Whew! Fiscal Year 04-05 (FY04-05) came to an end on March 31, 2005. And not a minute too soon either. CCCO weathered one of its most challenging fiscal periods in recent memory. We also had to overcome changes in staff and deal with a move to a new Oakland office. Talk about being gluttons for punishment; thank goodness the universal draft didn’t start too.
When I began as the Development Program Coordinator last July, I could barely contain my excitement. After being self-employed, I had been looking for a way to contribute to the efforts to stop the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. I responded to the CCCO ad only because I knew it was the right place to be, and I believed I had the skills to be of significant help to the organization. Well, after not knowing if we would survive my first 3 months, here we are, in a brand new fiscal year, with a brand new attitude, and a brand new organizational culture.
CCCO finished FY04-05 with a small surplus after paying off many nagging debts. There is now in place even greater fiscal management and accountability among all CCCO staff (wow - all 3 of us!!). It is amazing that we were able to respond to the expanding needs of the movement last year and still finish the year better off than when it started. My hat goes off to the CCCO Board of Directors and my two co-workers, Kevin Ramirez and Steve Morse for having the wherewithal to buckle down, do the hard work, and make the hard decisions. With a new “if we can’t raise it, you can’t spend it” philosophy, we were able to move from the brink of closure to expanding our GI Rights Hotline Network and volunteer counselors, to adding a much-needed counter-recruitment component to the West Coast office, to publishing our signature The Objector magazine for the first time in over two years, to a planned giving program, to expanding our support base through house parties, special events, community outreach and involvement, to a new AWOL magazine #4 coming this summer.
This fiscal year we will work to solidify and strengthen our program areas while continuing to remain fiscally responsible in order to stabilize your organization and build solidly toward the future.
As I sit here writing this report, I can’t help but feel overwhelmed by the love and substantial support shown to CCCO over the last 57 years for its incredible work, from you great folks out there. Without you, CCCO beyond a doubt would not be here today. Much love and appreciation goes out to you, our valued supporters.
In peace & hope for a better tomorrow,
Wendy Carson
Development Program Coordinator