ON THE ROAD TO BOLD IMPACT

Welcome to United Way of North Central Ohio’s Community Campaign!

Thank you for your interest in the 2023-2024 United Way of North Central Ohio Community Campaign. As you consider making a donation, we’d like to share some information about United Way of North Central Ohio and the 2023 Community Impact Projects & Programs made possible by your gift.

The donation form will allow you to designate your donation for use in one of the three counties we serve – Crawford, Marion, & Wyandot – as well as designate your donation for a particular Bold Goal impact area.

“Everything we do in the community is through the support of our donors. Donors have an integral place at the United Way table, helping to shape our mission and drive the direction of our impact funding.”

Amber Wertman, UWNCO Executive Director

Dear North Central Ohio Community Member:

Our 2023-2024 United Way of North Central Ohio Community Campaign is officially launched! After two successful post-pandemic campaigns, we’ve set our sights a little higher this year with a new goal for the new campaign and big plans for bold impact.

PEOPLE ARE OUR HEART, DONATIONS ARE OUR OXYGEN
Our work relies on the compassion, creativity, and commitment of our staff, local nonprofit impact partners, community members, and volunteers to facilitate significant impactful change in the region and to ensure every member of our community experiences a life lived to the fullest potential.
While people are the heart of our work, donations are the oxygen. We are counting on the continued generosity of residents and businesses across the region for help funding the Bold Goal programs and projects working to fill Crawford, Marion, and Wyandot with successful children, healthy families, and self-sufficient residents.

ALICE IN OUR COMMUNITY
At UWNCO, we are committed to serving the needs of ALICE households in our community. ALICE means Asset-Limited, Income Constrained, and Employed. ALICE families are working but not earning enough to keep abreast of the rising costs of living. Read more about ALICE in Ohio on the last panel of this mailer.

UNITED FOR IMPACT
In keeping with our commitment to collective impact, we actively fund and facilitate UWNCO United for Impact community coalitions in the region. Current United for Impact coalitions include groups working on transportation, housing, and child care.

We hope you consider supporting your community with a gift to United Way and urge you to advocate for #BoldGoal impact by sharing our mission with family and friends. Together we can make real change in the lives of real families in north central Ohio. #LiveUnited

Amber Wertman
Executive Director
United Way of North Central Ohio
amber@unitedwaynco.org

Leslie Schneider
Resource Development Director
United Way of North Central Ohio
leslie@unitedwaynco.org

THREE BOLD GOALS

All of the programs and initiatives funded by your donations to UWNCO support one or more of our Bold Goals, working to fill the community with Successful Children, Healthy Families, and Self-Sufficient Residents.

  • SUCCESSFUL CHILDREN. Long-term solutions to the challenges our community faces begin with supporting children. Our number one Bold Goal at UWNCO is a community filled with successful children. Your donations fund programs working to improve early childhood literacy rates, providing positive mentorship opportunities, and increasing rates of kindergarten readiness and high school graduation.
  • HEALTHY FAMILIES. Healthy communities are successful communities. Every person in our region deserves a safe, warm place to live, dependable access to nutritious food and necessities, and healthcare for mind and body. Your gifts support programs working for safe and affordable housing, increased quality of life, and vibrant neighborhoods for our community.
  • SELF-SUFFICIENT RESIDENTS. Families and individuals in our community face financial obstacles every day. Our Community Campaign funds programs working to put every person in our community on the path toward financial empowerment and self-sufficiency, starting with access to services, job training, and credit counseling and money management programs.

45+ PARTNERS, PROGRAMS, & COMMUNITY INITIATIVES

Your gift to United Way of North Central Ohio is combined with donations from other generous residents and helps fund Bold Goal programs in Crawford, Marion, and Wyandot counties.

Donations will also help facilitate and fund collaborative initiatives working to find solutions to regional challenges in housing, transportation, childcare, and more. In addition to our funded community impact partners, we distribute emergency funding to local non-profits throughout the funding year and offer one-time sponsorship of community projects with Bold Goal impact.

With your help, we are tackling the biggest systemic challenges in our region and building a community filled with successful children, healthy families, and self-sufficient residents.

BOLDGOAL1: SUCCESSFUL CHILDREN.

