Despite national name, United Way funds stay local
The United Way of the Lower Eastern Shore is so big and does so much for the community, it's hard for some people to wrap their heads around what the organization does.
"People will say, 'I know United Way. You all do great things. But actually what do you do?'" said Kathleen Mommé, the group's executive director. "A lot of people think it is one big group because you see the NFL and the football players and the advertising."
It isn't. What the Salisbury-based organization raises stays in the lower four counties.
That includes work it does on its own as well as contributions it sends to 74 programs through 28 agencies. Locally, the United Way's focus is on health, education and financial stability.
The group is among Delmarva's top five favorite charities for 2016, according to a DelmarvaNow online reader poll.
As the calendar year winds down, so too does the time to make financial contributions that will count toward this year's tax bill. This article is part of a series that gives some of the region's most deserving causes an opportunity to share their stories — and make last-minute pitches to potential donors.
Mommé spoke about how the United Way stays focused on the region's biggest social problems.
What does the United Way do here on the Shore?
The United Way brings the community together to care about one another, if it can be that simple.
We are still outside of government the largest funder of local nonprofits. That is a testament to our community. United Way is needed, but if it wasn't for the caring community we live in we wouldn't be as successful as we are.
In the United States, we are 1,400 separate nonprofit organizations. Every dollar we raise stays here.
How do you raise money?
It's not just those in top management or six-figure salaries. Right now, we have 268 organizations that offer their employees a chance to give to United Way. It is heartwarming for me to see that. We have the person on the line at the Perdue plant. We have the guy in brown driving the UPS truck.
And we have people on minimum wage saying, "I can't do it at this level, but at this level I can make a difference."
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Do you provide direct services or contract to other groups?
We're active in all these areas. We fund programs, and we also directly provide programs ourselves where there's a void and we see a need.
One of our key indicators is health literacy. We have people in our community that don't understand their prescription, that don't know they have to take it three times a day. They don't understand what the doctor told them.
We are working right now in a collaborative way with BEACON (Business Economic and Community Outreach Network at Salisbury University), PRMC (Peninsular Regional Medical Center) and United Way to create a train the trainer program, so we can get this health literacy information out into the community.
What's with all the presents in your office?
It's like Santa's workshop going on because we have a group called Emerging Leaders who adopt — we don't choose the children; they're vetted through the Board of Ed and Epoch Dream Center — and there are 57 children they are doing Christmas for.
How do you choose what to fund?
We don't fund programs that don't have proven results. We're very much into measurements, which is hard when you're a charity. And we hold any program that we fund accountable.
For example, with Big Brothers Big Sisters, it is proven that children in that program that grades go up and referrals to the program go down. It's not rocket science; it works.
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Who makes the decisions around here?
I was giving a mini-orientation to a new board member last week. One of the things is the past presidents since 1944 when we began. Of all these volunteer leaders who have helped build the foundation of where we are today, it was ironic. I have chills still thinking about it.
Donna Hanlin, our new (Wicomico) superintendent of schools, was the one coming on our board. And she said, "Oh my!" The board president who started in 1944 through 1947 was her grandfather, George Chandler. How cool is that!
What's the biggest unique challenge you face?
Seventy-five percent of what people give us comes through their workplace. Our unique challenge is we don't have as many long-term employees as we used to. We don't have a lot of large companies here. We have a transient workforce. We have people who are working from home. We don't have people, if you call it, a company man.
That's something we need to capture the opportunity for people to give and make it easy.
How important is this time of year for giving?
It is the time of year people at their workplace sign up. This is the time of the year (September-December) that it's about 90 percent of the dollars we raise are pledged or contributed.
This brings the spirit of Christmas to our community all year long.
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What is the United Way of the Lower Eastern Shore?
Mission: "To create and enhance opportunities for making a positive and lasting impact in education, financial stability and health for all," per the mission statement.
Location: Salisbury
Areas served: Dorchester, Somerset, Wicomico and Worcester counties
Employees: 8
Volunteers: More than 400
Annual budget: About $2 million
How to give: Visit unitedway4us.org/give