by Patricia Donnelly
Was it only a year ago that we were in the middle of the worst economic downturn of our lives? Though we're not quite in the clear yet, things do seem brighter this July. As always, it is due in large part to the commitment of dedicated volunteers and the generosity of our friends, colleagues, and community partners.
As the economy was uncertain, we postponed expanding to any new sites and concentrated on sustaining the programs that were currently being offered. We also sustained our level of volunteer training, which helps position us for future expansion.
To help bolster our financial health, the staff received no salary increases. To help strengthen our internal processes we focused on improving our data collection and management systems; launched a new communications effort through social media networks such as Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, and our blog on Wordpress; developed new community partners; and researched new best practices in fundraising and volunteer and financial management. We also produced a new LCNV video, which is on the homepage of our website. The LCNV Board and staff are strongly committed to strengthening and moving the organization forward, even in years when we can't afford to grow in conventional ways.
While we didn't expand the total number of class sites, we were able to prevent that number from shrinking when our Family Learning class at McNair Elementary School was cancelled in February. The replacement class was opened at a new nonprofit center in Herndon called Connections for Hope, where we have partnered with five other local nonprofits to share resources and overhead and to provide the community with a one-stop shop for a number of services. LCNV has a small office as well as two classroom spaces and a computer lab. In September we will begin offering an ESOL Learning Centers class in addition to the Family Learning class already being provided.
This coming fiscal year the Council is more optimistic about growing again. The LCNV Board and staff are exploring new opportunities for fund development, we are using our community partners to facilitate program growth, and our new outreach efforts will be evident in the coming changes to our website and electronic communications. So please keep in touch to see it all unfold.
Patricia M. Donnelly
Executive Director
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