Our Impact

Building a stronger America by ensuring that children become successful adults

Council for a Strong America is a national, bipartisan nonprofit that unites membership organizations including law enforcement leaders, retired admirals and generals, and business executives, that promote solutions that ensure our next generation of Americans will be prepared for successful lives.

Council for a Strong America by the Numbers in 2021

As the effects of COVID-19 persist, Council for a Strong America used lessons learned from 2020 to adapt tactics and mobilize members to help meet the needs of children and families affected by the pandemic.

Strong Members

More than 10,000 members

Strong Work

Nearly 6,000 member activations whereby our members interacted with state and federal policymakers through meetings, sign-on letters, appropriation requests, emails, phone calls, public statements, and legislative testimony.
55 research reports released, covering topics such as early care and education, nutrition, and K-12 education
22 report release events (virtual) reaching 900+ viewers
137 op/eds and letters to the editor, reaching an audience of 7.9M
704 media hits, reaching an audience of nearly 80M
35 states, including 9 state offices, where our members advocated for policy change.

Strong Impact

Mission: Readiness members Gens. John Allen and Lester Lyles co-authored an op-ed, which ran in The Hill. The op-ed highlighted the importance of child care to national security and referenced the salience of the military’s child care program. The piece informed the thinking of the key early childhood legislators – Senators Wyden (D-OR), Padilla (D-CA), and Sheehan (D-NH) – particularly regarding the issue of direct grants to providers.
U.S. Representative Jackie Speier (D-CA) hosted a virtual roundtable with three members of ReadyNation to discuss how the infant-toddler child care crisis impacts the U.S. economy. Senior Hill staffers, including Republicans and Democrats from both chambers, attended the event.
Colorado State Director M. Michael Cooke was appointed by the governor to build the state’s new Department of Early Childhood.
Fight Crime: Invest in Kids received an invitation to participate in a listening session with the Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights hosted in conjunction with the Department of Justice’s Office of Civil Rights to hear from stakeholders on addressing “school climate and discipline practices in our nation’s schools, and how best to support and build schools’ capacity to promote positive, inclusive, safe, and supportive school climates in a nondiscriminatory manner.”
Mission: Readiness member Brigadier General (Ret.) Allyson Solomon, USAF, served as a guest lecturer for Chef José Andrés’ “World on a Plate” class at George Washington University. This partnership has connected us to additional external audiences and partners to help advance our nutrition work.
Council for a Strong America Ohio co-hosted a virtual media event with the Hunt Institute that included CSA CEO Barry Ford and members of ReadyNation. The event began with a video from Ohio Governor Mike DeWine discussing the need to do more to ensure all children have access to quality child care services. Dan Wouri from the Hunt Institute led the panel, and over 650 people nationwide viewed the event.
The White House cited a 2019 ReadyNation report in a fact sheet explaining how investments in early care and education in the American Families Plan will help strengthen our economy. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi later tweeted findings from the same report, sharing our research with her over 7 million followers.

Strong Organization

55 staff, in Washington, DC, and nine state offices across the U.S.
$9.1 million operating budget
88 funders, including foundations, corporations, and individuals