NON-PROFIT: United Way

The United Way: Serving the Community

| 2018 Q1 | story by Hank Booth | photos by Steven Hertzog

United Way – Jannette Taylor

The United Way of Douglas County has served many community organizations during its nearly 80 years of trying to accomplish one simple goal: Advance the common good by creating a better life for all. The human resources of local business worked together as the Lawrence Chamber of Commerce started the first Community Chest and in 1941 raised just over $9,000 for several local social service agencies.

In the early 1950’s it was renamed the Lawrence United Fund and raised about $46,000 for 11 community partners. Then in 1986, because of changing priorities and outreach by local-service organizations, it became the United Way of Douglas County. Today the mission is simple: Address the human service needs of Douglas County by mobilizing community resources and building partnerships among the agencies receiving United Way funding. There are three fundamental categories under which the agencies receiving funds operate. They are, Education, Health and Financial Stability. Volunteer engagement is the key element in all three.

The human resources of any fundraising activity are primarily volunteers. Organizing, training and motivating those volunteers is the responsibility of paid staff and in Lawrence/Douglas County that team is made up today of just six people earning salaries with an Americorp representative added in for working with those representatives who are basically volunteers. Consider the numbers of volunteers that offered their time and talents to the 2016 United Way Campaign. The numbers for the most recent campaign, which just ended, have not yet been tabulated. In 2016 there were 12 Campaign Executives who provided 600 total hours of volunteer time. Add in 60 Campaign Cabinet and Committee members who provided 480 total hours and 330 Employee Campaign Managers who provided approximately 4000 hours total. This is just the beginning of the vast volunteer work done to just raise the money. Now add in the volunteer time spent working for each the 29 agencies funded by the United Way, much of which is never measured, and it becomes clear that those who’s lives are made better by those agencies have to have the key human resource of volunteers. Without them nothing happens

The leader responsible for major changes in the organization of partnerships among United Way Agencies. Erika Dvorske, stepped down in January of 2017 and her permanent replacement, Jannette Taylor didn’t start her new job as President until September 11th last year. The United Way Campaign fund raising officially kicked off just two days later. Ms. Taylor had to be a very quick learner as she not only watched over the county fund raising effort of over $1 1/2 million, she faced a major reorganization of the entire internal staff of the United Way organization. By all reports, she’s done an excellent job and the annual meeting of the United Way Board of Director’s received a very positive report in late February.