NB approval %

[jimmydeanno]

I don't quite understand your point.

We are the USAF Auxillary.

So our primary funding source is going to be the USAF.....yes we have a bobble in the funding source....but so does the USAF.

In theory.....we could get full time fundraisers out there working the streets for more money.....but are you suggesting that all that money just sit in some pot waiting for USAF to have funding issues?

Now....don't get wrong.  I think we need to have paid wing commanders who would have the added job of fundraising from local donors....but I would also think that that money would be budgeted to expanded programs....so if in the future we have a funding issue from USAF something would still have to get cut to fund other budget items.

My point is that our National Board has a fiduciary responsibility to ensure that our organization keep running.  We shouldn't take the attitude that we should just be given money each year, and take what we get and call it a day.  That type of attitude is short-sighted and irresponsible. 

As a non-profit corporation, we have the ability to fundraise.  The funds we raise from those other streams could be used to pay for things we can't use appropriated funds for currently, or build an endowment fund.

We COULD have an endowment fund whose interest could provide the necessary funding we'd need to operate every year.  We wouldn't have to be concerned about whether or not we had $3k to pay for shipping a binder to our members for a month.  But we don't, because we rely on the generosity of the American taxpayer, almost exclusively. 

Increased and diversified funding streams would allow us to start new programs that would bring our sphere of influence into areas we currently can't affect.

I picture a scenario where the Congress-critters decide, for some political step, that CAP doesn't get any funding.  So, we can either start looking for more money now, or wait until we're closing the doors to realize we mis-stepped.  Even if we raised funds and the appropriated stream decreased proportionally, it would be better than the scenario we have now.

[jimmydeanno]

Since fundraising has to be approved by the wing CC, does a grant proposal submitted by a squadron have to be approved by the wing CC as well? (Walmart grant to buy new color guard equipment, etc).

(I know that a restricted grant with terms that are contractually agreed to will need a wing CC signature, but just for the initial application?)

You need to get approval for your fundraising attempts.  So, if you're going to ask Walmart for money, you just get the Wing/CC to say you can.  In your request, you provide the details of how the program works, and what the expected result is.

When the grant gets approved, you will already have permission to receive the funds under the approval of what you requested.

[Spaceman3750]

I picture a scenario where the Congress-critters decide, for some political step, that CAP doesn't get any funding.  So, we can either start looking for more money now, or wait until we're closing the doors to realize we mis-stepped.  Even if we raised funds and the appropriated stream decreased proportionally, it would be better than the scenario we have now.

But then are we the USAF Auxiliary any more? Do most of us really want to be part of a non-auxiliary CAP?

[RiverAux]

I'm not aware of any general grant programs from other agencies that would really fit would CAP does.  And if I was in another federal agency or a major non-profit corporation I wouldn't feel a big need to give a grant to an organization that is almost entirely supported by the federal government already. 

And also remember that most CAP wings also receive a significant amount of funding from state agencies already and given the budget crises in many states it seems unlikely that those will be increased. 

[jimmydeanno]

I picture a scenario where the Congress-critters decide, for some political step, that CAP doesn't get any funding.  So, we can either start looking for more money now, or wait until we're closing the doors to realize we mis-stepped.  Even if we raised funds and the appropriated stream decreased proportionally, it would be better than the scenario we have now.

But then are we the USAF Auxiliary any more? Do most of us really want to be part of a non-auxiliary CAP?

Our status as the "Official Auxiliary of the United States Air Force" isn't contingent on who pays our bills.  It's something written into public law.

[Eclipse]

I'm not aware of any general grant programs from other agencies that would really fit would CAP does.  And if I was in another federal agency or a major non-profit corporation I wouldn't feel a big need to give a grant to an organization that is almost entirely supported by the federal government already.

Only a portion of 1/3 (of our stated mission) Federal support, AE & CP doesn't get much to speak of.

And also remember that most CAP wings also receive a significant amount of funding from state agencies already and given the budget crises in many states it seems unlikely that those will be increased.

Wings like PAWG that get 6-figure appropriations are few and far between.

[jimmydeanno]

I'm not aware of any general grant programs from other agencies that would really fit would CAP does.  And if I was in another federal agency or a major non-profit corporation I wouldn't feel a big need to give a grant to an organization that is almost entirely supported by the federal government already. 

And also remember that most CAP wings also receive a significant amount of funding from state agencies already and given the budget crises in many states it seems unlikely that those will be increased.

We could apply for grants to send our AE materials packages to elementary and middle schools across the country. 

We could apply for grants to provide activities for youth.

The Gate's Foundation provides grants to education based programs, and will provide money for "unique challenges that the US faces."  They also have disaster relief grants.

The Walmart Foundation provides grants to education based programs.

So, even if we could fund two of our missions through external funding sources, grants, etc - and leave the ES/Ops side to federally appropriated monies, it would help.

Also, I wouldn't consider state provided funds to be "significant."  It may hurt wing operations, but in reality, my squadron has more money in their account than the wing does.  So, if we foresee that these streams are getting cut, why aren't we finding new streams?

[Eclipse]

Wasn't there a policy put in place by NHQ that restricted units below NHQ from requesting funding from national corporations?

[LTC Don]

In a really ideal world eliminate regional commanders and staffs.....and hire full time wing commanders.

That would make for an entirely ineffective span of control for the national commander.

There is a definite need for Region-level Command structure, as indicated above, but the current, long-time geographical boundries are broken.

