Matthew Kepple, Brian Miller, Emmanuel Twum

Ms. Wrenn

English 103-42

12-1-05

United Way Community Report

The United Way was created in 1887 by a Denver priest, two ministers, and a rabbi who recognized their city’s need for an organization to help with their welfare problems. Rev. Myron W. Reed, Msgr. William J. O’Ryan, Dean H. Martyn Hart, and Rabbi William S. Friedman devised a plan to organize the first united campaign for ten health and welfare agencies (United Way n.pag.). The organization they created was meant to serve the community by gathering money for local charities, organizing relief services, directing and referring people in need to other agencies, and making emergency grants (United Way n. pag.). In 1887, the religious leaders created a movement that would stretch across the country to become the United Way.

The first United Way in Denver raised $21,700 in 1888 (United Way n. pag.). By 1948 more than one thousand communities had established United Way organizations. In 1973, the United Way and the National Football Association established a partnership to increase awareness of social service issues in the United States (United Way n. pag.). The United Way has also become an international organization. On this international level, the United Way has developed affiliates in India, Kenya, Malaysia, and Thailand. On the national level this organization has launched a strategy to reposition itself as more than a fundraiser, but rather as the leading community impact organization (United Way n. pag.).

The United Way’s mission is to improve lives by mobilizing the caring power of communities (United Way n. pag.). It works to build a stronger America by mobilizing communities towards improving people’s lives. To make a lasting impact on an area, the United Way identifies and builds upon the community’s strengths, its possessions, and its capabilities (United Way n. pag.). As an organization, it works with schools, government agencies, businesses, organized labor, financial institutions, community development corporations, voluntary and neighborhood associations, the faith community, and other groups that relate to an area’s wellness (United Way n. pag.). The issues addressed by the specific branches of the United Way are determined by the local needs. However, common themes are present for all of the branches of the United Way, including helping children succeed, strengthening and supporting families, promoting self-sufficiency, and building vital and safe neighborhoods (United Way n. pag.).

Clemson’s local community is served by the Oconee Branch of the United Way. This branch is operated by a twenty-seven member board who meet regularly (Fact Sheet n. pag). It is those volunteers that vote to make the decisions that take this branch in the direction that they feel is best for the community (Fact Sheet n. pag).

The local United Way handles approximately one million dollars per year. The present goal for 2005 is $750,000. That money is monitored closely by volunteers who review the agency’s yearly budget usage (Fact Sheet n.pag.). The assets of the United Way are used in a variety of ways. The vast majority of that $750,000 will be used to assist the community. That includes allocating funds to various approved agencies quarterly throughout the year. In all, twenty local agencies are funded by the United Way, and partnerships have developed with another dozen groups that play roles in shaping the social needs of Oconee County (Fact Sheet n. pag.). Only 9.4% of the funds collected this year, an estimated $70,500, go towards keeping the company’s office running. That money pays rent, utilities, telephone, salaries, taxes, audit fee, licensing, health insurance, building and liability insurance, equipment, maintenance, supplies, etc (Fact Sheet n. pag). An additional 9.8% or $73,500 goes towards the actual fund raising projects that United Way sponsors in the community. These numbers are well under the national average for charities that include up to 25% for maintaining the office and 90% for the operation of the fund raisers (Fact Sheet n. pag.). The rest of the money is distributed to the agencies that the United Way has selected because of their abilities to assist the community. The requirements to receive benefits from the United Way include being a human service organization, being tax exempt, being in operation for at least three years, having a volunteer Board of Directors to account for company spending, and have an unduplicated service that the company can offer to the community (Fact Sheet n. pag).

The branch of the United Way that operates within the Clemson area requires assistance from the community in a plethora of fields. First, it relies upon the pledges and monetary contributions of the community to keep the organization running. Secondly, volunteers are required to donate their time to run and organize fund raisers. Finally, the United Way is always looking for new ideas to raise money and assist the community (Fact Sheet n. pag). It is a hands-on organization that stays in daily contact with the community searching for new, better ways to improve the area. It is this dedication to the community and the efficiency in which the company uses its funds that has made the United Way one of the most well-known organizations in the state of South Carolina. To maintain that reputation of high efficiency in community assistance, the United Way is in constant need of the three community contributions; donations, time, and ideas.

