What is United Way of Camden County?
Who decides where the money goes?
How much of each contribution is spent on administrative costs?
Does United Way of America set policy for United Way of Camden County?
Who oversees financial and administrative activities at United Way of Camden County?
Why should I give? I’ll never need the services of a United Way agency.
If I need help immediately, what should I do?
How can I get involved in volunteer work?
Please explain the new Impact model.
What is a measurable outcome?
What is the Community Impact Fund?
What is the At-Risk Youth Initiative?
What is the Economic Self Sufficiency Initiative?
What are Core Community Needs?
Why did you eliminate funding to the Girl Scouts?
Why not give to an individual agency?

What is United Way of Camden County?
United Way of Camden County is a non-profit organization that brings together all our community’s resources to help build healthy children, strong families and safe neighborhoods. With the help of local experts, residents, service recipients, service providers, volunteers, individual, business and foundation supporters, we strategically address our community’s most pressing problems.

Who decides where the money goes?
People like you, right here in Camden County. Nearly 35 experienced volunteers from all walks of life undertake the lengthy, detailed process of studying our community’s needs, visiting current and potential United Way programs and reviewing each program’s goals and financial requests.

By the time the process is complete, more than 2,500 volunteer hours have been devoted to making the best decisions possible for our community. If you would like to serve as an allocations volunteer, you can do so, just by contacting United Way of Camden County.

How much of each contribution is spent on administrative costs?
When United Way of Camden County receives a $1.00, 85 cents is directed to programs that make a positive difference in the lives of Camden County residents in need. 15 cents out of every dollar covers administrative costs. It’s an investment well made when you consider that nationally the National Charities Information Bureau sets the maximum limit at 40 percent.

Does United Way of America set policy for United Way of Camden County?
No. Every decision at United Way of Camden County is made locally for the benefit of our community. United Way of Camden County is a separate, autonomous organization, governed locally by a volunteer Board of Trustees that oversees every aspect of the organization. The Board of Trustees is comprised of local business and community leaders, and assisted by more than 100 volunteers from the local community United Way of Camden County operates independently of the trade organization, United Way of America.

Who oversees financial and administrative activities at United Way of Camden County?
United Way of Camden County is governed by a volunteer Board of Trustees made up of donors, members of the business community, agency representatives and government officials from throughout the county. The board met – up until July 2002 – every month. It now meets every other month, but the Executive Committee continues to meet monthly. The Executive Committee is made up of Chairs from the Board Standing Committees that oversee each area of United Way business – fundraising, fund distribution, human resources, finance, auditing and marketing & communications.

The Finance Standing Committee meets monthly to review all financial activities and statements. A separate and distinct Audit Standing Committee oversees every aspect of the independent audit United Way of Camden County undergoes every year. The Audit Committee is responsible for the auditor selection process, the approval of the auditor engagement letter and oversight of all United Way’s activities regarding the audit. Once the audit is complete, the Audit Committee meets face to face with the auditor to discuss the results. The auditor then meets with the Executive Committee and the full Board to share findings and make recommendations.

United Way’s Human Resource Committee oversees all compensation, incentive and wage administration, as well as the development and maintenance of all position descriptions – including the president/chief professional officer’s. They also govern over staff performance appraisals and hiring procedures.

All standing committees, including the three listed above, report their activities to the Board at the bi-monthly meetings.

Why should I give? I’ll never need the services of a United Way agency.
None of us knows when or if we’ll need the services of a United Way agency. Indeed, one out of three Camden County residents will use the services of a United Way-funded agency at least once in his or her lifetime.

If I need help immediately, what should I do?
If you need help right now, dial 2-1-1 to reach the Camden County information and referral hotline operated by the Union Organization for Social Service or visit their searchable Community Information System website.

How can I get involved in volunteer work?
United Way of Camden County is a volunteer driven organization that recruits volunteers that play a variety of roles within the organization. For details on volunteer opportunities within United Way visit the UWCC volunteer section of our website.

The Volunteer Center of Camden County connects thousands of people to volunteer projects throughout the year. To find out about opportunities throughout Camden County visit their website or call us at (856) 663-9356.

For volunteer opportunities throughout the Delaware Valley region, visit volunteerway.org.

