United Way gives unexpected gift to Upstate agencies

By Angelia Davis, Staff Writer
Originally published 03/06/2011 in The Greenville News (subscription required)

United Ministries of Greenville has learned it is getting more money after several years of seeing donations for its program decrease.

The organization, which provides emergency assistance, adult education and employment readiness to people in need, is one of the 86 local agencies getting a one-time 5 percent increase on their annual allocations from United Way of Greenville County.

United Way said its successful 2010 fundraising campaign and better-than-projected savings are enabling it to distribute an extra $595,000 to local agency programs it already supports.

A total of $295,000 will be distributed to agency programs, ranging from therapeutic child care at A Child's Haven to the YW-Teen program at the YWCA of Greenville. That one-time gift is in addition to the annual funding the organizations are receiving.

Keith Trout, executive director of United Ministries of Greenville, said his organization will review its budget, determine where the needs are “most dramatic,” and apply the extra money to it. The options are primarily in emergency assistance, adult education and employment readiness, he said.

“In the last two years, with the economy being what it is, we have seen significant needs increase within the community — more people who need assistance with rent and utilities, groceries from our food pantry, and more people in our adult education and employment readiness programs,” Trout said.

“At the same time, the ability for people to make gifts has been diminished some, so when United Way is able to allocate additional funds to us, it's a real blessing and it could not come at a better time,” he said.

The 5 percent increase for the American Red Cross Upstate South Carolina means an additional $5,000, which translates to five families being helped in the event of a fire, said Ann Wright, chief executive officer of the American Red Cross Upstate South Carolina.

The Red Cross, on average, spends about $1,000 on families it assists with food, clothing, shelter and replacement medications, Wright said.

“So, this is really big for us,” she said. “I've worked with the Red Cross for 27 years and of course we've always been affiliated with United Way. I've never known this to happen. I just think it's beautiful.”

The United Way board will use the balance, about $300,000, to increase the amount of money available for programs for the 2011-12 funding period. Those decisions will be made by July 1, United Way leaders said.

Howard Boyd, United Way's board chair, said supporting the programs that help individuals, families and neighborhoods with immediate, essential needs is a critical part of United Way's commitment to help strengthen the community.

He is “thrilled to be able to announce the additional investment into our local programs.”

The United Way's 2009 and 2010 fund drives fell below goals, so it had to reduce its allocation to partner agencies.

But last fall, the organization raised a record-breaking $14.7 million.

“We were actually seeing a better-than-expected return on collecting pledges from prior year campaigns,” Posey said.

United Way also cut back on internal expenses. “All of these factors allowed us to save about $600,000 that we decided to put back into the agency programs,” he said.

Boyd said the decision to use the additional dollars to provide both immediate, one-time allocations and an increase in funding was an easy one.

“Our partners have worked diligently to minimize any reduction in services despite being in a very difficult economic environment,” he said. “We know these additional dollars will help them better serve the people of Greenville County both immediately and in the coming year.”