FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Nov 23, 2009

Dear Colleagues:

We are pleased to share with you our Annual Financial Report for Fiscal Year 2009, a year of major transition, growth, and progress for the Corporation for National and Community Service and the programs we support.

This report confirms that national service programs are meeting critical needs across the country and that the Corporation is effectively moving toward accomplishing the goals set for us by President Obama and Congress with accountability and appropriate planning for continued growth.

The complete report is available on the Corporation’s Performance and Accountability webpage. The report includes preliminary data on our FY 2009 performance (a full report will be part of the FY 2011 budget in February), an assessment of our financial management, and an independent auditor’s report.

In the performance area, the report confirms that our programs are meeting critical local needs, strengthening communities, building the capacity of nonprofit organizations, and supporting a culture of service and responsibility. While we are awaiting data on our national performance measures, we exceeded most of our agency performance targets. Some highlights:

  • Our programs engaged an estimated 5.5 million Americans in service, the largest in our history and a 40% jump over last year, including more than 3.5 million community volunteers mobilized by our programs.
        
  • Our participants mentored 1.1 million children, including 90,000 from families of prisoners, and enabled 835,000 disadvantaged youth to serve their communities, a 30% increase over last year.
        
  • The number of Baby Boomers serving jumped from 333,000 to 357,000, and we provided independent living services to more than 800,000 elderly and disabled clients.

On the management front, the report shows how the Corporation’s commitment to sound financial management has resulted in improvements across the agency:

  • For the 10th consecutive year, we have received an unqualified opinion on our financial statements, with no material weaknesses or significant deficiencies.
        
  • We acted swiftly to implement the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, engaging an additional 14,000 AmeriCorps members in meeting the needs of economically distressed individuals and communities.
        
  • We made key technology improvements, including launching phase three of the My AmeriCorps Portal and starting to move our IT systems off-site to a managed services environment to ensure that our IT platform is stable.
        
  • For the first time since 1993, the Corporation and its programs were reauthorized through the bipartisan Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act, and we are making strong progress on implementation through drafting rules, issuing funding notices, creating more efficient technology systems, and more.

While we are proud of these accomplishments, we know that much work lies ahead to expand programs, build capacity, strengthen management, and engage new partners to fulfill the bold vision of the Serve America Act. This report shows our agency and programs are rising to that challenge.

With a highly focused Board of Directors, a hardworking and dedicated staff, President Obama’s leadership, the bipartisan support of Congress, and the combined effort of tens of thousands of grantees and partners, national service is ready to grow, innovate, and solve tough challenges through service. We thank you for vital role in bringing us here, and for joining us in the journey ahead.

In Service,

Nicola Goren
Acting CEO
Corporation for National and Community Service

AmeriCorps, a federal agency, brings people together to tackle the country's most pressing challenges through national service and volunteering. AmeriCorps members and AmeriCorps Seniors volunteers serve with organizations dedicated to the improvement of communities. AmeriCorps helps make service to others a cornerstone of our national culture. Learn more at AmeriCorps.gov.