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Galloway – United Way of Atlantic
County’s Board of Directors announces the distribution
of nearly $2.0 million to local and national charities.
This year marks the complete phase-in of core priority funding,
a strategy centered on achieving greater impact by funding
programs focused on solving community problems.
“It’s been a year of
mixed feelings. While we’ve been forced to make due
with less funding for local programs, we are pleased with
the progress made in our organization’s transformation,”
explained Charles Biscieglia, president, United Way of Atlantic
County Board of Directors. “We’ve made great
strides toward our goal of improving the lives of our county
residents by changing community conditions and addressing
the areas of most need.”
United Way fund distribution for
2005-06 is as follows: $1,186,573 in grants and allocations
aimed at addressing the areas of most need in the county
(see charts); $357,173
in donor designations to local United Way partner agencies;
and $423,174 in donor designations to other nonprofit agencies.
In addition, $5,000 of the proceeds from the 9th Annual
Sun National Bank Golf & Sporting Clays Invitational
held in September were designated to the United Way Hurricane
Relief Fund, to help affected communities in the U.S. rebuild
their lives after last summer’s string of devastating
hurricanes.
“United Way’s fund distribution
process has become a much more focused, yet open, effort,”
said Mark Sachais, vice-president/controller, Caesars Atlantic
City, and vice-president of Community Impact, United Way
of Atlantic County Board of Directors. “While focusing
our dollars on the most pressing issues in our community,
we’ve opened the process up so that programs at non-partner
nonprofit agencies may receive United Way funding in addition
to our partner organizations. This ensures that our donors’
contributions are used to support the programs that provide
the best solutions to our community’s needs.”
In recent years, United Way of Atlantic
County, like its counterparts across the county, has been
moving beyond its traditional role as a fund-raiser to take
more of a lead in helping solve community problems.
In 2001, United Way of Atlantic County
conducted a Community Needs Assessment, which surveyed local
residents, agency directors, and community leaders, to identify
the areas of most need in the county. In 2003, United Way’s
Community Impact Agenda was born from the results of this
study as a strategy designed to tackle the county’s
greatest health and human service needs. The strategy comprises
four core priorities: Fostering Safer Homes and Neighborhoods,
Promoting Mental Wellness & Reducing Substance Abuse,
Providing Basic Needs and Increasing Self-Sufficiency, and
Supporting Community Health Issues. This spring, United
Way of Atlantic County conducted an updated Needs Assessment
to ensure its priorities remain in line with community issues;
the results will be publicized later this year.
A Community Advisors Council, made
up of experts in each area of need, develops a plan that
reflects the needs of the community in each core priority
area. Then, a team of community volunteers conducts a comprehensive
review process of each program proposal and evaluates the
program’s ability to provide the outcomes identified
in the plan. United Way awards multi-year grants, on a competitive
basis, to local agencies that provide programs satisfying
the objectives of each plan and will subsequently report
back to the community on what has been accomplished.
“While United Way remains committed
to supporting safety-net services that help people in need,
in the past two years we’ve begun to focus more on
programs that help people develop the skills and capacity
necessary to prevent the need for these services in the
first place,” said John Emge, executive director,
United Way of Atlantic County. “These services include
adult literacy and employment training, school-based mentoring
and conflict resolution, and substance abuse prevention
education. These are part of our goal to create systemic
changes to improve the quality of life for everyone in our
community.”
In addition to the $1,186,573 in
core priority grants, United Way will distribute $357,173
in donor designations to local United Way partner agencies
and $423,174 to approximately 300 local, regional and national
non-profit agencies.
Remaining funds from last fall’s
campaign efforts cover administrative costs, uncollected
pledges, and several direct services in the community such
as United Way’s Volunteer Center of Atlantic County
and Success By 6®. The Volunteer Center recruits and
matches individuals and groups of volunteers to more than
100 health, recreational, cultural, and social service nonprofit
organizations in Atlantic County and also recognizes the
contributions of volunteers in this community. Success By
6 is a community-based collaboration that is dedicated to
addressing the critical issues that face children from infancy
to 6 years of age: age-appropriate immunizations, early
literacy, pediatric dental issues, parenting skills and
pre-natal care.
United Way of Atlantic County is
a local, nonprofit organization that aligns the investment
of available financial and volunteer resources with the
community’s health and human service needs. Volunteers
closely monitor these programs to ensure effective and efficient
use of donor dollars. For more information on United Way
of Atlantic County call 609-404-4483 or visit www.unitedwayac.org
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