We are very proud of the work our board of directors has done this past year in researching local needs and determining where services were lacking and how best our United Way could make an impact in our community.
Our 2011-2012 Annual Report does a great job in explaining the issues and showing how we are addressing them through community impact grants and direct services.
We'd love your feedback.
Posted by Kim Connolly
The United Way Laurence E. Richardson Day of Caring.
The United Way Day of Caring.
The Day of Caring.
Or, in our office shorthand: DOC.
Our office is in “All hands on deck!” mode in preparation for our annual volunteer extravaganza next Wednesday, September 19th.
This year, we have 2,300 volunteers registered for 234 projects at 113 nonprofits and schools. There are teams from 65 local businesses and organizations, with the University of Virginia and UVa Health Systems providing nearly 1,000 of our volunteers. Our good neighbor, State Farm Insurance is sending around 100 volunteers, and Lexis Nexis and the CFA Institute each send around 70 employees to volunteer. And other local businesses send from 2 to 50 employees.
That means a whole lot of local businesses allow and encourage their employees to spend a day volunteering in our community. And we can’t forget those employees left behind to keep things running.
Jessica Snyder, our Volunteer Center Director, is seeing her
9 months of preparation come to fruition and is deftly handling the thousand
details that make the day run smoothly, not to mention taking the last minute
changes in stride. The rest of us do what we can do help her. We haul the signs
out of our basement, print new signs, arrange pick up of traffic cones, alert
the media, assign our board members project sites to visit to thank the
volunteers. The spread sheets detailing every one of the projects are voluminous,
and the details (weights for balloons? – check) are numerous, but necessary to
making such a huge undertaking seamless. It is fun, it is exhausting and
somewhat overwhelming, but on that day, at the kick-off breakfast at Albemarle
Square, when the State Farm Singers are lifting up their voices in joy, and the
hundreds of volunteers are full of energy to make a difference in our
community, it all seems worth it.
Posted by Kim Connolly
If it is August, it must be audit time at our United Way. Each August, two auditors from Hantzmon Wiebel, LLC take over the lunch table on our third floor for an exhaustive review of our financial records. From individual donations, to grants we have received, to grants that we make to other local nonprofit programs, our audit is complicated. In addition, we are the fiscal agent for several programs like The Santa Fund and Women United, among others. Plus, we have several direct services of our own, such as Child Care Scholarships, Prescription Assistance and the United Way Volunteer Center. Whew! No wonder the auditors set up shop upstairs for about a month.
Why is all this important? Transparency and accountability. When a donor is evaluating a nonprofit, they should also look at the organization’s financial stability and efficiency. An annual audit should be available on that organization’s website. If an organization is not large enough to require a full audit, they should have at the least an independently performed year‐end income and expense statement available to the public.
Not only do we have a full audit performed every year, we also have an Audit Committee which includes a Darden professor of economics, a corporate Chief Operating Officer, and an accountant.
One of the results of our fiscal and management practices is that our overhead is impressively low – last year it was a mere 16.01%. The Better Business Bureau states that nonprofits should spend no more than 35% on overhead. Not only do we require ourselves to have a full audit each year, we also require an audit from each local agency applying for a United Way Community Impact grant. If an agency's revenues are under $200,000, the agency may submit a financial compilation in accordance with Statements and Standards for Accounting and Review Services issued by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants. When a program receives a grant from us, you know it is well-vetted.
Ask the hard questions. We welcome yours. Our Audit Committee has worked very hard to make a complex document clear and understandable. Here is last year’s audit. Once this year’s audit is complete, we will post it on our website. We are proud of our well run, financially stable and - most important – effective organization!
While is all this important? Because heartfelt stories and emotion-triggering photos need to be balanced with proof of financial stability and program results. Nonprofit donations are like investments in a program’s stated mission. And folks want to see a good return on their investment. United Way-Thomas Jefferson Area is invested in School Readiness, Self-Sufficiency and Community Health. What are you invested in? Join us and see the results.
Each year on the day of our United Way Laurence E. Richardson Day of Caring, United Way staff and Board members team up and travel to visit the volunteers and nonprofits where projects are taking place. As soon as we stepped into the door of the Virginia Discovery Museum on my trip to local nonprofits that day, I knew that something special was taking place. All of the volunteers were smiling, laughing and busily working away. We were greeted by the wonderful staff at the museum and heard about the amazing work that had taken place with the volunteers.
