United Way of North Central Ohio surpasses Community Campaign goal

Marion Star
·2 min read

For the third consecutive year, United Way of North Central Ohio has met its annual Community Campaign goal before the June 30 end of the campaign cycle.

“This is the earliest we’ve gotten to 100% since the pandemic, and we've not only reached the higher goal set for the year by our board of directors, but we’ve exceeded it,” said Amber Wertman, UWNCO CEO.

The dollars raised each year allow UWNCO to award grants to nonprofit community impact projects and collaborations in Crawford, Marion, Morrow and Wyandot counties for the next fiscal cycle. The campaign goal total was not release.

In the 2023-2024 cycle, donations to the 2022-2023 UWNCO Community Campaign provided funding for more than 45 programs working to fill the community with successful children, healthy families and self-sufficient residents.

Amber Wertman
Amber Wertman

“We are fully staffed now, with development directors working in each of the counties under our United Way of North Central Ohio umbrella,” Wertman said. “That visibility and outreach has made an impact with our donors, especially in the second half of the campaign year.”

UWNCO Development Director for Marion & Morrow Angie Voll and Development Director for Crawford & Wyandot Carmon Walter have been in the community distributing Impact Awards to some of United Way’s exceptional donors and supporters.

“The awards are just a small token of our appreciation for our donors, our partners and the supportive communities we serve,” Voll said.

A list of the 2024 Impact Award recipients can be found at unitedwaynco.org/nco/impact-awards.

The success of April’s Spring Purse Bingo event contributed to the early trip across the campaign finish line. A flagship fundraiser for United Way of North Central Ohio, this year’s event netted a profit of more than $20,000.

The 2023-2024 Community Campaign will remain open for donations through June 30.

The recent expansion of UWNCO’s region to include Morrow County comes with an increase in funding opportunities, particularly with existing nonprofit partners who provide programming across the region. United Way of North Central Ohio also plans to establish a new fund dedicated to providing support for communities following local emergencies and natural disasters.

“We’ve been discussing creating a crisis fund for some time,” Wertman said. “The generosity of our campaign donors this year has given us the capital to establish a community response fund, and I look forward to announcing that soon.”

Visit unitedwaynco.org or call 740-383-3108 for more information.

This article originally appeared on Marion Star: United Way of North Central Ohio exceeds campaign goal