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One in four helped by United Way
The charity’s 2009 financial campaign goal is $2.5 million.
YOUNGSTOWN — The United Way of Youngstown and the Mahoning Valley helps one in four people in the area it serves.
“Everyone knows our name and trusts us, but there is a disconnect on what we do and who we help,” said Robert Hannon, president and chief professional officer of the organization.
Hannon is on a mission to not only close that information gap but to expand United Way’s donor base for its annual financial campaign and attract money with United Way special events and from sources outside United Way.
“My biggest challenge is letting people know what we do. Once they know, we have a pretty good chance of getting them on board,” he said.
The United Way of Youngstown and the Mahoning Valley’s annual financial campaign is under way and will end Dec. 31. The goal is $2.5 million.
UW’s new Success by 6 program, piloted this summer in the South Range and Campbell school districts, is an example of a program that Hannon thinks will expand the donor base and has already attracted outside money.
Success by 6 is a four-week summer intervention program to improve kindergarten readiness.
Hannon said U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan of Niles, D-17th, was instrumental in getting $100,000 appropriated for Success by 6 for 2010, which will enable United Way to expand into other schools and “potentially fund transportation” next year.
“What Congress liked was our tying in suburban and urban schools. This program has tons of potential, and we are just getting started with it,” he said.
Not only did the program attract outside money, Hannon believes it will serve to broaden the local donor base by touching potential new donors in the families and schools it serves.
The Success by 6 program also fits nicely into United Way’s three new focus areas: core services, nurturing our children, and strengthening individuals and families, he said.
“We fund specific programs offered by agencies, not the agencies themselves,” Hannon said.
In order to garner United Way funds for their programs, agencies make presentations to volunteer committees that assess if the agencies are fiscally sound and capable of delivering the services. Many of the people on the committees have expertise in the areas they are evaluating, said Tara Mady, director of marketing.
The target population and the number of people to be impacted are also crucial considerations, Hannon said.
Special events also are high up on Hannon’s list of things to promote.
Annual special events include a bass tournament, the Champions Among Us dinners, which last year featured Archie Griffin, former Ohio State University great and two-time Heisman Trophy winner, and United We Dine at a local restaurant with celebrity waiters.
The 2009-10 financial goal for special events is $50,000, but with expansion, Hannon’s eventual goal is $100,000.
All of the United Way of Youngstown and the Mahoning Valley programming is here, and all the money raised by United Way stays in the areas it serves: Youngstown, Mahoning County and Liberty, Girard and Hubbard in Trumbull County.
Eighty-eight cents of every dollar raised goes to programming and only 12 cents to overhead.
“We’re very proud of that 12 percent. That is very low for any organization, private or nonprofit,” Hannon said.
United Way is looking for new partners and building for the future by looking at the younger generation in partnership with schools.
“We’re early in the process of developing youth leadership in schools to do fun fundraisers. We may eventually be able to offer scholarships,” Hannon said.
alcorn@vindy.com
Core services: Providing individual and family needs for shelter, medical services, food, clothing and safety.
Nurturing our children: All children age 18 and younger shall have access to health and educational services to reach their full potential.
Strengthening individuals and families: By providing them with the coordinated support services they need to preserve and/or improve their quality of life; allowing them to live with dignity and independence to build a stronger, more sustainable community.