As soon as I got back to the office that day, I wrote a letter to the museum staff asking for them to share what made the Day of Caring so special for them. I thought that highlighting the excitement at the Virginia Discovery Museum and showcasing the impact the volunteers made that day could help other nonprofits see the benefits in participating in such a special event.
Here is what the Virginia Discovery Museum staff shared:
"Every year, the Virginia Discovery Museum participates in Day of Caring. In fact, we purposely schedule our exhibit renovations around that day. This year, we welcomed volunteers from BB&T and CFA for an all-day, museum-wide renovation project. Starting at 9am, volunteers painted every room in the museum with new, exciting colors, helped us move furniture that otherwise would not have moved, and constructed new exhibits for the kids to play on. It is safe to say that without the hard work and enthusiasm of these volunteers, our recent new exhibits (Discovery Garage and Virginia Frontier) would not have opened on time to the public.
The most memorable part of Day of Caring is the camaraderie and the “willingness to do anything” of the volunteers. More than once, staff at the Virginia Discovery Museum was told that the volunteers come expecting to work hard and accomplish the tasks set before them. The staff started the day with several possible tasks for the volunteers, thinking that only a token few would be accomplished. By the end of the day, every single task was complete; and both the staff and volunteers left the museum exhilarated with a sense of accomplishment.
In the following week, staff members raved about the help we received from Day of Caring volunteers. We wish this event occurred multiple times throughout the year. We genuinely hope that the volunteers had a great time at the museum and we eagerly await the next Day of Caring."
For the past nine months, the board of directors of the United Way-Thomas Jefferson Area has been implementing its new strategic direction of focusing on three specific areas of impact: School Readiness, Self-Sufficiency and Community Health. Impact teams consisting of 49 United Way board members, plus interested community volunteers, met dozens of times in the past year to develop priorities within each impact area. Our board invited local nonprofits to submit proposals that would help meet the priorities in each of those areas. Our United Way is investing a total of $634,038 in grants this year to local programs, and for the first time has provided some multi-year grants.
The priorities of the SCHOOL READINESS impact area are: to provide home-visiting services for families with children zero to three years old; increasing the access to quality early education through the Virginia Star Quality Initiative; and to partner with schools, preschools and community groups to improve children’s successful transition to kindergarten.
School Readiness Impact Team Members: Eric Johnson, Chair; Bill Bradley; Peter Chapin; Mike Chinn; Bryan Elliott; Frank Friedman; Rondi Furgason; Phil Garland; Michael Geismar; Amanda Hoffman; PK Kamath; Chris Laing; Chris Lee; Brad Ramsey; Bill Wardle.
School Readiness grant partner programs:
“Multi-year funding is something new for us,” notes Cathy Train, United Way’s president. “But in the case where there is a strong, ongoing program with proven results that specifically addresses our priorities, we felt that investing for the long term could create some momentum in children growing up healthy and arriving at school prepared to succeed.”
Our United Way’s SELF-SUFFICIENCY impact area team’s goal is to “invest in individuals and families working to become financially stable and economically independent.” “We found that this goal really spread across all three of our impact areas,” Train states. “A family struggling to make ends meet, or parents working two or three jobs without health insurance, doesn’t leave time to help children with homework or ensure adequate preventative health care.” Our United Way sought programs that addressed one or more of these priorities: addressing barriers to employment and job training for unemployed/underemployed local residents, including promoting high school graduation and post-secondary education; increasing access to financial education, literacy and budgeting; and supporting employment through adequate and accessible transportation, child care and shelter.
Self-Sufficiency Impact Team Members: Deborah van Eersel, Chair; Charles DuBose; Sasha Farmer; Adrian Felts; Dan Goodall; Fred Greer; Peter Harbilas; Allen Hughes; PK Kamath; Jim Kennan; Don Long; Abby Lunn; Susan Prindle; Joyce Robbins; Phil Sparks; Juan Wade; John Young.
The United Way has partnered with the following programs to help address these priorities:
Our research determined that in the area of COMMUNITY HEALTH, the priorities were clear: improve prenatal care and the health of babies; promote physical activity and improve the nutrition and eating habits of local residents, or other obesity prevention projects; and increase access to preventative and basic health care resources for underserved persons, including low-income and rural communities. “The United Way is invested in building a community where people are healthy and have access to needed care,” says Train. “We need to help develop healthy habits, starting at an early age.
