A letter from the CEO

January 2011

Our Promise

Exceptional Programs—Extraordinary Impact.

Our Passion

Our passion is igniting the spark of FREEDOM in every individual—Freedom through living a self-sufficient life

Even if you don't follow politics, you can't help but hear some of what is happening in Washington D.C. as well as Washington State when it comes to budget issues. Every state is struggling with budget shortfalls, some more critically than others, and Washington is no different.

HopeSource follows the legislative sessions at both the state and federal levels because the majority of our core programs receive funding from either state or federal grants. It is important that we access available government funding because that money is really your tax money returning to our county. If we don't spend our tax money in our own county, it is redistributed across the state. We also have been working diligently over the past four years to increase the amount of private dollars we can use to deliver services because those private dollars allow us greater flexibility in how we answer the needs of our community.

For the coming months we will be carefully watching the following issues in the state and federal legislatures. The national network of community action organizations such as HopeSource, have a lobbyist by the name of David Bradley who works diligently for us with both sides of the aisle in D.C. helping them to understand the critical services we provide in our local communities and the impact of government funding on our ability to do so. At the state level, the Washington State Community Action Board, of which HopeSource is a member, is working with House Speaker Frank Chopp on a strategy to mitigate the impact of any reduction in federal funding at the state level. They are both committed to help legislators understand fully that Community Action is needed now more than ever.

Though we applaud efforts at deficit reduction, we also agree with President Obama's statement in the State of the Union address: "I am willing to eliminate whatever we can honestly afford to do without. But let's make sure that we're not doing it on the backs of our most vulnerable citizens." The more than 1,000 Community Action agencies across the country comprise our nation's most effective local network for supporting our most vulnerable citizens.

The impact of Community Action includes:

• Providing a "first stop" for those in need and critical services to those affected by the severe economic recession;
• Relieving stress and confusion, and addressing the complexity of needs, by navigating people to resources in our communities, including those recently impacted by the economic recession;
• Creating and retaining jobs, and supporting low-income people in a variety of ways that prepare them for and link them with living-wage employment;
• Building more positive communities where businesses both small and large have a better chance of flourishing;
• Helping newly returning and homeless Veterans, homebound and disabled individuals, and senior citizens living on fixed and limited incomes achieve dignity and economic stability;
• Engaging the power of neighbor helping neighbor through well-targeted volunteerism; and
• Strengthening communities by drawing together broad and diverse coalitions to solve local issues.

HopeSource is committed to providing this county with Excellent Service—Extraordinary Impact.

With warm regard,

, CEO