Good Afternoon MEEOA, I hope this message finds you well! I am writing to follow up on last week's update and to add some more information. As I mentioned last week, I would let you know when I found anything out regarding receiving the 4.25% increase in conjunction with accepting the increase of students. To the best of my understanding, even if you accepted the increase of students, you are not being held accountable for increasing that number served upon receipt of the funding increase. This is great news! If your GAN does not show the increase or has an incorrect amount of students served, you should reach out to your program specialist, as it is imperative to have a correct GAN on file. If you have any questions feel free to reach out and I will do my best to provide you with clarification. This week has been a bit slower in the Government Relations field, but it has been advised in the weekly COE update that this is a great time to reach out to and connect with your member of Congress, as midterm elections are less than a month away. Many Congressional members are holding rallies and local town halls in their home states during the final days of the cycle. Check out COE's Local Visit Action Packet <https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B-rQtfM9pWS3bm15OW5WU2hXams/view> for sample invitation letters, a sample program and other tips to help make local legislator visits a success! If you need help organizing a local visit or need contact information, please contact Kimberly Jones ( [log in to unmask]) or Stephanie Salvador ( [log in to unmask]) by e-mail or phone (202-347-7430) for assistance! That is all for now! Please feel free to reach out if you have any questions or concerns. I hope you all have a wonderful rest of your week! Best, Eric -- *Eric Pratt* Pronouns: He|Him|His Academic Counselor MEEOA Government Relations Chair Upward Bound | University of Maine at Farmington 252 Main Street Farmington, ME 04938 C: 207.314.5499 | W: 207.778.7279 Toll Free: 1.888.237.1667 www.upwardbound.umf.maine.edu