organization with earned unrestricted revenues.  She understands the value of a team dynamic, and recruits everyone to "Team Development," including donors, board members, staff and the animals that call the Center home.  Nancy has served on the board of directors for the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP) since 2018.  She is currently the education program chair for the Alaska Chapter of AFP.