Progress Alaska, also known as the Alaska Progressive Donor Table, is a network of left-of-center donors and advocates that collaborate and fund projects and groups which advance left-of-center public policies. ¹ It is funded by several left-of-center grantmaking and advocacy organizations including the Committee on States, the Inatai Foundation, NEO Philanthropy, the Sixteen Thirty Fund, and the Wellness Advocacy Fund. ²

Background

Progress Alaska is a “network of donors and advocates dedicated to advancing a just and equitable agenda in Alaska.” It is a left-of-center organization that works towards left-of-center public policies through targeted investments in the “education, advocacy and electoral spaces.” It aggregates donations to invest in projects and groups that support its left-of-center focus areas. ^{1  3} It accepts donations and files tax returns as “Alaska Progressive Donor Table.” ⁴

Focus Areas

Progress Alaska works with “progressive partners and the donor community” to “strengthen progressive power.” Its focus areas include “social equity,” “environmental protection,” “reproductive rights,” “expanded civic participation,” and “inclusive governance.” ³

The Alaska Public Interest Research Group (AKPIRG) recognized Progress Alaska for its support in formalizing Alaska’s state voter table and for playing a “key role in building out Alaska’s progressive infrastructure.” ⁵ AKPIRG is the Alaska state affiliate of the U.S. Public Interest Research Group, a national federation of state-based left-of-center consumer advocacy organizations. ⁶ AKPIRG’s focus areas include advocating for a transparent and accountable government and equitable economic policies. ⁷

Progress Alaska sponsored the Alaska Women Ascend 2025 Leadership Training in October 2025. Alaska Women Ascend provides “comprehensive training for progressive women” including women who are “pro-choice, pro-LGBTQ rights, pro-union, anti-racist and pro-racial justice” to become leaders in Alaska politics. ^{8  9} Other sponsors include the Alaska Center Education Fund, the Alaska Democratic Party, the Alaska International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, and Alaska March On. ¹⁰

Funding

Progress Alaska donations are funneled through the Alaska Progressive Donor Table. ¹¹ In 2024, it reported $654,861 in revenues and $370,902 in expenses. 2024 donors included left-of-center grantmaking and advocacy organizations such as the Committee on States, the Inatai Foundation, NEO Philanthropy, the Sixteen Thirty Fund, and the Wellness Advocacy Fund. ²

In 2024, the Alaska Progressive Donor Table awarded $40,000 to the 907 Initiative, $35,000 to Tech for Campaigns, and $10,000 to the Alaska Center. ² The 907 Initiative is an advocacy group with “a progressive, forward-thinking mindset.” ¹² Tech for Campaigns is focused on leveraging artificial intelligence to help Democrats improve their digital marketing. ¹³ The Alaska Center is a left-of-center environmental advocacy group. ¹⁴

Controversies

Progress Alaska and the Stand for Salmon campaigns have been criticized for obscuring donor disclosures through NEO Philanthropy’s fiscal-sponsorship model. According to Alaska Influence Pipeline, Progress Alaska has received funding from left-of-center funder NEO Philanthropy, which has funded groups that are part of the Arabella Advisors dark money network. Other Arabella financiers include left-of-center groups such as the Ford Foundation, the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, and the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation as well as liberal billionaires George Soros and Hansjorg Wyss. ¹⁵ Alaska Influence Pipeline outlined concerns that billionaires outside of Alaska are funding “environmental and social campaigns reshaping Alaska’s political landscape. ¹⁶

The Alaska Influence Pipeline is a project of the American Accountability Foundation, a conservative investigative group working to “expose efforts by the left to impose their agenda through anti-democratic means.” ¹⁷

Progress Alaska has also received $485,000 in grants from the Arabella-managed Sixteen Thirty Fund, which has been called “one of the left’s largest hubs of dark money.” ¹⁸

Leadership

As of 2026, Ryan Schryver was listed as the executive director of Progress Alaska; his biography indicated he had “nearly 20 years of experience in the progressive advocacy community.” ¹⁹ In 2018, before joining Progress Alaska, Schryver was the director of the Stand for Salmon campaign, an environmentalist campaign supporting a ballot initiative to strengthen protections for salmon habitats. It was also known as the Yes for Salmon ballot initiative. Stand for Alaska, an organization opposing the initiative, claimed that Stand for Salmon was being funded by “dark money.” According to Schryver, his paychecks came from New Venture Fund, which has been labeled as a “dark money group run by a liberal investor.” ^{20  21}

As of 2026, Rachael McPherson was Progress Alaska’s chief network officer. She earned a Master’s degree in Public Administration in 2011 from the University of Wyoming. She held positions with the Alaska chapters of the Girl Scouts of the United States of America and Big Brothers Big Sisters of America. She was previously a philanthropy officer for Planned Parenthood Great Northwest and a vice president with Alaska Humanities Forum before joining Progress Alaska in 2023. As of 2026, McPherson was a board member of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America. ²²