Please explain the new Impact model?
Traditionally, United Way has been thought of as a fundraiser – most people think about the dollars raised and the agencies that receive funds. However, we are now shifting from measuring success by how much the campaign raises and the results of individual programs to measuring success by the results we achieve in our community as a whole. We’ll be doing that by focusing on the root causes of the most serious problems to find solutions.

After a community assessment study was completed and numerous meetings were held with community leaders in business, government and social services, UWCC decided that instead of funding agencies by simply dividing up the money collected in the annual pledge drive, we would require that agencies submit proposals for funding for specific programs and as part of this proposal process they would provide information about measurable outcomes. Proposals were evaluated by committees of volunteers and grants were then distributed to the agencies running the programs that were felt to offer the best opportunities for positive change in the community.

What is a measurable outcome?
A measurable outcome is the change that is implemented rather than the service that is provided. For example, an after-school program may have 100 children enrolled, and previously, we measured that 100 children were provided with a program. Now, we’re more interested in how many of those children remained substance-free or were academically successful because of the program, which may only be a percentage of the children enrolled. Therefore, we are working with smaller numbers, but we’re measuring the actual impact that a program has on community members.

What is the Community Impact Fund?
This fund was established to provide money to programs that provide services that address UWCC’s new Impact model. Undesignated money in this account is used for the at-risk youth initiative, economic self sufficiency initiative and core community needs.

What is the At-Risk Youth Initiative?
The At-Risk Youth Initiative was established to help identify programs for funding that address several specific needs of the at-risk youth in Camden County aged 7-18. During our first year of funding, the programs we invest in will enable:

• 684 children to be academically successful
• 158 children to remain substance free
• 325 children to be law abiding
• 210 children to avoid early parenthood


What is the Economic Self Sufficiency Initiative?
The Economic Self Sufficiency Initiative was established to help identify programs for funding that break the cycle of government reliance and encourage self sufficiency for Camden County residents. During our first year of funding, the programs we invest in will enable:

• 387 individuals to achieve work readiness
• 299 individuals to obtain employment
• 252 individuals to achieve financial literacy
• 151 individuals to achieve adequate housing


What are Core Community Needs?
Core community needs are emergency services, food, clothing, shelter, childcare, healthcare, mental health services, substance abuse services, hospice services, disabled services, scouting, mentoring, disaster relief, crisis hotline and information and referral. Agencies that provide services that are outside of the scope of our two key initiatives but address the urgent care issues are eligible for grants from the Community Impact Fund.

Why did you eliminate funding to the Girl Scouts?
We did not eliminate funding to the Girl Scouts.

• As of this year, all agencies were required to submit proposals for funding and provide
  measurable outcomes for the number of people helped through their programs.
• The Girl Scouts submitted two separate proposals that were evaluated by committees of
  volunteers from the community who decided the proposals lacked details and the
  measurable outcomes required.
• To prevent a complete break in funding, $3,700 was allocated through the Core Community
  Needs Fund.
• The Girl Scouts declined to accept the allocated funds and sign the partnership agreement
  that accompanied them.
• The Girl Scouts will still receive nearly $10,000 in designated funds.
• Only 3% of the Girl Scout’s total budget comes from UW funding and 0.8% of that is derived
  from designations, which are unaffected.

Why not give to an individual agency?
There are four good reasons:
1. Oversight – Most donors do not have the time to be personally involved with a nonprofit
    agency in order to monitor the use of their charitable gift. United Way provides that
    oversight as a service to donors. United Way staff convenes community leaders to
    research needs, selects the most effective approaches to dealing with particular
    problems, and agencies best qualified to do the work.

2. Scope – When you give to a single agency, you touch only one piece of the problem. You
    help a child, but you don’t help the parent. Or you find someone a job but you don’t help
    them with day care. United Way funds a continuum of services so that the needs of the
    whole family can be met.

3. Reach – By giving through United Way, donors can make a difference on problems they
    care about as well as those that fall outside the course of their daily lives. United Way’s
    broader reach touches people whose lives we can only begin to imagine.

4. Leverage – Your gift will have more impact when pooled with those of other donors, so that
    agencies have funds to operate high quality programs. When you give to United Way, you
    build support for a Campaign that raises over $5 million per year in voluntary giving. United
    Way is most powerful when we bring communities together around a set of issues that
    can only be addressed collectively.