The common salutation exchanged among friends and professional associates, "How ya doing?" has taken on new meaning as we steer through the current fiscal crisis. What people really are asking is, in actuality, "How are you surviving and how painful are the cuts!"

University Settlement will be fine, I answer. We've been around for 123 years, living through innumerable crises. This, too, will pass if we remain prudent and responsible. In fact, we intend not just to survive, but to use this experience to emerge a stronger and more effective organization in anticipation of better times to come.

We have been both fortunate and strategic. The fortune part is that, so far, no major program area has been eliminated or severely reduced -- though this may change. As with most institutions, we have had to manage modest but challenging incremental cuts that sometimes have had significant cumulative impact. Our administrative capacity has been affected, and some program limitations have been necessitated. Strategically, we have made and implemented many important decisions. Our "diversified" program economy -- many programs with many funding streams -- has enabled us to balance our losses and utilize our gains across a wide operational base. Private support has continued at approximately the same level as past years due to incredible efforts on behalf of our Board and staff.

Expenses funded by general support dollars have been cut proportional to our revised expectations. This has resulted in a thinner infrastructure but one that should be more than able to lead us through the next few years. We have great staff and strong operational systems that will protect the core and provide a basis for future expansion. Most importantly, we have not slowed up at all on our future-oriented entrepreneurial efforts. We have actually expanded in a few program areas this year, utilizing private funds for well designed and important projects and/or government funds coming from contracts reassigned to us when other organizations have been unable to continue operations. Simultaneously to addressing current challenges, we dedicate time and energy to new ventures and opportunities. University Settlement's strengths have been built up over many decades, and it is exactly in times like these where these strengths are translated in constructive strategies.