First, a big thank you to everyone who came out to our October community meeting to discuss the neighborhood and the PCA with PCA board members.

After collecting and reviewing your comments, below is a summary of your concerns. We heard you. We will take your input, incorporate it into a Strategic Plan this winter, and unveil it at our Annual Meeting, Tuesday, January15, 2018, at 7:00 P.M. at the Church of the Good Shepard.

Advocacy: Approaching advocacy committees and organizing from a more dynamic issue-based structure, allowing for responsive action and organizational accountability without wasting resources on outdated practices. Improving structures of communication and accountability for decisions and commitments made.

Communication: Being clear, effective and generous in our communication. Focusing on what matters and what works as a community, and using multiple mediums and methods to ensure that the neighborhood is informed and engaged. That likely looks like a mix of things, from paper newsletters to online environments, and more. The key is to try out some likely practices until we find what works.

Community Generating, maintaining and growing that palpable sense of community through events, programs, and communication. Welcoming new people into the neighborhood, creating social opportunities, and initiating dialogue with each other and with politicians, community leaders, etc.

Finances Being rigorous in our analysis, efficient in our operations, and transparent about our situation. Securing our position while we rebuild for a new future.

Over the past year, the PCA board of directors took an in-depth review of the PCA finances and initiated a restructuring of the office.  This was to address the current reduced funding sources available to not-for-profits such as the PCA (talked about in-depth at our community meeting). This entailed replacing the Executive Director position with an Administrative Assistant, and has also catalyzed many of our other considered changes in committee structure, event schedule, etc.

Given our situation of dealing with unavoidable reductions in funding, while actively facing the issues and redesigning our organization accordingly, we are asking for your help.

Would you please consider contributing to the PCA’s Annual Appeal? Of course, we’d also love you to join, renew or upgrade your membership level, sponsor an event, or even consider serving on a committee or our board…but please do consider contributing, however it works for you.

Sincerely,

The PCA Board of Directors