This month I had the honor of performing one of my favorite duties as chair of your United Way Board and signed the 2019 Partner Agency Agreements. This act was the culmination of a three month process to thoughtfully and responsibly distribute your donations. On December 3rd 2018, your United Way Director began taking applications from nonprofit agencies in Jefferson and Northern Walworth counties for board and community review. When the application process closed on January 18th, 33 local agencies had applied.
In February, we invited community members to help us interview all of those agencies. It is a remarkably humbling experience – there are so many wonderful programs in our community! In March, the Board held our annual allocation meeting, where we once again go over the applications, look at the financials and history of the requesting agencies, and do our very best to distribute your donations where they will work the hardest to strengthen our community.
This is the best, and the most difficult, part of serving on the United Way Board. Every single organization that applied is doing WONDERFUL things for our communities, but we can’t fully fund every agency that serves you. Thanks to your generosity, your United Way had a record setting campaign this year and we will be able to give more help to our neighbors, our friends, and our community than ever before.
In the end, we sent out 30 Partner Agency Agreements!
Think of that – the dollars that you donated are going to help THOUSANDS of people through the work of 30 agencies right here in our very own communities.
I hope that warms your heart as much as it does mine.
As always, I am truly humbled, and I thank you for entrusting me with the stewardship of your donations.
Penny Ardelt,
United Way Board Chair
Customer Service Supervisor
First Citizens State Bank
