Friends,
As I enter my second year as CEO, I want to thank you for being our partners and update you on the progress we are making to build a sustainable future for national service.
Since starting this journey one year ago, I have seen Senior Corps volunteers and AmeriCorps members addressing some of America’s toughest challenges: helping students succeed in school, rebuilding communities after disasters, combatting the opioid crisis, supporting veterans and their families, and expanding opportunity for countless citizens.
I am grateful to the 300,000 national service members who step forward to serve each year, and the dedicated professionals at CNCS, State Commissions, and our thousands of project partners around the country who make their service possible. National service is propelled by extraordinary people who are passionate about making a difference, and I’m honored to work with you and excited about the possibilities that lie ahead.
Earlier this month, a large number of national service partners were in Washington, D.C. for a series of meetings and events. Over the course of the week, I met with more than 150 service leaders, including board members of the three Senior Corps Associations, State Commission executive directors and board chairs, leaders of conservation corps and AmeriCorps national programs, and others.
This was an excellent opportunity to engage in dialogue on CNCS’s Transformation and Sustainability Plan, and how it makes needed improvements to better support and grow national service. I appreciated hearing from our partners about the plan, which was developed based on years of input and ideas from staff, grantees, participants, Congress, and evaluations and reports highlighting the need for CNCS to make significant changes.
Since announcing the plan last June, we have continued to hear from hundreds of stakeholders through listening sessions, letters, meetings, and calls. My team and I have also met with more than 60 Members of Congress or their staff about the plan. This process has enabled me to hear a wide variety of perspectives, and also allowed us to further elaborate on our agency’s many challenges and opportunities
Overall, the input has reaffirmed my belief that this plan puts CNCS on the right path for long-term sustainability and growth. It has also underscored the importance of making changes in smart ways that strengthen the amazing work being done by our members, volunteers, and projects. In that regard, we will continue to seek input as the plan moves forward. National service is a partnership, and we value the experience of our staff and partners.
Continuing To Serve You
One question we’ve been hearing is how the changes to our grant making roles and our new regional structure will affect grantees and sponsors. These changes and the other priorities we’re working on – things like modernizing our grants technology system – are essential to improving how we serve you and supporting your focus on impact.
- By moving to regional offices, we will be able to keep more staff in the field supporting you.
- Organizations will have a single point of contact at CNCS, reducing inconsistent information and duplication of effort.
- More balanced workloads for our staff will lead to higher and more consistent levels of technical assistance and training.
- The plan will lead to stronger community impact by providing more flexibility to meet emerging needs and ensuring investment goes where it’s needed.
I want to reiterate that this plan will not change our mission or the funds that flow into states and communities. As we make the transition to regional offices, there won’t be any gaps in service or oversight. You will continue to receive technical assistance and support as you do today. Each state and every grantee or project sponsor will have dedicated staff so you know who to contact. CNCS staff will continue to travel as needed to meet in person with grantees or sponsors, attend state meetings, provide trainings, or see projects.
As this process moves forward, it is important for us to retain as many staff as possible. CNCS has an extraordinary team of professionals, and we need their talent and experience. We are taking several steps including priority hiring for new positions, accelerating the hiring timeline to provide certainty as soon as possible, and offering career support services.
We have a lot of work ahead of us but when we are done, we will be a stronger agency and better partners with you. We have put additional information about our Transformation and Sustainability Plan on our website, and we will continue to share updates moving forward. Please feel free to contact me through transform@cns.gov.
Respectfully,
Barbara Stewart
Chief Executive Officer
Corporation for National and Community Service