Because the United Way is in constant need of three major contributions from the community, it was determined that the message of what this organization does and it needs must be spread to a greater extent in the community. It would seem that the more people that are aware of the great deeds that the United Way does for the community, the more that they would want to help. Then, with the needs presented to the public, those individuals who do have the desire to assist the United Way in its commitment to community improvement would know how to be a valuable asset to the organization. Therefore, if a flier of some kind could be designed that gave examples of United Way’s accomplishments in the community, and that flier was posted in various locations throughout the area, support and volunteer participation should increase. Hopefully, with more support and community participation, the United Way could further develop and improve the communities of the Clemson area.

Since it creation in 1887, the United Way has worked to improve any community with which it has been involved. The careful analysis of funding distribution, as well as the level of communication with the community allows this organization to be extremely efficient at improving an area’s social standards. Due to the fact that the United Way relies heavily upon the involvement of the public, an increase in the support and awareness of the organization’s goals and accomplishments should directly affect its charitable capabilities. Hopefully, the United Way will not only be able to continue its active role in the Clemson community, but expand its impact to an even greater level in the future.

Works Cited

United Way: What Matters. 22 November 2005. United Way of America. 24 November 2005. <http://national.unitedway.org>.

United Way. Fact Sheet: The 2005-2006 Campaign Goal is $750,000. Where will the dollars go? Seneca, SC: The United Way of Oconee County. N.d.

Community Project Reflection

The Community Writing Project was a completely different writing task than the previous two. With the differences from the past papers came new forms of lessons learned as well as new obstacles to face. Overall, this project was a success for our group because we accomplished our goals of researching the organization and devising some way to assist it in its cause.

The United Way was the organization that we chose to complete this assignment on because of its notoriety. Thinking only about the research portion of the project, it seemed obvious that the most famous organization would have the greatest amount of information relating to it. Indeed, the information concerning the United Way was abundant, however, when we chose this organization we neglected to fully consider all phases of the project. The two main difficulties of the assignment derived from the interview process and the need to find some way to assist the company. The United Way has had a very busy time recently that required the director of the office to not be present for the few weeks that we had to gather our information. The director’s assistant was in the office; however, she was overwhelmed with work herself, so she could not conduct a formal interview. Thus, after two weeks of struggling to find some time to schedule a personal interview, we were forced to resort to an interview via email. True to her word, the director’s assistant supplied us with a good deal of information concerning our project by returning our email with a fact sheet that included frequently asked questions. The second major difficulty that we faced was the fact that it is difficult to find a way to assist an organization that is as well established as the United Way. Not until after all information had been gathered and we discovered very general needs of the Oconee County United Way, could we decide a possible way to assist them in their pursuits. It seemed that simply helping spread information about the United Way’s goals and project could gain support. For that reason, we decided that designing a flier to spread across the Clemson area would benefit the organization by simply causing the public to gain awareness.

Although this project was unlike one we have done before and we did experience difficult situations while attempting to complete it, difficulty and adversity can stimulate learning. So, while we were struggling to make an appointment for an interview and find some way to assist an already well-established company, we were able to learn, or at least gain experience in different experiences. The difficulties with the interview were definitely an eye-opener as to how difficult it can be to find time once one has a career. The fact that the director’s assistant had only one opening in a three week span is amazing. This situation also provided us with experience in adapting to the adverse circumstances that we faced due to not being able to conduct a personal interview.

In doing this project, we also gained a greater appreciation for what is done in the community to increase and maintain the standard of living. As we gained knowledge of the goals and projects of the United Way, we began to get a glimpse as to how hard that organization works to assist those that can benefit the community the most. A great deal of time, effort, and money is poured into the charitable acts contributed by the United Way. It made us realize that not only the United Way, but charities and non-profit organizations in general deserve much more recognition and credit. To work hard to assist those in need for little or no personal gain is a heroic deed. To invest that much energy and that many resources into helping others is a most selfless act. Our community is lucky to have a branch of the United Way to effectively assist the area in maintaining its standard of living.

This project was definitely a successful new approach to composing a paper. The fact that we were forced to conduct, or attempt to conduct, and interview instead of simply researching the information on the internet or in the library provided us with valuable hands-on experience. The assistance that we had to offer the company forced us to be more creative. Making a presentation touches upon public speaking and organizational skills. Finally, working in a group setting is good experience for the team project that lay ahead. This proved to be a valuable assignment that we feel we were successful in completing.