The Alaska Fellows Program (AFP) is a fall-to-spring residential fellowship program that nurtures the next generation of Alaska-based leaders by pairing talented young people with strong communities and professional mentors in nonprofit and public-sector organizations.

Initially launched with a small pool of Yale graduates in 2014, the program now boasts alumni from 28 states and five countries and hosts fellows in Sitka, Anchorage, and Juneau. Forty-two percent of alumni continue to live and work in Alaska for a year or more following their fellowships.

Fellows serve with a dynamic non-profit or public-sector organization for the seven-to-nine month fellowship term and receive modest living stipends and housing. Fellows live communally, work closely with professional mentors, and make lasting contributions to their host community. Fellows are backed by a well-connected team of community members that help make introductions, integrate Fellows into the community (e.g., Arctic Entries, Stardust Ball, Alaska Folk Fest), and share high-octane experiences in outdoor, civic, and community life.

Our goal is to provide much-needed capacity for the community-oriented nonprofit and public-sector organizations that are working hard in areas that range from domestic violence legal services to housing authorities; and to provide our fellows with a pathway into meaningful, high-caliber nonprofit and government careers in these communities.

For the first four years, AFP was run as a nights-and-weekends volunteer effort. Now, entering its seventh year, the program has a robust fee-for-service model, and places 22 fellows in positions each year. AFP is currently fiscally-sponsored and does not yet have 501c(3) status.

As we expand, we want to make sure that our structures are sound and that we fully understand our legal responsibility to fellows and partner organizations.

These questions have been on our minds for a while, but they feel increasingly urgent as we prepare to welcome a new class of fellows this September, in the midst of COVID-19. We want to make sure we understand potential liability and can be prepared to handle previously unforeseen risks.

By helping us to revise contracts and understand potential liability issues in the context of COVID, you will be helping us to manage risk as we welcome a new class of fellows. This support will allow us to set clear expectations, adapt to a new reality, and manage risk to help ensure that fellows are kept safe and healthy and that the program continues to exist.

-Review our contracts and recommend revisions or additions, including a potential liability waiver or indemnification provision.

-Provide a memo summarizing our potential liability in the context of COVID and, if relevant, identifying changes we can make to manage risk.

-We are also looking to build a longer-term relationship with a lawyer to help us with occasional legal guidance on a variety of issues related to nonprofit and liability law.