United Way announces allocations by areas of need
By Bobbi Mlynar
Originally published 02:12 p.m., April 8, 2008
Updated 02:12 p.m., April 8, 2008
The United Way of the Flint Hills board of directors, like governmental units and the school district, has made its best estimate of funds that will be available to allocate to its 24 member agencies for the year.
The board met this month and set a budget of $428,127 to distribute to the agencies whose programs fit within the five categories United Way supports.
The board also set aside $54,680 to cover bad debt — pledges and donation commitments that do not materialize — and $25,225 in funds that contributors directly dedicated to specific agencies, rather than to the United Way’s overall budget.
“This year, obviously with the situation, we know that many of those pledges are not going to be honored,” said U.W. Director Duane Dreiling. “Tyson is going to come through, but we don’t know about the others.”
Approximately 15.7 percent of the U.W. 2007 budget supported administrative costs, with 14.7 percent of it going to the local budget and one percent to the national United Way organization.
Dreiling said he expects a similar percentage when independent auditors complete their work later this year. The audit will begin within approximately one month.
The local board decided in recent years to allocate by program, rather than by request. The types of allocations were divided into five categories, and agencies’ applications were required to include details of specific programs to which the money would be applied and the results the agencies expected to gain as a result of the programs.
The categories, and their allocations from the $428,127 total, are:
F Helping children and youth succeed, $152,273
F Strengthening and supporting families, $114,500
F Supporting vulnerable and aging populations, $67,928.50
F Promoting self-sufficiency, $61,940
F Building vital and safe neighborhoods, $31,485.50
Each program has criteria that agencies are required to fulfill to be eligible for allocations. Some agencies — such as SOS, Big Brothers Big Sisters, and Emporia Community Day Care — have programs that qualify in multiple categories and may have been granted funds for projects in each area.
Other agencies are specialized enough that they may qualify in only one category, such as promoting self-sufficiency.
Agencies such as SOS and Kansas Legal Services, which deal with aging, youthful, and disabled populations, may propose programs that fit into the “supporting vulnerable and aging populations” niche, he said.
A Girl Scout program to prevent or end bullying could qualify for the “building vital and safe neighborhoods” program area.
“Also, some of the (programs) that Camp Alexander does ... really fit within that, building character within children so they understand the value of vital and safe neighborhoods,” Dreiling said.
Strengthening and supporting families can occur in many of the U.W. agencies.
“It’s not just about providing services to the children, it’s about making sure children are within a nurturing environment ...,” he said.
A program such as the SOS visitation and exchange center is supportable under that category, Dreiling said. The center allows one parent to bring in a child to the SOS office, then leave before the other parent arrives. The arrangement eliminates children’s exposure to their parents’ feuding and gives the youngsters more positive experiences with both parents without undergoing trauma or emotional distress.
Dreiling said that the board had agreed not to release the specific allocation made to each agency, and instead had decided to release totals made within each funded program category.
“If an agency wants to release how much they got from United Way, they can certainly call an agency,” he said. “I don’t feel it’s my place to tell” the amounts allocated individually.
This year’s United Way drive brought in a record $617,000 when the drive officially ended and totals were announced on Jan. 9.
Slightly more than two weeks later, Tyson Foods Inc. announced that it would close its slaughter operation at the Tyson Fresh Meats plant here, and would halt its second-shift processing line here as well.
On March 13, the company announced it would honor its employees’ pledge of $52,000 to the United Way. Tyson workers had donated $45,000 in 2007 and had increased that pledge by $7,000 before the downsizing.
Tyson sent $20,000 to the United Way in March and said it would make up the difference in the loss of pledge money, if needed, later in the year.
“If necessary, the company will make another payment later in the year to supplement the pledged donations of the 700 team members still employed at the plant,” Tyson spokesman Gary Mickelson said in announcing the company’s commitment.