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Dear Board of Directors,

I don't think any of us could have predicted the twists and turns of this election season, nor the past few days. While none of us knows exactly how this will end, I do want to share a few private thoughts as our Impact 2016 campaign comes to a close.

I often think about how much has changed since the early days of this effort. We began by pushing back against the isolationist vision of Senator Rand Paul who made the front cover of TIME Magazine as the "most interesting man in politics." While the Senator ran anti-foreign aid ads in his re-election bid, he will return to the Senate far less influential and hardly our biggest challenge.

We will wake up on November 9th with new challenges - the budget realities of sequestration and the fact that a new group of voters have been energized around an isolationist view. Here is a behind-the-scenes look at our work over the past few weeks:

1. TRUMP UPDATE. Whatever happens on November 8th, the GOP nominee will still be a force - so a few items from our on-going efforts:

* Direct Discussion. One of our close allies was one of six people briefing the candidate on national security and foreign policy for the debates. It was the first time that the candidate was directly briefed on our issue (at least that we know about). Specifically, our ally discussed the need to address the Syrian refugee crisis overseas and the impact of millions of children out of school. My impression is that the campaign team, and the candidate, are still not ready to address policy at this level.

* Disappointing Statement. This exchange followed a statement Trump made on foreign assistance in a letter<http://votetoendhunger.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/VTEH-Trump.pdf> to the Alliance to End Hunger, which expressed criticism of "decades of emergency food aid" and "so-called development programs" labeling such efforts as "inefficient... bloated... unaccountable." He called humanitarian and development agencies as the "cottage industry of Beltway contractors." While the letter didn't call for a cut to foreign assistance, he did say "the billions we spend on child survival, maternal and child health and food aid can and must do more to help impoverished nations become capable of taking care of themselves in the future."

To be honest, I don't know if Trump knows what was in this letter. But it clearly points to the fact that there are folks in his circles that are skeptics ¬- or at least ill-informed - of the reforms we've seen in the last two administrations.

* Transition Team. After our Board met with the transition team's Executive Director and national security chair, we held a more substantive briefing with their policy staff. Interestingly, the foreign policy staff is actually fairly seasoned, some worked at the State Department and were familiar with PEPFAR and MCC. They were particularly aware of the increasing resources necessary to respond to the Syrian humanitarian crisis and the growing dependency on OCO funding for the International Affairs Budget. Unclear how all this translates.

2. KAINE UPDATE. I saw Tim Kaine last week, and as soon as he saw me he blurted out "I was just talking about global development earlier today!" I laughed, and said, "You were??" He's a policy wonk to the core! We chatted briefly about how the government working with NGOs and the private sector can really make a difference - and he shared his excitement to work with the USGLC and help move the global development agenda forward if he gets a "new job."

3. 115th CONGRESS LOOKING GOOD. After more than 150 candidate briefings on the 150 Account - and tracking more than 20 Senate debates - I am relatively optimistic. Overall, the freshman class won't reflect the 2010 Tea Party class or be a bunch of Rand Paul groupies. No doubt we are going to lose some good GOP friends whom we have spent years cultivating. But most of the new faces will be comfortable on our issues with some champions-in-the-making. The challenge, of course, is going to be the budget pressures and the continuing partisan politics.

4. PLUM BOOK OUTREACH. We held our final Republican outreach event with Richard Haass as the guest speaker and Trump supporters and advisors - not our usual crowd. Interestingly, they were particularly intent on discussing the importance of investments in Africa to advance our economic and security interests.

5. BATTLEGROUND FALL EVENTS. We finished the season with two back-to-back general election events in Ohio and Florida with two powerful military headliners:

* Secretary Bob Gates in Ohio. This former spy chief did not disappoint! He riveted our 500+ state leaders giving a full-hearted endorsement of the three "Ds" - read the coverage in Stars and Stripes<http://www.stripes.com/news/us/gates-warns-against-us-isolationism-1.431524>.

* Governor John Kasich. The presidential hopeful spoke at our Ohio event on the importance of American leadership around the world. In a private chat, I thanked him for his support, but told him he had some outdated information on foreign aid reform. Since I imagine he will run again, I wanted to get him fully on board. I have already been in touch with his chief of staff and foreign policy advisor.

* General Stan McChrystal. This was the first time the former Special Operations commander spoke for us and he couldn't have been stronger in endorsing our message before our captivated Tampa crowd: "We have got to stop thinking of problems as military problems" and think more broadly. "It is much easier to advocate for guns and military assistance than it is to advocate for aid, but it is less effective." Included in our program - Adam Putnam, the top contender to be the next Governor of the state of Florida.

6. CAPPING OFF THE YEAR. Our plan was to wrap up the year and focus on transition activities, but a few great opportunities came in that we just couldn't turn down.

* Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL). Last week, we held a powerhouse event in Chicago with the #2 Senate Democrat. Also on the program: Representatives Danny Davis (D-IL) and Robin Kelly (D-IL), General Dan Christman, and Leslie Griffin from UPS.

* Kick-Off Alabama. We will host our first-ever event in Alabama this week featuring Rep. Martha Roby (R-AL), launching our state Advisory Committee that includes more than 50 top leaders and both Senators Richard Shelby (R-AL) and Jeff Sessions (R-AL) both endorsed this new effort in our press announcement.

* Senator Orrin Hatch (R-UT). Our next Senate event will be in Salt Lake City on November 18 with the senior Senator, who agreed to do an event following our launch in Utah.

* Budget Chairman Tom Price. And our final state event of the year will be in Atlanta with the House Budget Committee Chairman, Matt Echols of Coca-Cola, and Michelle Nunn of CARE on November 21.

Last but not least, please make every effort to be at our annual Tribute Dinner on December 8th. In addition to being an important fundraiser, it is a critical awareness raiser where we showcase the strength of our community and the bipartisan support for our cause. We have fantastic honorees: Appropriations Chairman Hal Rogers, who is beloved by both sides of the aisle and all factions of the House, as well as Secretary Tom Vilsack, the longest serving Cabinet secretary of this Administration. We need everyone there! It's been a tumultuous election year and it won't end after November 8th. Watch for our post-election analysis with all the freshmen profiles and our take on the growing concerns about isolationist voters.

And of course, don't forget to vote - I just did this weekend!

Talk soon.

Liz
Liz Schrayer, USGL