Message from Jon & Janet, CEF Co-Directors

CEF has been our heart and home for nearly a decade. After ten years of learning and growing with all of you, we are feeling called toward a new path and will be transitioning out of our roles this spring.

Each day for the past decade has been indescribably full to the brim. One of the guiding values of our community is that “we are all creative, resourceful, and whole,” and we have seen this reflected in a million ways through individual people and in our powerful collective work. This strong and vibrant community of Members, Advocates, staff, partners, and supporters is made up of people that we’re proud to call lifelong friends and teachers. What’s emerged from CEF’s momentous growth over the past decade is an organization that is impactful, innovative, trusted, and purpose-driven. We are grateful to be able to make this transition at a time when the organization is flourishing, financially healthy, and poised for its next stage of growth.

This past September, Donna Carrington, who has been a core leader on our team for the past six years, stepped in to support CEF as a Co-Director. We are inspired by the wealth of experience that Donna brings and confident that her intentional and values-driven leadership will continue carrying CEF forward with love, wisdom, and abiding dedication.

As CEF prepares for this transition, CEF’s Board of Directors, leadership, and broader staff team are engaged in an organizational discernment process to envision and build its future shape. This is a wonderfully rich and healthful moment in the life of the organization, and we are truly excited about what’s to come. We hope you’ll join us in actively continuing to support CEF, and in celebrating as this transformative organization continues to bloom!

In Love and Gratitude,
Jon and Janet

Message from CEF Board of Directors

Dear CEF Family,

CEF is entering another season of growth and change in the New Year. In 2019 we worked with over 1000 Members with the support of 220 Advocates, celebrated 121 Members gaining jobs and 138 Members moving out of homelessness into housing; and in exciting news, CEF Members have now saved over $1,250,000 collectively towards their personal goals. As we continue to deepen the work of CEF in our community, we are very excited to announce Donna Carrington’s promotion into directorship from her previous role in CEF’s Durham office supporting Member Services and programming. Donna, and the CEF staff and board, will be continuing to deepen our commitment to sustainability and equity in our organization, our work, and our community. Together will be undertaking a lot of intentional work to support the development of the new leadership structures CEF needs in order to grow and flourish at this point in our organizational life. 

Jon and Janet have played an incredible role in the transformation we’ve all experienced since CEF started as an organization in 2009. They have brought immense dedication, vision, soul, and roll-up-your-sleeves dedication to their work. Thank you, Jon and Janet! While we can’t help but feel sadness about this change, we are also excited to take this next step with the organization and begin a process of discernment and transition. Jon and Janet will both be sharing great wisdom with the rest of the CEF community to support a smooth and healthy leadership transition.

We know there will be a lot of questions, and we welcome the curiosity of fellow community members even while we may not have all the answers in the immediate future. We are excited about the future possibilities for us as an organization, and deeply grateful for the contributions of everyone who has participated in making CEF the incredible community it is today!  We are designing a process and an interim strategy that gives us the space and time we need to be thoughtful during the period following Jon and Janet’s departure.  You can learn more details here with the “Transition Details and FAQ.” 

Sincerely,

Eric Breit and Brian Smith

Co-Chairs, Board of Directors

We’re so grateful to the whole CEF family for being an amazingly supportive community. As we enter another big year for CEF, and as we continue to adapt and grow, we hope you’ll keep doing what you do best at CEF—whether that’s volunteering, donating, coming to meetings, building program partnerships together or singing with the Advocacy Choir. Or, if you are looking to get more involved,we hope you’ll reach out!