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| Stoneboro panel volunteers w/Lakeview Library staff |
Our budget panel volunteers pore over mountains of financial audits and IRS 990 forms until blood droplets form on their foreheads. Then they read - and reread - every single question & response on a 29-page funding application. Whenever possible, they also visit the agency's facility to get a feel for its operations, the people it serves, and how additional funds might enhance the quality of services. Our volunteers put themselves through this to ensure that every contribution made to the United Way, no matter how small, will be used to help the most people.
Getting agencies and volunteers from their January orientations to their Allocations meetings in spring is not for the faint of heart. We kick off the process with phone calls to last year's volunteers to ask if they're willing and available to serve this year. Once our panel list is updated, we put out the call for additional volunteers.
Next, we create an application that will provide an accurate picture of an organization's operations, finances, and general health. This year's app was a complete overhaul, a model based on what other UWs use with great success. Distribution system for this rehabbed application was technology. Technology is wonderful...when it works! Emailing these applications to agencies was fairly smooth, with occasional hiccups in the process while transmitting huge files. But six weeks later - three days before they were due - we got plenty of last-minute help-me calls from agencies just starting their apps. Thankfully we got them all squared away before the deadline.
Our agencies received their allocations award letters this week. This United Way awarded over $961,000 in 2011 to organizations that make life in Mercer County better for us all.
That's our reason for being.
