The new president and CEO of the Lincoln Community Foundation is a triplet whose mom named him Alec, just like the young lad in the book, “The Black Stallion.†He once walked the red carpet at the Grammy Awards – the roped-off everyday citizen side, not the VIP side – and now works out to The Smashing Pumpkins and Red Hot Chili Peppers. (“Yes, I feel like, musically, I’m stuck in the ‘80s and ‘90s,†he says.)
But let’s underline what’s really important – what Alec Gorynski genuinely wants people to know: “I see myself in this job as a steward of the community, someone who will take the coming months to listen and to learn everything I can about Lincoln,†he says. “It is incredible that I get to help move this Foundation into the future. However, this is not my organization, this is the community’s organization.
“Yes, I have ideas and values I hope to bring to the table, and at this point in the job my mission is to hear from donors, board members, staff, broader stakeholders: How do they value the Foundation? What are their expectations?â€
Earnest and conscientious, Gorynski is a man with a bedrock sense of the values that guide his life. “I have always been focused on civic and civil service. In my undergraduate years, I wanted to be a police officer. In fact, I have a degree in criminal justice.
“I believe in working for the benefit of the community, and at some point, I turned to community development. I have worked for nonprofits, public and private organizations, and I’ve always sought to work for the community good.â€
Most recently, Gorynski worked in Omaha as vice president of community development and corporate philanthropy for First National Bank of Omaha.
Why change now?
“Somewhere along the line, your heart steps in … This job just felt right,†he shares.
Gorynski (pronounced GOR-EN-SKI) officially became the new president and CEO of the Lincoln Community Foundation on the cusp of 2022.
“Sometime during the week before I started, the enormity of the task set in, a sense of responsibility I carried for my community and my family,†he admits.
But after the first day on the job, that all melted away.
“I have received such a warm reception in Lincoln and at the Lincoln Community Foundation,†Gorynski says. “Everyone I meet – board members, donors, strong and capable staff – are doing everything possible to set me up for success. They are in my corner. I believe everyone wants the Lincoln Community Foundation to win, because then the community wins as a whole.â€
After a month on the job, how does he feel?
“I love it here. I absolutely love it.â€
He has, in fact, come home.
“Lincoln is the city where I was born and raised. We grew up in the Eastridge neighborhood and spent a lot of time at the St. Teresa parish, volunteering, doing service.â€
He even loved his time as an altar boy. “At that early age, I already liked the idea of helping.â€
Gorynski believes many of his fundamental values originated in those early years. “It is how I developed my sense of the world … how I developed the values that continue to guide me, professionally and personally, a belief in equity and equality – opportunity and hope – trust, transparency and accountability … These are the values that guide how I live, how my wife and I raise our children.â€
In March, he and his wife, Laura, and three children – Jamie, 8, Ben, 6, and Claire, 4 – will all move from Omaha to Lincoln, just in time for fourth quarter at Lincoln Public Schools.
“I love the idea of what a community foundation can do and how that mission matches my own values,†Gorynski says. “And the idea of doing all of that in the place I was born and raised is so exciting.â€
He believes Lincoln is indeed unique in how it has approached the concept of public good.
“Everyone here – the business community, civic institutions, the university, philanthropic organizations – they all come together collaboratively in what’s best for the community,†he says. “They ask questions in a unified voice: Where are our needs? What does the data tell us? How does that inspire change?â€
The Lincoln Community Foundation is also unique, he continues, in the way it maximizes the power of each and every donor. “The Foundation here serves and meets a donor where they are, no matter how much they have to give. That doesn’t happen everywhere.â€
He gives much credit to Barbara Bartle, the former Foundation president who retired at the close of 2021.
“Barbara and her team have built an incredible foundation with a solid, stable platform for all of us to stand on,†Gorynski says. “It gives me the luxury of time. We need to keep everything running smoothly, and I don’t have to rush. I just need to plug myself into the community and listen.â€
He believes all his professional and educational experience have come together to prepare him for this role. With an undergraduate degree from Peru State College and a Master’s degree in public administration from the University of Nebraska at Omaha, Gorynski has 15 years of experience in community development – working across the private, nonprofit and government sectors.
He is aware there are challenges on the horizon: “We face many of the same issues common in other metropolitan areas. We need to face workforce challenges, affordable housing, poverty.â€
“I believe the Lincoln Community Foundation is well positioned to navigate into the future,†he continues. “We will need to work together to develop a strategic plan for the next five years, growing our ability to serve our donors and expanding our role as a community leader and convener.â€
In the end, he says, it all comes back to those core values of opportunity and hope, perhaps the heart and soul of the Foundation.
“And I would add one more value: vulnerability. It goes along with transparency, honesty and building trust … It’s about the ability to say, ‘I don’t know, I can do better, I made a mistake.’ It’s what I tell my own children: ‘You have a lot to learn, and it’s ok to express your vulnerability. Admit you don’t know everything.’â€
In the coming weeks and months ahead, Gorynski plans to follow his own advice: “I always encourage my kids to ask for help,†he shares. “I need to do the same, to say, ‘I don’t know everything. I cannot do this alone. I’m here to learn with your help.’â€