United Way: 98 years of service
As we approach the end of April, I am reminded that the United Way in Monroe County celebrates our anniversary every April 26, and this year it will be 98 years of service! I don’t think there are many organizations that have this kind of longevity! Originally, the United Way was known as the “Community Chest” (like in the Monopoly game!) and it later became “The Torch Fund” before finally morphing into the “United Way.”
This movement began as an effort to assist local nonprofit organizations with fundraising efforts and to give donors a “give once for all” option. Throughout the years the United Way also became known for having a pulse on the community’s health and human services needs. The local community and potential donors came to rely upon the United Way to understand these needs and allocate funding appropriately to area agencies (generally) and later to specific agency programs. We now focus on these three areas of interest: health, education and financial stability.
For decades, the fundraising focus of United Way has been the payroll deduction method, seeking donations through local employers and their employee payroll system. Many local employers have been involved in partnering with United Way. All my own career, I have been giving to the United Way via payroll deductions, and I have found it to be pretty painless — I don’t notice it! Recently, I’ve been at a couple of health fairs, and several people shared with me their history in payroll deductions to the United Way. Truly, I believe that $1 - $5 per week makes a difference. A dollar a week, or $52, can equal 3-4 shelter nights or 17 homeless meals. Some of our employer partners who employ lower-wage workers actually give more per capita than other, higher-paying employers/employees.
Employee payroll deductions continue to be our main fundraising model, but in recent years, we’ve had to find more creative ways to raise funds. Work settings and generational giving have changed. Fundraising is best when you can get in front of people. However, even before COVID-19, it has been increasingly more difficult to visit employer settings. In the busy work world, it’s hard for employers to fit us into their schedules. Now, post-Covid, more people are working from home. Many of our business leaders who strongly supported United Way are retired or gone, and the following generations haven’t followed suit. There are much research-based reasons for this, but the bottom line is it’s a different world we live in!
So, we at United Way, 98 years into this business, have had to pivot our fundraising efforts! We look for measurable outcomes for our funded agency programs to satisfy newer donor needs. We let people know just how integrated we are into the human services and non-profit sector, staying on top of the needs of underserved people and populations in our community. We remind everyone we’re not just fundraisers. We help fight poverty, hunger, homelessness, and we address domestic violence, substance abuse, childcare needs, youth mentorship and much more. And we offer other ways to donate via our website, direct donations and via VENMO. We are seeking creative ways to make it easier to donate to United Way! We also accept any suggestions! We want to be around for another 98 years!
Annually the United Way funds 27 local Monroe County agency programs. We also sponsor countywide 2-1-1 services, and coordinate Project Ramp, four annual Health Check events, and the Emergency Food and Shelter Program (EFSP). All funds raised in Monroe County stay in Monroe County. For more information about the GIVING AND LIVING UNITED, please contact us! Call us at 734-242-1331, contact us for an appointment at our office: 216 N. Monroe St., Monroe, MI 48162. Or you can visit our website at unitedwayMLC.org or contact me at lpipis@unitedwayMLC.org.
— Laura Schultz Pipis is the executive director of the United Way of Monroe/Lenawee Counties.
This article originally appeared on The Holland Sentinel: United Way: 98 years of service
