GALION — United Way of North Central Ohio is celebrating. Not only have they reached their Community Campaign goal, but they have exceeded it, closing out the annual campaign at 103 percent of goal.
Thanks to the generosity of 1,219 individual donors and 148 workplace campaigns, UWNCO is prepared to continue funding Bold Goal programs in Crawford, Marion, and Wyandot counties through 2023. They will also be able to facilitate and fund new collaborative programs working to find solutions to regional challenges in housing, transportation, childcare, and more.
Some funds will be held in reserve for emergency and small grant distribution throughout the funding cycle.
This is the first campaign since the COVID 19 pandemic for which United Way of North Central Ohio has met their annual goal.
“The community has really rallied for United Way this year. I feel like the changes we’ve made in the way our organization operates are working, and that our partners and donors are seeing that,” said Amber Wertman, executive director of United Way of North Central Ohio. “We’ve made a commitment to RBA [Results-Based Accountability] and I think corporate donors in particular appreciate our use of data and accountability in making funding decisions.”
Wertman and Leslie Schneider, UWNCO resource development director, recently distributed plaques to top corporate donors and workplace campaign participants, thanking them for their continued support of United Way and the community. Recipients included Stiger Precast Inc.; Trigo Inc.; Whirlpool Corporation; Ohio Mutual Insurance Group; Nucor Steel; Timken; Honda of America; Park National Bank; Sims Brothers; First Citizens National Bank; Kimmel Corporation; United Church Homes; Firelands Federal Credit Union; Stifel, Nicolaus & Company, Inc.; Tri-Rivers Career Center; Premier Bank (Marion); Community Counseling & Wellness Center; Dostal & Kirk; Fox Plumbing & Heating; Alluvial Private Wealth; Wyandot Memorial Hospital; Premier Bank (Upper Sandusky); and Civista Bank. A full list of all Community Campaign corporate donors is available at unitedwaynco.org under Recent News.
In May, local nonprofits and community collaborative organizations submitted applications for program funding for the UWNCO funding cycle beginning in July of 2022. Applications were reviewed and scored by a Community Impact Cabinet comprised of a diverse group of local volunteers, and a final allocation decision was made by the UWNCO board of directors. Grant awards will be announced in early August; a list of programs funded for 2022-2023 will be available at unitedwaynco.org at that time.
To celebrate the successful end of the campaign and allocations process and to launch the new Community Campaign, United Way is hosting a series of Open House events in each county they serve. These will be held from 5 to 7 p.m. on Friday, July 15 at 1803 Brewery & Taproom in Galion; Thursday, July 21 at Marion Brewing Company in Marion; and Thursday, August 4 at Fort 88 in Upper Sandusky.
All United Way donors, supporters, partners, and friends are welcome to attend.
