United Way Of Benton And Lincoln Counties

Programs: Community impact grants: united way of benton & lincoln counties continues to measurably improve the lives of people in our neighborhoods through strategic grants to community partners working to improve health and human services in benton and lincoln counties, oregon. Through a competitive grant process, a volunteer-driven evaluation identifies programs that promote collaboration and are committed to measurable outcomes to address those needs. In fy 14-15, united way awarded grants to 27 programs and initiatives involving 23 organizations in three major focus areas: education, income and health across our two county area of services. . Additional funding is directed to unaffiliated non-profits as requested by united way donors. Under contract to the city of corvallis, united way manages the allocation process for the city's social service fund (ssf). The social service fund provides funding according to council policy 00-6. 05 social service funding policy criteria for funding, as outlined in council policy cp 00-6. 05 section 6. 05. 050. Although funding priorities differ, the same process is used for both the united way and city ssf grant cycles. Programs awarded through the social service fund cycle provide emergency or transitional services to corvallis residents. 27 programs at 19 agencies were funded in the fy 14-15 cycle. United way administers the emergency food and shelter program (efsp) in our two-county service area. Efsp was created in 1983 to supplement and expand the work of local social service agencies to help people with economic emergencies. Efsp funds must be used to supplement feeding, sheltering (including transitional sheltering) and rent/mortgage and utility assistance efforts only. United way convenes the local board(s) to determine the highest need and best use of funds and to select local recipient organizations (lros) that will provide emergency food and shelter services. Needs are assessed annually to adapt to particular community needs. Phase 31 funding was directed to 11 programs at 9 agencies in benton county and five programs at five agencies in lincoln county. Breaking the cycle of childhood poverty (bccp): this work supports prevention based services that align with one or more of the following identified goals: -increasing availability and access to affordable, quality childcare so families can work-providing educational supports for youth, especially at transition points (grade school to middle school, middle to high, and high school to college or on to "real life")-delivering life and job skills training for youth and young adults so they can succeed -teaching financial literacy so more people can make smart choices about their opportunities and challengesbccp goals and targets resulted from several years of research, community conversations and informed discussion by vision councils in benton county and by community conversations and assessment surveys in lincoln county. Final recommendations were crafted by the united way community impact committee, which retains oversight of both the bccp and bn funding mechanisms. The first round of bccp funding occurs during fy 15-16 based on the goals outlined above. South benton advisory group: united way received a 15-year bequest from the margaret e. Hull fund of the oregon community foundation to support united way's mission in service to rural benton county residents. To ensure the work conducted through this bequest meets the needs and desires of the bequest and community members, united way conducted a needs assessment in the rural south county communities of monroe, alpine, bellfountain, glenbrook, ingram island, and irish bend. This established new relationships between united way and rural benton county residents and expanded united way's knowledge base about the needs and assets of the assessed communities, and where funding will have the greatest sustainable impact. As a result of the relationships established through the needs assessment the united way - south benton advisory group (sbag) was formed. Members of sbag aim to create long-lasting, sustainable impact within the south benton county communities. To perform united way mission work and to address the priority issues highlighted in the needs assessment, sbag will work under the auspices of united way's community impact committee to develop a comprehensive plan for the funding allocation process. This will include continuing assessment of community needs, providing strategic planning and other 'backbone' support where appropriate, and developing open and common communication channels among groups and individuals as they build their working relationships. Sbag will also intentionally develop a long-term funding strategy for south benton county interests. In fy 14-15, sbag funded four programs for a total of $3,301.

backbone work: united way also invests in strategic initiatives and partnerships with non-profit service providers to meet critical community needs and which can be leveraged to foster partnerships with other funders. Strategic initiatives and partnerships include: family fund (food/rent/utility assistance), earned income tax credit assistance (financial assistance/stability) and 211info (phone and online information/referral), and familywize (prescription drug discount program). We continue to look for ways to use existing resources to help service providers meet more of their mission and to assure resources are in place to guide vision, align strategies, build public will, support shared measurement, mobilize funding, advance supportive public policies, and engage volunteers.

community services:united way is committed to changing our communities for the better in fundamental, lasting ways by enhancing the ability of individuals to care for one another. We are able to play this role because of the trust the community has in united way's expertise, efficiency and results. We strive to understand our community, its people and its challenges. We're acquainted with the network of service providers in our region and we know who has the capacity and track record to bring about change. We continue to look for ways to use existing resources to better help service providers meet more of their mission. Community investment activities include regional and community needs assessment, data collection and analysis, community education presentations, production of documents designed to highlight regional needs, funding trends, and emerging issues. United way also promotes volunteerism--mobilizing 250 volunteers throughout the year, conducting advocacy, development and support of strategic initiatives, and community leadership. Combined, these volunteers contributed 9,811 of service to united way. We mobilized an additional 583 volunteers, contributing 2,798 hours worth of time through our signature day of caring event. Companies and individuals come together to complete service projects, including painting, yard work and building wheel chair ramps, benefitting people and human service programs in benton and lincoln counties.

funders forum: about a decade ago, various benton county funders sought a way to work more closely together. They had a dream that by coordinating their efforts, they could create a much bigger community impact. Progress was made on a collaborative funding model, but there was a need for a neutral organization to lead and coordinate the effort. In early 2015, united way convened a funders forum at the request of several funders, and agreed to serve as the backbone organization for the process. The group has several preliminary goals:-create an atmosphere of trust-find common terminology-understand one another's priorities-explore opportunities for efficiency for applicant agencies across multiple funders-create an easy and transparent communication challenge-identify mechanism(s) to best invest limited funds in meeting need today and keeping problems from happening in the first place donor designations: funding is directed to unaffiliated non-profits as requested by united way donors.