The Region boundries need to be re-drawn/re-organized to match the FEMA/DHS area boundries so that the Region operations staffs are able to partner with their FEMA/DHS counterparts in a more organized and cohesive manner.

http://www.fema.gov/about/contact/regions.shtm

If that destabilizes the Force, or affects the balance of power in the West, then so be it, but it needs to be done.

[jimmydeanno]

In a really ideal world eliminate regional commanders and staffs.....and hire full time wing commanders.

That would make for an entirely ineffective span of control for the national commander.

There is a definite need for Region-level Command structure, as indicated above, but the current, long-time geographical boundries are broken.

The Region boundries need to be re-drawn/re-organized to match the FEMA/DHS area boundries so that the Region operations staffs are able to partner with their FEMA/DHS counterparts in a more organized and cohesive manner.

http://www.fema.gov/about/contact/regions.shtm

If that destabilizes the Force, or affects the balance of power in the West, then so be it, but it needs to be done.

Might work.  Having the NYWG, PR&VI groups in one region might be awkward...

However, I think this is another area that needs improvement.

We have Wing Commanders who have wings that are smaller than groups in other wings.  We have Region Commanders who's AOR is large geographically, but have fewer members and assets that they're responsible for than some wings.

It seems to me that if span of control is what we want, we should have some sort of procedure in place to allow flexibility in how our wings are structured.  Should all of Florida be a Wing, or should it be two?  Should Southern California be a wing?  Perhaps, ME, NH, RI, and MA become one wing, while VT,NY & CT become another.  Maybe the best situation is to have Texas as a Region.

[Spaceman3750]

Can we split everything north of I-80 into a separate wing? We wouldn't have to worry about this if they would just secede from Illinois like we all want them to .

(Eclipse, you're excepted. You can come hang with the rest of Illinois if you want )

I now return you to your regularly scheduled thread.

[jimmydeanno]

Wasn't there a policy put in place by NHQ that restricted units below NHQ from requesting funding from national corporations?

I recall HEARING something about this, but haven't seen anything in writing.  I can understand NHQ wanting to leave the HQ of larger corporations open to them to get bigger donations, but most local stores and divisions have budgets of their own for this sort of thing.  Another organization that I belong to gets sponsored by the local Boeing site, and the organization nationally gets money from Boeing.  It becomes a problem when Podunk Squadron CAP asks for 50K from Walmart, Inc in Bentonville, AK, then the national fundraising folks ask for money.

However, I can't imagine that it would be too much of a problem considering that we don't have any professional fundraisers on staff, and "outside donations" make up such a small portion of our national budget, the chances of us double dipping are pretty slim, at this point.

If we had an active fundraising program at NHQ, it might be another story.

[FW]

Wasn't there a policy put in place by NHQ that restricted units below NHQ from requesting funding from national corporations?

All NHQ asks is for wings to coordinate their requests with national. 

[NCRblues]

I never expected this many 'indifferent' votes...

[lordmonar]

It's about what I expected.

[Major Lord]

Perhaps the survey needs to include a category for "indignantly indifferent" and "passively indifferent".......to help us refine our sense of the range of complacency. Personally, I am adamantly indifferent.

Major Lord

[SarDragon]

In a really ideal world eliminate regional commanders and staffs.....and hire full time wing commanders.

That would make for an entirely ineffective span of control for the national commander.

There is a definite need for Region-level Command structure, as indicated above, but the current, long-time geographical boundries are broken.

The Region boundries need to be re-drawn/re-organized to match the FEMA/DHS area boundries so that the Region operations staffs are able to partner with their FEMA/DHS counterparts in a more organized and cohesive manner.

http://www.fema.gov/about/contact/regions.shtm

If that destabilizes the Force, or affects the balance of power in the West, then so be it, but it needs to be done.

Great idea. Who's going to pay for it?

[Spaceman3750]

In a really ideal world eliminate regional commanders and staffs.....and hire full time wing commanders.

That would make for an entirely ineffective span of control for the national commander.

There is a definite need for Region-level Command structure, as indicated above, but the current, long-time geographical boundries are broken.

The Region boundries need to be re-drawn/re-organized to match the FEMA/DHS area boundries so that the Region operations staffs are able to partner with their FEMA/DHS counterparts in a more organized and cohesive manner.

http://www.fema.gov/about/contact/regions.shtm

If that destabilizes the Force, or affects the balance of power in the West, then so be it, but it needs to be done.

Great idea. Who's going to pay for it?

Or we could partner on a national level and let the NOC sort out any requests internally.

[lordmonar]

In a really ideal world eliminate regional commanders and staffs.....and hire full time wing commanders.

That would make for an entirely ineffective span of control for the national commander.

There is a definite need for Region-level Command structure, as indicated above, but the current, long-time geographical boundries are broken.

The Region boundries need to be re-drawn/re-organized to match the FEMA/DHS area boundries so that the Region operations staffs are able to partner with their FEMA/DHS counterparts in a more organized and cohesive manner.

http://www.fema.gov/about/contact/regions.shtm

If that destabilizes the Force, or affects the balance of power in the West, then so be it, but it needs to be done.

Great idea. Who's going to pay for it?

Get rid of the State Directors and Wing Adminstrators and use that money to pay for full time National (and vice), wing and regional commanders.  Once they start their fund raising activiites we can fund more paid positions.

[Phil Hirons, Jr.]

The State Directors are not ours to get rid of.

As the chief method of CAP oversight I don't see Ma Blue  going for that idea.