Community Health Impact Team Members: Liza Borches, Chair; Guy Babineau; Glenn Bannan; Spencer Birdsong; Lisa Cannell; Deborah Conway; Margery Daniel; Dorrie Fontaine; Ray Mishler; Gary O’Connell; Eunhee Park; Jim Richardson; Carolyn Schuyler; Jim Shannon; David Stebbins; Margo Szeliga; Mike Wesson.
In order to meet the priorities of the Community Health focus area, the United Way is partnering with the following programs through grants:
“By focusing our investments on specific goals and priorities, and through encouraging partnerships and collaborations with similar or complimentary programs with long-term goals and measurements,” Train declares, “it is our hope that we will create substantial positive change in our community.”
None of this would have been possible without the leadership of our Campaign Chair, Alison DeTuncq, president of UVA Community Credit Union, who led teams of volunteers in raising the funds necessary to address these priorities. And, in the end, it is the members of our community - our donors - who have invested their money in improving our community, that we have to thank. Together, we WILL make a difference.
Posted by: Kim Connolly
We have each been involved in supporting local nonprofits for more than 20 years. Jane thrives on helping organize special events for a variety of organizations and Bryan has served on the board of our United Way for more than 20 years, as well as serving as the chair of the Charlottesville Regional Chamber of Commerce and as a volunteer for Special Olympics, the Red Cross, Blue Ridge Rotary Club, and the Party Parade.
Our United Way impacts the community in many ways that people do not see. Not just by providing grants for local programs and by offering many direct services, but by advocating for the human service needs of all citizens. There are many issues in our community that concern us, including the education of our children and their well-being. Children need to be raised with the appropriate education and social skills plus the understanding that they are part of a larger community. The economic prosperity of our region is also very important, and we need to provide people with the skills they need as well as the jobs needed to sustain a healthy and safe living environment for everyone who lives here.
Our United Way addresses these issues by looking at where the needs are; we do this by pulling together community members-from nonprofits, businesses, the education and health care communities, and the public sector -and listening to them about what works and what hasn't, and where they see the need for more action. That is why we support our United Way both financially and with our time -because of the important role it plays in our community. We feel strongly that the dollars raised here stay in our community. We have a staff that works tirelessly to provide direct services like the Volunteer Center, Child Care Scholarships, Prescription Assistance and so on. We can see a tangible impact on our community through the United Way.
Posted By:
Bryan Thomas, Area Executive, BB&T
Jane Thomas, Community Volunteer
I am a native of Charlottesville, and until I joined the board of our United Way, I did not realize how sheltered I was from the reality of life for so many who live in our area. The more I learn about our community, the more I’m struck by the realization of how many people don’t have the things I take for granted ― even something as simple as having a parent who is able to help you with your homework, or having a car to get you to and from your work.
My children are still small, but I’m hoping that soon we can use the United Way Volunteer Center to help us find volunteer opportunities we can do as a family. I think it is important for them to understand and appreciate what they have and learn that it is important for us to help others who may not be as fortunate. I am a firm believer that you get what you give. It’s easy to get caught up in the hustle and bustle of our daily lives and feel we don’t have time to give back, but what I’ve found is that the reward you get is so much greater than what you gave up.
I was recently speaking with a customer about my being on the board of our United Way. What I told her was that when I give, I want to be sure that my money will go to an organization I can trust. My husband and I like the fact that the United Way has already done the due diligence for us and also the fact that they leverage their donations through partnerships with other local organizations. The more I learn about our community’s needs, the more I realize the impact I can have by working through our United Way.
Abby Lunn
Vice President
First Systems & Resources
On January 11, I walked into the United Way-Thomas Jefferson Area as the new Volunteer Center Director. In less than ten months, I would have to pull off the 20th anniversary of the United Way Laurence E. Richardson Day of Caring. I had big shoes to fill and I was nervous about whether or not I’d be able to meet the expectations.
Planning for the event started early in the spring, but no amount of planning could have prepared me as much as living through the experience. I knew that as much as I prepared and planned, I’d have to see, hear and feel the United Way Day of Caring to really understand it. The experience of that day is something that I will never forget.
I woke up at 2:15am on September 21st to the sound of my alarm and I got ready for the day, leaving my house at 3:30am to start my hour commute to Charlottesville. Our staff started right away to prep the parking lot for the 500 people we expected that morning.
Hundreds of balloons, two television interviews and one radio interview later, it was time to kick-off the breakfast. The rally flew by with performances by State Farm’s Choir, speakers and great food provided by State Farm.
