Hey "Care it Forward" Followers!

Thought it was time to give you an update since I’ve been MIA for a while!

I’ll be honest. I haven't had time to volunteer lately because I’m busy planning and organizing a huge day that encourages volunteering - United Way KW's 2nd annual Day of Caring.  This year's event will be even bigger and better thanks to our sponsor, Manulife Financial, and our partner, the Downtown Kitchener BIA.  I don't want to give too much away, but I will say that you won't want to miss the events going on in downtown Kitchener on Wednesday, September 21st.  Check out www.uwaykw.org for more details.

Back to caring it forward...

The importance of caring it forward really hit home when Goderich was recently devastated by a tornado.  We’ve been encouraging you to financially support the folks in Goderich through our text to give campaign.  Here’s another plug – if you can, please text "UCARE" to 45678 to donate $5.00 to those affected by the tornado.

I also want to encourage you to help the folks in Goderich by volunteering.  Simply call 211 and they’ll connect you with volunteer opportunities in that area.  If you do volunteer, be sure to send me your stories and photos so I can share them on my blog!

Until next time, keep caring it forward!

Meg

How we minimize fundraising costs to maximize donor dollars

At United Way KW, we aim to invest as many donor dollars as possible right back into our community. One way we do this is by keeping fundraising costs as low as possible.

Extraordinary volunteer commitment and numerous gifts-in-kind over the years have helped us keep these costs down. While the actual percentage fluctuates as revenue increases and decreases, we strive to keep our year-round fundraising costs at approximately 17%. This is evidenced by the audited financial statements available on our web site, which review the finances of our organization in great detail.

We’re able to keep costs low through opportunities such as:

·       working extensively with volunteers, including our Board of Directors, Finance and Audit Committee, Campaign Cabinet, Community Impact Council and Priority Impact Teams 

·       partnering with workplaces in our fundraising efforts

·       securing sponsorships and gifts-in-kind for events and operations

·       securing not-for-profit discounts from vendors and service providers

·       housing our office in space generously provided by the Marsland family at a significantly reduced cost

·       working continuously to improve the efficiency of our processes

·       incorporating our “Go Green” environmental initiative.

Cathy Snyder

CFO/CAO

Help Us Support the Citizens of Goderich

A message from our CEO, Jan Varner:

The town of Goderich lies disaster-stricken in the wake of an F3 Tornado that hit the community last Sunday. I find it hard to believe that the photos I see online and in the newspapers depict a once-idyllic location so near to my own home. The overwhelming personal and emotional loss suffered by the residents of Goderich extends far beyond the physical damage these images reveal. Like the buildings, their lives, too, need to be rebuilt.

In times such as this, with so many lives uprooted so close to home, we must step up and help each other. Please, put your caring into action. Text "UCARE" to 45678 to donate $5.00 to United Way Perth-Huron and let the citizens of Goderich know we're here to help them thorough this tumultuous time.

For more information, please refer to the media release on the our web site.

Jan

Year-Round Fundraising Efforts Strengthen Community Impact

With summer half over and the fall fast approaching, planning is well underway here at United Way KW for our annual workplace campaign.

I’ve had a few individuals approach me over the past year to inquire why we’re placing increased emphasis on year-round fundraising efforts, instead of just focusing on our popular fall workplace campaign. There are several very good reasons for this shift.

The philanthropy model we’ve used for many years - one based largely on workplace campaigns - limits our ability to raise increased funds. Our community is made up of many diverse types of workplaces and we know some individuals simply aren’t being reached through our traditional workplace campaign efforts. As well, some organizations find that fall just isn’t the right time of year for them to run a fundraising campaign.

So, while our fall workplace campaign continues to be our single largest - and most publicly recognized - method of fundraising, we’re also consciously stepping out of this historical campaign model to engage donors year-round. Through additional practices such as direct mail campaigns, special events, text-to-give, and sponsorship opportunities, we’re working aggressively to diversify revenue sources so we can expand our impact on community issues.

Cathy Snyder
CFO/CAO

Teledyne Dalsa Donates Social Media Student

Community Heroes abound! 
  
Be sure to check out the latest entry in our CEO's blog to learn more about two community heroes at Teledyne Dalsa - Patrick Myles and Neil Humphrey - and the unique program they've developed that's turning their co-op students into community heroes too!