Good afternoon,

I am writing to invite you to participate in a two day ED meeting in Washington DC on February 15 and 16. I know that this can be a busy time for people but there is a great deal happening on multiple fronts at the Corporation and we want to make sure that all of you have the opportunity to participate in the discussion.

Over the past several months, the Corporation has been engaged in an effort to streamline the way that we do business. Ultimately many of our recent changes provide commissions with the tools necessary to manage their competitive and formula grant portfolios with greater flexibility. However, we know that in the short term changes in the way that we do business can cause challenges in implementation for the field. In addition to streamlining, we are also launching new efforts around our Strategic Initiatives and Disaster Response. These initiatives can not be successful without the full engagement of our commission partners. We need your thoughts and ideas as we move forward.

The agenda for the meeting is currently in development but will include the following topics:

• Changes in the timing of the grant cycle for 2008
• Innovative ways to implement the Strategic Initiatives
• AmeriCorps Week
• Updates on streamlining and funds utilization
• Potential roles for commissions in disasters

We will have a registration page up on reg online after November 1, but wanted to give you as much notice as possible. If you have any questions or concerns about the meeting please feel free to contact Mikel Herrington or me. I look forward to seeing you all then, if not before.

Sincerely,

Kristin McSwain
Director
AmeriCorps State/National