Dear Friends,

I realize that this is a very hard year for each and every one of you.  The uncertainty in Washington over the future of our programs combined with such difficult fiscal and economic times in your states and communities make for, undoubtedly, very anxious times. 

As one who has had, for a number of years, the responsibility of leading the CAA political and legislative efforts, I can truly say that this is the most complicated time I believe our program has ever faced.  When President Obama announced during his State of the Union speech his desire to cut in half our core CSBG funding, I thought long and hard about how we as a program were going to successfully overcome the many obstacles we face.  Never before has a Democratic president called for such a drastic cut.  And of course never in our recent history have we faced such fiscal problems as highlighted by our federal government's deficit and our nation's debt, as well as such unease among the electorate.

The NCAF Board and I have spent many days crafting a strategy to win.  Every single day since the Administration's position became clear we have followed through on our plan.   I hope I get an opportunity sometime, in a large forum, to sit and tell you the day-in and day-out efforts we've undertaken.  I would like to tell you about the emotional highs and lows we encounter almost every day and sometimes every hour.  We have strongly opposed certain actions proposed by some of our related organizations, and I look forward to explaining why we believe these actions may compromise our chances for success.

We are blessed, as a program, with strong friendships and support among Democrats and Republicans. There are a lot of members of Congress helping us.  There is virtually no one in Congress that I am not reaching out to in my attempts to stitch together a winning coalition.  Every member of Congress, regardless of party affiliation, is potentially a friend.  We are making substantial progress.  I like our chances and I like how we have approached our challenges.  Your work in your communities and the trust and respect your agencies enjoy make me even more optimistic about where our network will be next year and for many years to come. 

Keep doing what you do so well.  Keep up your support for NCAF (and CAP-PAC!)  Rest assured that I and all of the NCAF Board and staff will be there on behalf of our nation's 1000 CAA's.  Together, I promise you, we will win!