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Posted on May 23, 2011 14:16
Community Connections: Spring Sprouts United Way Decisions
By Pam Kettering
Yankton Area United Way
Published: Thursday, May 19, 2011 1:13 AM CDT
The fruits of the labor by the 2011 campaign volunteers are working daily in the greater Yankton area to provide essential programs to our neighbors. The annual meeting of the United Way bid adieu to term – expired members, elected new members and placed board members in leadership positions. Volunteers throughout the community have been acknowledged and thanked for their overwhelming accomplishments at the Community Volunteer Celebration.
As winter progresses into spring, major decisions have and will be made by the United Way & Volunteer Services (UW & VS) Board of Directors. A decision was made to relocate the Nonprofit Center – our office plus ten additional nonprofit agencies – to the west end of the Marne Creek Professional Building, 610 W. 23rd St. The move will occur toward the end of June. Planning and preparation for the move is always percolating throughout the building.
Now, without missing a beat, the Allocation Committee is in the midst of determining agency funding for 2012! Even before the fundraising for 2012 has kicked off, the funding for the requesting agencies is decided. It begins with the agencies completing a 10 page Application for Allocation of United Way & Volunteer Services’ Funds plus a past, present, and future financial statement!
The first requirement of requesting agencies is that they are have a 501(c)(3) Internal Revenue status. With this status, all donations to United Way & Volunteer Services (UW & VS) are tax deductible. They are also required to submit their current Bylaws, Mission Statement, South Dakota Nonprofit Report, IRS Form 990, list of their Board of Directors, Nondiscrimination and Affirmative Action Policy, and Audit or Compilation. Unless it is a national fundraising event, they are not to conduct fundraising from September 1 through October 31. This is the time period of the UW & VS annual campaign; thus avoiding donation duplicity. For all fundraising events, the agencies are required to send a fundraising activity form to the UW & VS board at least one month before the event. The funded agencies are also to be represented at agency meetings, the campaign kick-off, and events that raise awareness to the cumulative group.
The above mentioned requirements are numerous and at times onerous. When the Allocation Committee has questions that are not answered in the agency request form, representatives of the agency are asked to meet for clarification or elaboration of an issue. After all of the request forms are reviewed and questions have been answered, the agencies are rated. After additional discussion, the 2012 agency allocations are established and taken to the UW & VS Board of Director’s meeting to be approved. The agencies are then notified of their 2012 allocation from the United Way.
The Campaign Committee also has challenging decisions to make this spring. How do we effectively share the work of the agencies in addressing the needs of the community, share the need for adequate support for these needs and direct efforts to best avenues possible to reach caring people of all ages? Past experience, new ideas, precious volunteer time and effort, compelling communication, plus lots of pictures and countless details set the agenda for this imperative annual event.
When the United Way & Volunteer Services’ Board of Directors make their decisions throughout the year, the focus is on our mission statement, “To promote voluntary giving and services to support human needs in the greater Yankton community,” and answer the question, “ARE THE AVAILABLE RESOURCES OFFERING THE BEST SERVICE POSSIBLE TO THOSE IN NEED?”
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