From the breakfast, we all headed out to visit as many project sites as possible to thank the volunteers. The rest of the day felt like a flash and before I knew it, we were back at the office putting all of our banners and signs back in the basement… and the day was over.
Now, just 256 days after I started and two days after the United Way Day of Caring, I can’t help but reflect on the experience:
This community is amazing! I was really touched by seeing the joy of both the volunteers and the people they worked with.
I owe a HUGE thank you to all of our sponsors, my colleagues, our United Way Board members, all of the nonprofits, schools, volunteers, the media and the local community for making the 20th United Way Laurence E. Richardson Day such a success story and for helping to make my job so rewarding!
Posted by Jessica Snyder
United Way Volunteer Center Director
We are experiencing post-event euphoria here at United Way-Thomas Jefferson Area. Last night was our fifth annual United Way Awards of Nonprofit Excellence, and the evening was everything we could have hoped for. Our board chair, Margery Daniel, and board member, the incomparable Jay James of NewsRadio 1070WINA, collaborated to engage the former Leadership Award recipients who were in the audience to tell their stories about what it means to work in the nonprofit field, and what it meant to be recognized for their work.
Many thanks to Gordon Walker of JABA, Pat Smith of OAR/Jefferson Area Community Corrections, Peter Thompson of the Senior Center, and Chuck McElroy of WorkSource for being such good sports.
Then it was on to Steve Krohn of Virginia National Bank, underwriter of the Excellence in Nonprofit Board Governance Award, and Governor Gerald Baliles, chair of the review panel for the award. He spoke at length about each finalist board: The Center for Nonprofit Excellence, PACEM and the Senior Center; and then announced that the 2011 recipient was the Center for Nonprofit Excellence.
Board chair Russell Willis Taylor graciously accepted the award on behalf of her board and the staff of CNE.
The United Way Award of Excellence in Nonprofit Staff Leadership was presented by Bob Foster, on behalf of Hantzmon Wiebel, and Renée Grisham, chair of the review panel. Renée gave the audience a wonderful overview of each finalist’s unique qualities and contributions to their organizations, clients and the community. We were inspired by the work and dedication of Claudette Greene, Shelter Director for PACEM; Ethan Tate, Director of Volunteer Programs at Building Goodness Foundation; and Debbie Taylor, Director of Operations for JAUNT. Renée noted how hard it was to choose just one recipient when all were so deserving, yet ultimately she revealed that the 2011 recipient of the United Way Award of Excellence in Nonprofit Staff Leadership was Claudette Greene of PACEM. Claudette’s acceptance speech was heartfelt and uplifting.
More can be read about each finalist in the program book.
Photos are credited to Tom Daly.
Many thanks to the wonderful staff of United Way-Thomas Jefferson Area for their many hours of preparation in ensuring a smoothly run event, and to the staff of the Boars Head Inn for their outstanding service.
If you know of an outstanding nonprofit board, or an outstanding nonprofit staff member, we hope you will consider nominating them next year. This event is a wonderful opportunity to shine the light on the people whose mission is to help others.
Submitted by Kim Connolly
The United Way Awards of Nonprofit Excellence dinner is tomorrow night, June , at the Boars Head Inn. For the next two days, several of us in our office will be absorbed in making sure the final details are taken care of so that the evening can go off without a hitch.
The Awards of Excellence were created five years ago to recognize, celebrate, promote and inspire excellence in nonprofit leadership and board governance. For five years, we have honored outstanding nonprofit boards of directors - those dedicated volunteers who give of their time and skills to oversee the execution of a nonprofit's mission.
We have also honored executive directors of local nonprofits who have shown outstanding business acumen and leadership. Invariably, those recipients have made the observation in their acceptance speeches that they would not be standing there if not for their wonderful staff members. So this year, we revised the award criteria and renamed it the Nonprofit Staff Leadership Award, so that staff members, rather than executive directors, could have their leadership and dedication recognized publicly.
This year's finalists for Excellence in Nonprofit Board Governance are the boards of directors of:
The Center for Nonprofit Excellence
The 2011 finalists for Excellence in Nonprofit Staff Leadership are:
Claudette Greene, Shelter Director, PACEM
Ethan Tate, Director of Volunteer Programs, Building Goodness Foundation
Debbie Taylor, Director of Operations, JAUNT
We are looking forward to an evening of celebrating the spirit of caring and giving of our wonderful community.
