To the Editor:
Crispin’s House needs the voters help and understanding. We are caught between a rock and a hard place. Without an executive director we are very limited in our ability to locate funding to operate the vital youth services that we provide to the Town of Goffstown. Without funding we cannot hire an executive director. The reason we do not have an executive director is that we lost all of our State and county funding and we had to lay off all of our paid staff and close our After School Program at Mountain View Middle School.
Grants are very scarce in this economic environment, as most of the non-profits in the State are in the same predicament as Crispin’s House is and we are all vying for the same grant resources. Without an executive director we do not have the stable organizational structure that funders are looking for, as result, this is extremely limiting our opportunities for grant funding. We are like a dog chasing our tail. Round and round we go. Without an executive director we cannot level the playing field. Without funding we cannot hire an executive director. Fund raising efforts have fallen far short of our needs, thus the decision to request $62,500 from the Town of Goffstown.
We are well aware of the very difficult economic times that this community is experiencing and the very large tax increase that Goffstown homeowners are about to saddled with. Knowing this, we still felt very strongly about going forward with the warrant article. The vital services that Crispin’s House provides to the youth and the families of our community are worth the sacrifice. In the scheme of things, the warrant article for $62,500 that we are asking the voters to approve, will have very little impact on the tax increase that we are definitely going to experience. Approval of this warrant article will give us the ability to hire an executive director and for that person to spend the time necessary to explore grant opportunities that will hopefully preclude us from coming to the voters again for help.
Please join us as a friend of Crispin’s House at the deliberative session on Monday, February 6th at Goffstown High at 7:00pm and advocate for the approval of the Crispin’s House Warrant Article for $62,500. Thank you for your help and understanding.
Sincerely,
Al Baines
President of the Board of Directors
Crispin’s House Inc.
P.O. Box 411
Goffstown, NH 03045
