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Dear Members of the Board,
I hope you are having a good summer, finding time to relax and reflect. Following and attached is an update on some current activities of WFP USA. I have also attached several documents referenced in the update (Senate testimony, appropriations chart and Farm Bill provisions). Please contact me if you have any questions or want to discuss any of the items included in the update. Thank you very much for your support and commitment.


Finances

Revenue

· We generated over $10 million in revenue during the first 2 quarters of the year (almost $2 million more than projected)

o Digital fundraising continues to provide strong returns; recurring monthly online donors have increased from $108K in January to $177K per month in July

· Revenue was above projected levels across all funding streams, including:


Q1 Projected

Q1 Actual

Q2 Projected

Q2 Actual


Digital

$1,846,869

$1,964,643

$1,066,501

$1,687,759


Corporate

$3,107,625

$3,570,909

$442,625

$527,020


Individual

$627,005

$723,081

$940,883

$1,160,154


Total

$5,581,499

$6,258,633

$2,450,009

$3,374,933


Expenses

· Expenses for the first 2 quarters are under budget ($3.25 actual vs. $3.5 projected)

· We generated sufficient unrestricted funds to cover our monthly operating costs and increase the reserve

Reserve

· The reserve has increased from $7.4 in January to $7.75 at the end of July, sufficient to provide a 12 month reserve and approximately $1 million in operating capital


National Security Initiative

· The WFP USA report, “Winning the Peace: The Link Between Hunger and Conflict”, has been finalized and we are moving forward on design and lay-out. The formal roll-out of the report will occur in October.

· A few key points:

o The report highlights 53 peer-reviewed academic articles examining the link between food insecurity and conflict. Approximately 95% of these studies identify an empirical link.

o Drawing on two global datasets, the paper shows that 85% of countries that are considered severely food insecure are also listed as ‘fragile' or 'extremely fragile’ with respect to human security.

o In several contexts, economic incentives related to food insecurity were demonstrated to be a stronger driver of recruitment than religious extremism. In Nigeria, for example, Boko Haram payments to recruit members, thereby providing the means to feed their families, was a stronger driver than ideology for some of its members.

o Through the course of this investigation we identified 11 unique drivers of food insecurity—from land competition to rainfall variability—and at least nine separate manifestations of social unrest, ranging from peaceful protest to interstate conflict.

· Our report will be used to frame an upcoming WFP-Oxford University initiative that will bring together high level practitioners and academics for a one-day symposium highlighting the link between food insecurity and conflict. It will be attended by diplomats and members of the military and intelligence communities. Our report will provide an overview of the current research on food and conflict.


Corporate Partners

· In addition to Cargill’s ongoing support for WFP field operations, we linked Cargill and WFP’s P4P unit in Rome to share recommendations and lessons learned from Cargill’s existing support of smallholder farmers in WFP operations. For example, recommendations on helping farmers graduate from sales to WFP to commercial markets will be included in P4P guidance to country offices.

· New corporate donor, General Mills, recently provided a two year grant to support India’s fortification of its school meals program.


Congressional Appropriations

· FY18 funding levels for the core accounts that address global hunger will likely be maintained at the FY17 levels in the final appropriations bill, with a small increase in funding for the McGovern-Dole Program (both the Food for Peace and McGovern-Dole Programs were eliminated in the administration’s proposed budget).

o While the House levels for Food for Peace and McGovern-Dole are below levels passed by the Senate, the chair of the appropriations subcommittee has committed to meet the Senate levels in the House-Senate Conference.

o A chart listing the programs and related funding levels is attached.

· In addition to the annual appropriations in these core accounts, we are planning to secure supplemental funding to help WFP address widespread emergency needs resulting from unprecedented levels of displacement due to conflict and extreme weather.

* The number of people who are acutely food insecure in the world has risen from 80 million in 2016 to 108 million in 2017, a 35 percent increase in one year.

