by Larry L. Hurley, Team C Chair and Vice Chair of the Impact Council Steering Committee.
Published in the January 2001 issue of microCHIP
I am a member of the MHCUG and a volunteer with United Way of Dutchess County (UWDC). There are many ways that we can support our community, such as donating money to or volunteering with UWDC. Both are equally important and equally necessary. I have been a volunteer with UWDC since the early 1990's. It has been, and continues to be, a very rewarding and personally enhancing experience.
I first began by helping with the campaign inside IBM. I then moved on to serve on fund raising teams as a "Loaned Executive" for two years. In that role I was trained by UWDC to help other companies in Dutchess County set up their fund raising campaigns—I became the interface between that company and UWDC.
For the past 5 years, I have worked with UWDC staff and numerous other volunteers to allocate the funds raised by UWDC. I have served as a committee member and as a chairperson on the various citizen review committees that are now known as Impact Councils.
Over these five years, I have learned a great deal about my Dutchess County community, the needs of its people, and the needs met by the various UWDC Member Agencies. One thing that is most apparent to me is that most of these agencies have only a handful of very dedicated people on staff, who all work very hard to deliver quality programs at a minimum cost.
The basic mission of UWDC is "to increase the organized capacity of people to care for one another."
One key way in which this is done is by raising money to help fund the many programs provided by the UWDC Member Agencies. However that is only one part of what UWDC does for the community. The UWDC also organizes a periodic county needs assessment and writes grant applications to obtain funding from other sources.
There is a lot of work to be done behind the scenes; that is why your help is needed.
UWDC itself has only a small staff—it augments its capacity through hundreds of dedicated volunteers. Some volunteers help raise the money; other volunteers help make decisions regarding the appropriate allocation of these funds.
So I want to encourage you to give to the community fund if you can, and also to volunteer a few hours of your time per month to serve on a committee.
UWDC's Community Fund is the pool of contributed dollars invested by trained volunteers in a strategic portfolio of the community's most effective human service programs. The result is a high return in changed lives and a measurable impact on the local quality of life.
A citizen review process is used to allocate the Community Fund Dollars to effective, efficient and high quality programs—progams that can demonstrate that they make a real impact in our community.
UWDC has been implementing a program evaluation system called Outcomes Based Measurement. This systematic approach involves the development of program logic models. These logic models help a Member Agaency develop clear, measurable data that will indicate a program's level of success. The development of these logic models helps a Member Agency clarify each program's purpose; that leads to improvements to or refinements in the program Ultimately this system produces more bang for each dollar invested: it results in a better return on our investment.
How does the UWDC's citizen review process work? A cross section of the community, represented by panels of volunteers called "Impact Councils", review hundreds of funding requests each year. These volunteers are trained by the UWDC to use the logical Outcomes Based Measurement method in their reviews.
Impact Council volunteers read written applications, examine budgets, conduct interviews with Member Agency staff, and visit program sites. They then make funding decisions, which are guided by the effectiveness, efficiency and quality of the programs as well as the latest data on human service needs.
Based on these Impact Council recommendations, the UWDC invests Community Fund dollars where they will do the most good for those who need it.
Where are the Community Fund dollars invested? They are invested across five funding priorities, which were determined by a survey of local human service needs. The pie chart below shows how a Community Fund dollar is invested across these funding priorities to achieve results you can see in changed lives and a healthier community.
To continue to succeed, UWDC needs your help as a volunteer. Even just a few hours a month can make a big difference in the lives of others.
While thinking about how to spend your valuable volunteer hours, please consider this: UWDC is different from other non-profits. As an organization of donors, UWDC builds a stronger, healthier community by taking a leadership role in mobilizing resources (including funds, expertise, volunteers, collaborations and public concern) and targeting them to achieve measurable benefits to our community.
You can be an important part of this: just call 471-1900 ext. 17 and tell them that you want to help with the citizen review process.
I hope to see you there soon—thanks in advance!
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