Hello Collaborative Leads, More than ever we recognize the need for the meaningful and collaborative work you are doing for girls in STEM. As you know, our National Science Foundation funding is ending in March and over the last two years we have engaged in multiple conversations re our future structure and support. We appreciate your patience as we have compiled and analyzed your preliminary feedback regarding the strategic direction of NGCP. As we move ahead in 2017, we would like to dive deeper into this conversation so you can continue to contribute towards our planning to best leverage the power of this valuable network. Below are the dates when we will be hosting four discussions on the strategic direction of NGCP in 2018 and beyond. We have selected these dates intentionally so you can maximize your travel. We hope that you can attend some or all of them. 1. Sunday, March 19 12:00-4:30PM Central Standard Time at the NAA Convention in Dallas, TX 2. Sunday, May 21 12:00-4:30PM Mountain Standard Time at the NCWIT Summit in Tucson, AZ 3. Wednesday, July 12 10:00AM-12:00PM Pacific Standard Time/1:00-3:00PM Eastern Standard Time, phone call 4. Saturday, October 21 9:00AM-12:00PM Pacific Standard Time at the ASTC Conference in San Jose, CA In the meantime, nearly all NGCP contracts have lapsed. We are requiring all Collaboratives to sign a new contract for 2017 to be part of NGCP's strategic planning, and to continue to be part of the NGCP network. This contract is accompanied with the attached dues structure. We continue to engage in fund development and hope to be able to continue distributing mini-grants and other resources throughout the network. Please review and let us know if you have any questions or concerns. We understand if some convening organizations are not able to meet the new requirement, and hope there are other ways we can continue to work together in the future. We hope to continue the NGCP presence in all current Collaboratives and also welcome new configurations for leadership. Erin will be sending each current Collaborative without an active contract a new contract and we are looking forward to engaging in discussions around your specific state needs. Karen Karen Peterson, Chief Executive Officer The National Girls Collaborative www.ngcproject.org<http://www.ngcproject.org> @ngcproject