Local United Way raises $28.5M to fight poverty

The latest United Way of Central Ohio campaign raised about $28.5 million to invest in local povertyfighting efforts, essentially matching the “dollarsto-mission” total of the previous campaign.

Officials said they weren’t surprised that the 2017 tally came up flat. The agency expects more bounce from its current campaign, the first that will reflect a series of organizational changes that seek to streamline fundraising by reducing the size of the staff, getting away from direct-service programs and boosting digital platforms.

“We do recognize that it’s a tough, competitive environment for philanthropy right now,” spokesman Kermit Whitfield said Wednesday. “We are reinventing United Way to make sure that we are more competitive.”

The dollars-to-mission total, which the agency describes as a local bottom line, was 58 percent of the overall campaign total of $49.1 million for 2017. That total was down from the previous overall campaign of $51.6 million, mainly because of a change in one large grant, Whitfield said.

Not all money collected through United Way campaigns flows to the agency’s chosen programs and efforts to reduce poverty. Many donors earmark their pledges for other nonprofit organizations and causes, locally and elsewhere, which removes that money from local United Way control.

Whitfield said the agency is ramping up its preparations for “generational changes” in the workplace by reaching out to younger workers and now has a 700-member-strong group of young professionals supporting United Way. A new digital platform to connect donors of all ages to United Way will be piloted this year, he said, and it eventually will allow both individual and corporate users to “manage all your philanthropy” on one site.

“I think, especially over the next year, we’re going to see tremendous change here,” Whitfield said.

The United Way also presented campaign awards during its annual celebration Tuesday at COSI.

Recipients were: Mettler Toledo, the corporate award of excellence; Boys & Girls Clubs of Columbus, the funded partner award of excellence; MBO Harris Bank, best new partner; Grange Insurance, the leadership giving award; KPMG LLP, impact partnership award; OCLC, Live United 365 award; Columbus Early Learning Centers, the Richard V. Carrick award; and Martyn Redgrave, volunteer of the year.