|
Your United Way dollars at work |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| When you give back to your community through United Way of Union County, our work becomes your
work. That’s because you join our mission to bring neighbors and resources together to improve lives in Union County.
You entrust us to accomplish the good that you yourself seek to do. This year, you have pledged your charitable dollars to us in record numbers. We project that more than $810,000 will be raised by the time all the numbers are counted.
In January, the volunteer Board of Trustees allocated $555,378.84 in United Way support to our Member Agencies in 2008. An additional $33,000 was earmarked for other local programs or was designated by donors to other United Ways around Central Ohio. That’s a 5% increase over funding from 2007, and a 12% increase over 2006. Over that same two-year span, our fundraising and administrative costs went up a mere 1%. “I wish each and every member of the Union County community could have come along on the agency audits we performed,” said Len Swatkowski, an Engineer with Invensys Controls and a United Way Board Member. “Frankly, there is a lot of unfunded need in Union County. While the quality of life is good for the most part, many people are suffering and need help, from dollars and volunteer hours, to improve their lives. I wish we had more resources to distribute. The need is greater than our funds.” Even though we’re projecting to surpass our $800,000 campaign goal, agency requests exceeded the dollars available for allocation by more than $50,000. United Way raises funds for its own programming and operating budget in addition to agency requests. We must honor designations that donors make to United Ways in other communities and pass those through to neighboring communities. We also must account for the fact that some donors will not be able to fulfill their 2008 pledges and assume that 4% of the campaign total will be uncollectable.
22 of United Way’s programs will receive funding on par with 2007. The American Red Cross Union County Chapter will receive the most United Way funds; $100,000 for providing its 24/7 disaster relief services, blood mobiles, CPR classes, safety trainings, and more. The only agency to see reduced support in 2008 is Windsor & Community Seniors, which is receiving what it requested. United Way is also tucking away $15,647.63 in a Special Needs Grant Fund for use throughout 2008, although $10,000 of this fund has already been allocated to the Delaware/Union County Housing Coalition Program. United Way’s $10,000 investment is serving as a local match to leverage an additional $100,000 grant from the Osteopathic Heritage Foundation. The Coalition is working on the continuation of each county’s 10-year plan to end homelessness. “Don’t think of this as a ‘rainy-day fund,’” said Shari Marsh, United Way’s Executive Director. “Worthy projects such as this always pop up throughout the year. This gives us a chance to respond to these new opportunities as they arise. Our hands won’t be tied and we’ll be able to take action right away instead of waiting until the turn of the year.”
“I've joked that the committee is made up of ‘warm-n-fuzzies’ and ‘bulldogs,’” said Derric Brown, United Way’s Board President and Funeral Director of Mannasmith Funeral Home. “We need very compassionate people and we need technical, ‘numbers’ people. It's a very good mix.” “We don't always agree, but that can be a good thing,” said Luke Braun, a CPA with Rea & Associates and committee volunteer. “Some decisions require lots of thought and discussion. We spent a great deal of time on this year's allocations, but overall, the process was a success.” “There has to be balance,” Swatkowski said. “The impact of United Way’s role must be evenly applied throughout the community to address needs from our youth, with family issues and challenges from disabled and elderly. All agency requests are weighted by need and impact and are allocated based on those needs, impacts, and the historical performance of our agency partners.” Any United Way donor is eligible to participate on the B&A Committee and can sign up for next year’s process by contacting United Way. The 2008 United Way Allocations
The United Way of Union County’s 2008 fundraising and administrative budget has been established at $130,482, an increase of less than 1% over last year. That means roughly 16% of the money raised during the 2007 campaign will go to cover United Way’s overhead. A non-profit organization meets one of the charitable accountability standards of the Better Business Bureau if 35% of the money raised goes toward fundraising and administrative costs. For more information, please contact the United Way of Union County at (937) 644-8381. |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||