Mid-Ohio Youth Mentoring • BPL Music, Movement & More • CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates) • MPL Let’s Read 20 • OHCAC Weekend Backpack Program • Junior Achievement of North Central Ohio • PatchWorks House • GCT Youth Theatre Production • YWCA Family Learning Labs • Boys & Girls Club Formula for Impact • Safety City of Marion, Ohio • Marion Mentors • Marion Voices in the Schools • ROX (Ruling Our Experiences) • MCCS Foster Family Mentoring • Peace & Freedom Committee • Sara Beegle Child Care Center • Royal Family Kids • Imagination Library • Storytime at the Jer-Zee • Marion County Child Care Coalition • Believe in Students, Faculty and Students Together (BIS/FAST) Fund

BOLDGOAL2: HEALTHY FAMILIES

CCCOA Home Delivered and Congregate Meals • RSVP (Retired & Senior Volunteer Program) • CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates) • Crawford Public Health QPR Suicide Prevention Training • OHCAC Weekend Backpack Program • Turning Point • Marion Victim Assistance Program • CCSG Food Pantry & Emergency Utility Assistance • PatchWorks House • GCT Youth Theatre Production • YWCA Family Learning Labs • Community Center for the Deaf & Hard-of-Hearing • Heart of Ohio Homeless Shelter • LifeCare Alliance Meals-on-Wheels & Congregate Dining • American Red Cross Disaster Response Services & Home Fire Preparedness • LASC Safety & Stability for Women • Safety City of Marion, Ohio • Mobile Meals of Marion County • MCCS Foster Family Mentoring • Peace & Freedom Committee • First Step • Sara Beegle Child Care Center • Community Health Improvement Plan • 2-1-1 Local Help & Resources • Caledonia Farmers Market • Marion Housing Coalition • New Washington Community Food Pantry • Marion County Child Care Coalition • Marion Microfarm Project

 

BOLDGOAL3: SELF-SUFFICIENT RESIDENTS

Crawford Works & Crawford Workforce Support Services • Junior Achievement of North Central Ohio • Marion Matters Getting Ahead Community Navigation • Marion County Transportation Coalition • Pay it Forward Project • Community Opportunity • Marion County Child Care Coalition • Believe in Students, Faculty and Students Together (BIS/FAST) Fund

Your donor dollars at work.

This series of short videos offer a glimpse into the Bold Goal impact our funded projects and programs are having across the community.

ALICE IN OHIO

ALICE stands for Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed. The more than 16,000 ALICE households in our region are working but not earning enough to keep up with the cost of living. Another 6500+ households in Crawford, Marion, and Wyandot are earning below the Federal Poverty Level.

Nearly half of the households in our tri-county area live below the poverty level or struggle to make ends meet as ALICE families. Our Bold Goal community impact partners are working to help these families navigate emergencies and find solid ground on their paths to financial stability.

ALICE struggles go deeper than finances. 23% of ALICE households reported feeling depressed and anxious every day, compared to 13% of respondents who could afford basics.
Nov 22 Household Pulse Survey

YOU KNOW ALICE.
ALICE can be any age, race, or ethnicity. ALICE families look just like yours, and at nearly one in three households in our tri-county area, chances are they are your neighbors, coworkers, classmates, and friends.

ALICE families can easily fall from the “benefit cliff,” losing public benefits they count on when a small wage increase moves them beyond an income threshold. This makes it harder for them to make ends meet, even as their salary increases.

Learn more about ALICE in Ohio at unitedforalice.org/ohio.

THE COLLECTIVE IMPACT OF YOUR DONATION

At UWNCO, we use RBA (Results-Based Accountability) to make sure your donor dollars are making a large and lasting impact in the community.
RBA measures the success of funded projects and programs and can indicate when a change of focus is needed. We also use RBA to evaluate our internal organization – the RBA process identifies what’s working and helps us fix the things that aren’t.

Collective impact is central to our work at UWNCO and relies on the collaborative efforts of local agencies, organizations, government, and community members to bring measurable bold impact to the region. By funding and facilitating programs and projects following the collective impact framework and using RBA as a measurement tool, we are building communities filled with successful children, healthy families, and self-sufficient residents.

United Way of North Central Ohio is an independently incorporated non-profit organization governed by a board of local volunteers and staffed by individuals who live and work in the communities we serve. We are 100% local – donations to United Way help improve life for neighbors and friends in Crawford, Marion, and Wyandot counties.

United Way of North Central Ohio has earned a Candid Platinum Seal of Transparency and our staff members are certified in RBA.

Blue and gray logo reading Clear Impact Academy and Certified Results-Based Accountability Professional

Special thanks to our UWNCO Bold Goal Champions.