As of 2026, other board members of Progress Alaska included Bruce Botelho, a Democratic politician who served as Juneau mayor and Alaska Attorney General; ²³ communications consultant Kay Brown, a former executive director of the Alaska Democratic Party; Kacey Hopson, interim director of First Alaskans Institute; conservation policy consultant Marilyn Heiman, former program director for Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors; and Melinda Taylor, the communications director at an International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers local union. ^{19  24}

1. Progress Alaska homepage. Accessed February 23, 2026. https://www.progressak.org/
2. “Alaska Progressive Donor Table. 990 Report.” Instrumentl. Accessed February 24, 2026. https://www.instrumentl.com/990-report/alaska-progressive-donor-table
3. “Investing in Progressive Change.” Progress Alaska. Accessed February 23, 2026. https://www.progressak.org/our-mission
4. Alaska Progressive Donor Table. Return of Organization Exempt From Income Tax. (Form 990 – Part I.) 2024.
5. “Investing in Progressive Change.” Progress Alaska. Accessed February 23, 2026. https://www.progressak.org/
6. “Our Work.” PIRG. Accessed February 24, 2026. https://pirg.org/our-work/
7. “Alaska Public Interest Research Group.” AKPIRG. Accessed February 24, 2026. https://www.akpirg.org/
8. Facebook – Alaska Women Ascend. Posted October 6, 2025. Accessed February 23, 2026. https://www.facebook.com/AlaskaWomenAscend
9. “Empowering Progressive Alaska Women to Lead.” Alaska Women Ascend. Accessed February 23, 2026. https://www.akwomenascend.org/
10. Facebook – Alaska Women Ascend. Posted October 2025. Accessed February 23, 2026. https://www.facebook.com/AlaskaWomenAscend
11. “Make a donation.” Progress Alaska. Accessed February 24, 2026. https://www.progressak.org/donate
12. 907 Initiative homepage. Accessed February 25, 2026. https://907initiative.org/
13. Jessica Piper. “A tech group is launching a new effort to keep Democrats from falling behind in AI.” Politico. February 12, 2026. Accessed February 25, 2026. https://www.politico.com/news/2026/02/12/democrats-ai-tech-campaigns-lab-00777286
14. The Alaska Center homepage. Accessed February 25, 2026. https://akcenter.org/
15. “The Web of Activists and Financiers Shaping Alaska from Afar.” Alaska Influence Pipeline. Accessed February 23, 2026. https://www.alaskainfluencepipeline.com/outside-network/?fbclid=IwY2xjawQJQklleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBzcnRjBmFwcF9pZBAyMjIwMzkxNzg4MjAwODkyAAEeYGG_u0WksIzdVuKDg4-AUrAqn3HznLFcCd1unKn2sm_vm54sb84CNf46NiM_aem_YW1WSf-BnxipHkbgIdPwvQ
16. Facebook – Alaska Influence Pipeline. Posted December 22, 2025. Accessed February 24, 2026. https://www.facebook.com/search/top?q=progress%20alaska
17. “What We Do.” American Accountability Foundation. Accessed February 23, 2026. https://americanaccountabilityfoundation.com/about/
18. “Sixteen Thirty Fund Saw Spending, Fundraising Dip Ahead of 2024.” Politico. November 14, 2024. Accessed February 24, 2026. https://www.politico.com/newsletters/politico-influence/2024/11/14/sixteen-thirty-fund-saw-spending-fundraising-dip-ahead-of-2024-00189729
19. “Who We Are.” Progress Alaska. Accessed February 24, 2026. https://www.progressak.org/who-we-are
20. Lachlan Markay. “Over 100 Left-Wing Groups Sourced to DC Dark Money Outfit. Free Beacon. October 22, 2015. Accessed February 24, 2026. https://freebeacon.com/issues/over-100-left-wing-groups-sourced-to-d-c-dark-money-outfit/
21. Alex DeMarban. “Stand for Alaska adds to allegation of ‘dark money’ in Ballot Measure 1 campaign.” Anchorage Daily News. September 25, 2018. Accessed February 24, 2026. https://www.adn.com/alaska-news/environment/2018/09/25/stand-for-alaska-adds-to-allegation-of-dark-money-in-ballot-measure-1-campaign/
22. LinkedIn – Rachael McPherson. Accessed February 24, 2026. https://www.linkedin.com/in/rachaelmcpherson/
23. “Who is Bruce Botelho?” Biographies. Accessed February 24, 2026. https://www.biographies.net/people/en/bruce_botelho
24. LinkedIn – Kay Brown, Kacey Hopson, Marilyn Heiman, Melinda Taylor. https://www.linkedin.com/feed/