remaining four years, 30% of the council's income came from dues. The Council's budget had reduced from a high of $1.1 million in 2007 to $450,000 in 2010. The notes list only two options for financial sustainability, moving to a "pre-1997 model whereby Joint Council operates with a 100% volunteer staff" or cutting back on initiatives and limiting their programming to conferences and listservs. The Joint Council was preparing a Stakeholders Initiative to generate funds, which involved applying for grants, giving seats on the board to donors, and public appeals. Public Image In the same notes, the Joint Council notes that it "is seen by many public policy makers, the press, NGOs and the public as: Serving the self-interest of Adoption Service Providers Not having Adoption Service Providers of the highest quality, ethics or standards Having an inherent conflict of interest Protecting individual Adoption Service Providers A trade organization, rather than an objective advocate" The Council names some of these NGOs as "the highly respected Half the Sky Foundation...Global Action for Children...USAID....[and] the Orphans and Vulnerable Children Working Group, this despite the fact that some were founded by adoptive families and as a direct result of IA (international adoption)." It argued that in fact "trade Associations can be effective advocates for a particular group of for-profit and/or non-for-profits." The Council acknowledged that "to increase the efficacy of public policy initiatives, changes must be made which will result in increased credibility," such as "elimination of conflicts of interest such as that constituted in the current Board structure by limiting the number of seats filled by employees of Adoption Service Providers" and "increasing the Membership criteria for voting Member Organizations." Demise The Joint Council ceased operations June 30, 2015. Board chair Brian Franklin in the email announcement said "this was a difficult and painful decision to make, and we would like you to know that the Board acted reluctantly. As an organization, we have been subject to the same trends that have impacted many of our partners over the last decade. While we have been on the brink before, each time we were able to recover, but with diminished capacity. At this point in time, we are simply out of money and realize that we no longer have the prospect of continuing as a viable organization." See also International adoption US Department of State Office of Children's Issues Congressional Coalition on Adoption