Posted by Kim Connolly
So Vote for Juan. Click here to view the video, then register and vote. You can vote once a day. Let us show the rest of the country that Charlottesville knows how to Live United. The eventual winner will be featured in our national trade association’s (United Way of America) national television ad in 2010. Vote!
Posted by Kim Connolly.
When we Live United, we as individuals think outside ourselves and have the power to facilitate change. When we think of others lives as linked to our own, our compassion grows. When we reach out a hand to one, we influence the condition of all. We change the lives of those who walk by us every day.
On June 4, the United Way-Thomas Jefferson Area held our annual Board of Directors Retreat. The theme was strengthening our community through collaboration and access to health and wellness. Dr. Richard Lindsay spoke to the Board about the needs of our aging population and how our work could improve health outcomes for our community. Gordon Walker of JABA, Erica Viccellio of the Charlottesville Free Clinic and Judy Smith of Jefferson Area CHIP shared their experiences and insights on collaboration among nonprofits.
Our board members received Live United t-shirts, signifying their commitment to Give, Advocate and Volunteer to make our community a better place for all. Directors were tasked with seeking opportunities for the
United we can change what we see in our world.
We invite you to join us. Tell us how you Live United and you too will receive the t-shirt you should wear with pride.
The United Way staff has been plotting and planning in secret for months, and last night our plan was kicked into action!
To mark United Way President Cathy Train’s 20th anniversary of service to the United Way, we threw a surprise reception. Rather than try to get her to show up somewhere, and risk her crazy schedule ruining our plans, we decided to have the party immediately following a board meeting (she HAS to attend those). The trouble was, our regular board meeting spaces do not have separate rooms big enough to hold the party. So, we came up with a very convoluted excuse to have the meeting at the Omni Hotel.
Our board meetings are usually very lively, with lots of discussion, and often run over schedule. We were in a panic about this, especially as Cathy kept adding agenda items. We had guests arriving at 5pm, and it looked like the meeting might run until 5:30. Nooooooo! She wondered why I was so obsessed with trimming the agenda (I kept whining about wanting to get home).
All week we secretly harassed our wonderful board via email: "Be on time, please! Read your materials in advance, and have questions ready, please! If you are on the agenda, please keep things moving!" When most folks showed up EARLY for the meeting, everyone was stunned. What a great group of folks.
The meeting came to order on time at 4pm. Jon Nafziger, Kim Connolly, Leah Hill and I were the staff in the meeting with Cathy. As soon as the meeting started, the rest of our team sprang into action down the hall in the Ballroom. Alaina Schroeder, Lisa Frazier, Shaele Wood, Martha Trujillo, and Miriam Rushfinn rushed around, bringing in sound equipment, flowers, an electronic piano, etc. They arranged the room and coordinated with the great staff at the Omni.
Meanwhile, the Board meeting hummed along. Actually, it FLEW along. Suddenly we were way AHEAD of schedule, and on track to finish by 4:30pm! Darn those Board members for listening to us! I frantically texted the other room, and Jon coughed and rushed out to check on them. He came back a little pale, saying that the cake had not yet arrived, and they were still setting things up, and that the other guests had yet to arrive. Oh NO! With only a couple of quick agenda items left, it was up to Kim to stretch.
Kim had planned a very quick report on our upcoming marketing campaign. She was confident, whispering to us in the back of the room, "Don’t worry, I can talk and talk!" Boy, can she! She went on and on and ON. Cathy kept trying to catch her eye to tell her to wrap up, but Kim kept right on talking. She was great, and it was hilarious.
Mark Giles, our Chairman, was completely on the ball and asked another Board member for a quick report on a community event. This got us to exactly 5pm. Mark then launched right into an announcement about Cathy’s anniversary, which was Leah’s cue to start a special presentation about Cathy (hilarious photos) and my cue to text the other room to Get Ready.
After the presentation, Mark led us all down the hall to the Ballroom. Cathy was overcome. Shocked. Delighted. Embarrassed. Thrilled to see her daughter, who’d flown in that afternoon. It was great!
Cathy is absolutely beloved by her staff and by this community, and with good reason, as she is an incredible leader who has done so much to serve those in need. The party was such a happy event, with so many people so very pleased to honor her. I haven’t seen that many wide grins in a long time. The toasts were funny and touching, and Cathy’s remarks were extremely eloquent. I was, and am, so proud to work for the United Way- Thomas Jefferson Area.
Posted by Caroline Emerson.
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