Connie Calhoone, 2008 United Way of the Flint Hills drive chair, answered reader questions Tuesday about the annual fundraising drive to benefit 22 social service agencies. In the chat, she said that the charity umbrella agency is in danger of falling far short of its $600,000 goal for this year’s drive.
Q How has the United Way impacted your life and why did you want to be the fund drive chairman this year?
A I do feel the United Way has impacted my life. I have been able to help in many different volunteer positions so I have been able to see how the United Way truly helps thousands of people in our communities. When you can make a difference in someone else’s life you feel like you are giving back to others and what an honor that is. I wanted to be drive chair because I care about people, our community, and the wonderful programs the agencies offer to help impact people’s lives.
Q How is the fundraising drive going and when is it over?
A The packets received to date from Pacesetter companies have been up, but as individuals and smaller business packets come in, I have become very concerned that we are going to fall significantly short of our goal.
Q Why does this campaign matter to the community?
A I feel the United Way programs benefit so many people. If we do not make our goal, this will mean cutting program funds at a time when people need these programs the most — programs such as those that support vulnerable and aging populations.
Q What do you want people to know about the United Way and why should they consider giving to the campaign?
A The programs of the United Way have truly changed people’s lives. Many people think that their contributions really could not make a difference. However, when you think of coupling your contributions with everyone else in our communities, it really adds up. If everyone gave a dollar a week (the price of a pop) we would be able to reach this goal and more.
If you give to the United Way, you give to an organization who takes your donations very seriously and holds each agency and the programs they serve accountable for the donations they receive.
Q Why does United Way of the Flint Hills allocate monies to the Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts? Both of these agencies are small parts of a well-funded larger organization. In addition, administrative offices of both groups have moved well outside Emporia.
A While the Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts main offices are not located in Emporia, there are many young boys and girls that participate and benefit in those program. Even though their offices are not here, they must still demonstrate through their annual application how the funds received are used for local programs.
Q What’s the status on hiring a new director?
A First, we are fortunate that Duane Dreiling has not given us his resignation yet. We have received resumes and will begin the interview process in the near future. The Board of Trustees hope is that whomever the new director will be, they may be able to spend some time with our current director to reduce the learning curve and hit the ground running.
Q How much money has been raised so far in the campaign? How much more is needed and how much time is left?
A As of Monday, we have received $438,755.55. Our goal is $600,000. We have the rest of December and the first part of January until our celebration gathering and annual meeting.
Q After Tyson laid off workers early this year, the company honored its United Way commitment from the 2007 pledge drive. Have you seen the Tyson pledges for the current campaign? How much less will United Way receive from Tyson and its employees?
A We understand that Tyson delayed the beginning of their campaign due to various reasons. They understand they play an important role in the United Way campaign and are striving to conduct the best campaign they can. We realize their contributions may be down this year, but we believe they will do the best job they can. Tyson, as they have in the past, has agreed to match their employee contributions by 25 percent. It is almost impossible for us to estimate the decrease in this year’s campaign, but many of our other Pacesetter companies have seen increases.
Q Will United Way of the Flint Hills ask Tyson to give more as a supplement? After all, the Tyson situation hurt the United Way in two ways — it decreased the amount of funds raised and increased the demand for services from some agencies.
A Once Tyson has completed their campaign, we will be in contact with local and Tyson corporate offices to see how best to proceed. The United Way strived to ensure services for the displaced workers by collaborating with the city and many other agencies. We will continue to do everything possible to minimize the impact of lost program funding.
Q After the drive is over, when the United Way board makes its allocations, would the board prioritize needs, perhaps giving no funding for a program enhancement to be able to fund more fully programs that deal with more immediate daily needs like daycare or Salvation Army?
A The Community Investment (previously the allocations committee) commits every year to reviewing all program funding requests and allocates funding where the committee feels best meets the greatest needs and people served based on community initiatives. This committee is made up of a diverse group of community volunteers. The Board reviews and approves this committee’s recommendations. Both groups take their responsibility very seriously. They understand they are accountable for donations from the public and truly want to provide the best programing funding possible.