United Way joins national financial stability pilot

Our organization took a bold step this fall to help increase our capacity to address the issues of low income families.  We applied for and were accepted into a pilot program with United Way Worldwide (UWW) that will provide a team of national experts to work with our local team to impact the number of lower-income families that are financially unstable.  The work will take place over two years and will encompass the areas of community engagement and vision, strategy development, resource development, alignment and execution, and evaluation. 

Our first session begins this week when the UWW team comes to town to spend 1 ˝ days with our team.  In January, we will go to UWW Headquarters in Alexandria, VA to meet with the other 10 United Way teams from across the country.

We have already received feedback from our application that assesses the strengths and opportunities the team sees for us.  Strengths noted include the motivation of both staff and board to make a difference in this community while addressing our current challenges realistically, well-developed relationships with community partners, a focused annual volunteer event and our use of social networking and other technology. 

Under opportunities, the reported noted: “The lack of available resources make this United Way a prime candidate for working smarter and moving to operate one new aligned and focused business model as opposed to fundraising and fund distribution on one side and community impact on the other.” This is certainly the opportunity that I saw in the initiative. 

In addition, a group of experts will help us develop community conversations to uncover and re-build community aspirations.  In other words, you will be hearing from us.  This model is really about connecting to others in our community to work together for the good of us all.  It goes beyond financial support to real partnerships that are focused on one community-level goal. 

This isn’t really a new idea for our organization.  We have an AmeriCorps VISTA at work making connections to address barriers to employment through training and development opportunities. We have offered family development training to many local service providers so they can help those they serve set goals and address the issues that prevent them from moving forward. We have partnered and expanded income tax assistance opportunities with Anderson University’s SIFE program to provide financial literacy services across the community.  This foundation will help us as we go deeper with the work.

Madison County is the smallest community to participate in the group and one of two in the middle of the country.  While we will learn much from the experience, I believe we bring much to the table because we reflect the reality of middle America.

The United Way board – always an example of great leadership - is to be commended for stepping up to this opportunity.  In addition, board chair Michael Collette and newly-elected board secretary Angela Cassidy are to be further commended for joining the team that includes me, staff Nancy Anderson and Jamesey Thomas, and AmeriCorps VISTA Elizabeth Ford. There’s much more to come.

Nancy Vaughan is president of United Way of Madison County. She can be reached at n.vaughan@unitedwaymadisonco.org, or 765-643-7493.