Senate Foreign Relations Testimony

· Last month, WFP Executive Director David Beasley testified before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on WFP’s efforts to respond to the four looming famines. The WFP USA policy team took the lead role in drafting the written testimony.

o The testimony provides an excellent overview of global needs, highlights important policies (like the need for both cash and commodities) and references corporate partners such as UPS and Cargill.

o A copy of the written testimony is attached.

· Beasley’s comments at the hearing were candid and direct. He specifically stated that Saudi Arabia and the Gulf States should provide more support, especially with regard to Yemen.


Thank you Erin and Welcome Richard

· Erin Cochran, our VP for Communications, has left WFP USA to be a full-time mom to her young children. She has done an outstanding job leading our communications activities, driving new ideas and executing countless innovative projects to support our fundraising and policy efforts. She will be missed.

· Richard Ades has joined the WFP USA team to lead our communications efforts. He is a seasoned communications professional with decades of experience in both the public and private sectors. Most recently, he served as Assistant Administrator for Public Affairs at the Transportation Security Administration (and years ago at USDA under Secretary Dan Glickman). He previously worked with the business community, leading communications activities at Powell Tate and Weber Shandwick.


Celebrity Engagement

· Sheryl Crow, a long-standing donor to WFP USA, recently agreed to significantly expand her involvement by helping us raise funds and promote our policy agenda. At her recent show in Washington, she committed $10K in addition to hosting the WFP USA staff at the concert.

· Kate Hudson will participate in the Michael Kors’ Watch Hunger Stop campaign in October. The WFP USA team recently took her on a field visit to Cambodia to see WFP’s work in action and capture photos and film footage for the campaign.

· Vanessa Hudgens is launching a fundraising campaign this month with us through use of the Share the Meal app and is exploring a range of options for her future engagement.

· Chef Jose Andres is working with us to develop a school feeding initiative that would expand support for WFP’s home grown school feeding operations and Jose’s efforts to enhance the quality and safety of the school kitchens.


Farm Bill

· We have begun meetings with the House and Senate Agriculture Committees concerning proposed amendments to the Farm Bill. The Farm Bill has jurisdiction over specific USG global hunger programs and reauthorization of the Farm Bill provides an opportunity to enhance the effectiveness of these programs.

o An overview of our recommendations, the rationale for these recommendations and proposed legislative language is attached.

· Proposed recommendations include:

o Strengthen and Expand the Bill Emerson Humanitarian Trust. Our recommendations would provide a more reliable source of funding for the Trust so it can supplement other food assistance efforts in times of significant unanticipated need. Additionally, we recommend establishing a new mechanism to trigger releases from the Trust based on alerts from early warning systems. Timely and preventative action can decrease both the human and monetary cost of the response to food insecurity.

o USDA Technical Assistance. Much of the world (and the majority of countries where WFP operates) does not have functioning safety net systems even though they recognize the critical need for these systems. One of the biggest gaps in addressing this need is technical assistance. The USG, through USDA, operates the world’s largest and most sophisticated safety net system. Our proposed recommendation would authorize USDA to provide technical assistance on safety net systems, drawing on its deep operational capacity, to help countries develop their own systems. This pillar of our Roadmap to End Global Hunger (promoting the development of safety net systems)is the last major gap in implementing the recommendations initially proposed by the supporters of the Roadmap.

o McGovern-Dole Technical Corrections. A number of minor improvements to the McGovern-Dole Program could address challenges identified by WFP country offices. For example, our proposals seek to ensure that the primary focus of the program remains under-nutrition among poor school age children (requiring other efforts to address educational needs), ensure that food deliveries coincide with school year schedules, and allow projects ample duration to achieve anticipated progress and long-term ownership by local communities.


Thanks again for your service and commitment to our mission.

All the Best,
Rick


Richard Leach
President & CEO

World Food Program USA
1725 Eye Street NW, Suite 510
Washington, DC 20006
T 202.627.3737
F 202.530.1698
rleach@wfpusa.org<mailto:jcorum@wfpusa.org>