United Way campaign offers ray of light in lean times

Fund raising collections exceed 2008 by $400,000

By Jesse Davis The Goshen News Thu Jan 28, 2010, 09:58 AM EST

GOSHEN, Ind — Despite a down economy, 2009 was a good year for United Way.

During its regularly scheduled January meeting, the organization’s board of directors announced that the 2009-2010 fundraising campaign collected more than $2.1 million, an increase of more than $400,000 from the previous year. United Way saw contributions from nine companies more than double and those from eight increase by $10,000 or more.

United Way officials credited companies for encouraging more employees to get involved and increasing special events to add a little fun to fundraising campaigns. United Way professionals also talked to employees about the importance of the United Way mission.

Jessica Koscher, United Way’s vice president of resource development and marketing, credits much of the improvement to a change in how the campaign was run.

“This year, we did it differently than we ever did before, a lot more focused on us and what United Way brings to the community,” Koscher said. “In the past, a high percentage of our presentations to companies were done by our community partners. Places like the Boys & Girls Club, go out and talk about United Way and also what they have done.”

The choice to instead send United Way professionals, she said, helped donors understand not just what United Way funds, but what it does specifically.

“They said a lot of times they didn’t know exactly what we did, didn’t know our essential role in the community,” Koscher said.

Also included in their collections was an anonymous donation of $200,000, received in December.

“I’ve been here seven years,” Koscher said, “and it’s the largest anonymous donation I’ve seen.”

Because of the notable increase in collections, United Way has also announced it will increase the amount it allocates for community impact projects for the first time in several years.

In 2009, $671,653 was allocated to Community Impact Partners. In 2010, $500,000 more will be utilized for making an impact in Elkhart County.

On Monday, the board of directors approved an allocation of $1,184,000.

The additional money will assist in United Way’s goals for innovation around key areas concerning education, income and health.

The group of community volunteers that make allocation decision’s for the organization recommended Monday that $418,234 be allocated toward education with an emphasis on improving high school graduation rates. Other recommended allocations include $167,120 to help families become financially stable and $167,120 for improving health.

Koscher said that despite all the negative coverage Elkhart has received regarding its economic state, this announcement gives further evidence that the bad times won’t last forever.

“Elkhart County is going to come back,” she said. “We are resilient. We get up every morning, put one foot in front of the other and are positive. This really shows that the people of Elkhart County are amazing.”

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