United Way plans to continue involvement in southwest after closure of Swift Current office
The United Way plans to continue efforts to improve lives and to build community in southwest Saskatchewan after the closure of the Swift Current office on Dec. 31.
The Swift Current United Way has been working with community partners for over 50 years to improve the social and economic conditions of area residents, but the operation of an office in the city has become more difficult in recent times. Two resolution were accepted at a special public meeting on Dec. 19 to close down the organization and to transfer any remaining assets to the United Way Regina.
According to Swift Current United Way Executive Director Stacey Schwartz a bequest from the John “Jack” Pratt estate has been used since 2012 to fund operational costs, which made it possible to use 100 per cent of donations and fundraising dollars to fund local programs. At the end of 2017, the funds from the bequest ran out and it prompted a review of the organization's future.
“So this year, 2018, was financially a really restricting year,” she said after the meeting. “Even staffing, we had to cut down hours just to make ends meet so that we could still put back 100 per cent of what we raised through the Foundation of Hope Gala and donations into these programs.”
Discussions took place during the past 12 months, both within the Swift Current United Way and the broader United Way organization, to create a transition plan that will ensure an ongoing community impact in southwest Saskatchewan without the physical presence of an office.
“We just felt that was the most sustainable decision going forward of how we could still look at how that impact can advance in 2019, without taking away from our community resources by trying to keep our local doors open,” she said. “It just didn’t make sense for us of taking away those dollars when we know that there’s other supports around the province in the United Ways that can help do some of these back end office things and also allocate those dollars back into the community.”
She noted the Swift Current United Way faced challenges with regard to fundraising and finding enough board members.
The net profit of $60,000 for the 2018 Foundation of Hope gala was the lowest in the four-year history of the event. She felt these difficulties were a combination of an economic slowdown and the different options available to people to support charitable causes.
“What I've seen is our community is very self motivated and takes initiative,” she said. “So there's a lot of opportunities for people to get involved, there's a lot of non profits, there's a lot of programs, there's a lot of service clubs. So what I saw was just a change partly from the economy, but also I think people are very involved in a lot of things and I think also the donor generation is changing. It's a lot more accessible and there's a lot more options what you can contribute.”
Swift Current United Way has raised over $2.5 million since 1967 to support different programs in the community. The final distribution of $65,000 from funds raised during 2018 took place at the special public meeting. There were cheques for eight local community partners. Seven of them received the full amount requested and the allocation to one organization fulfilled 75 per of the funding submission.
“So we're quite happy with that, considering the year,” she said. “It was a harder year financially and we kind of were expecting that with the economy and just seeing the transition over the last couple of years. So the fact that we could fill those grant requests and really end on that high note, and the non-profits even for them to have that 12 month advance notice, because this is for 2019 programs. So they now have at least 12 months to kind of figure out where they can get those dollars for 2020 programs.”
Schwartz still felt optimistic about the future of the United Way in southwest Saskatchewan after the closure of the Swift Current office.
“It makes sense to me, the change that’s happening,” she said. “What we can do with our little office and one staff person, it’s not sustainable. ... We've been able to make it work, but the community impact has absolutely been impacted, or limited to what we could do because of that. So I guess I don't really have a fear. I see there's more opportunity, because now we're partnering and we’re working with bigger United Ways that have the resources. They already have the existing programs that are working in their communities and so I just see opportunity for them to bring some of those into our communities and impact these areas.”
Long-time Swift Current United Way board member Archie Green carried out his duties for a final time at the special public meeting. He has been an active member of the organization since shortly after its establishment in 1967.
"I feel a little remorse, a little sad I guess, but that's the way society goes,” he said about the closure of the Swift Current office. “Things change and you have to adapt to it.”
There were many individual instances over the years where he felt good about his involvement with the Swift Current United Way, but the best moments were always when the cheque presentations were made to partner organizations in the community.
“When you could present them with a cheque that was more than their budget and what they were asking for, that's when you really felt good, because you felt you were really contributing to make things run nice and smooth,” he said.
He referred to the Day of Caring event as a highlight of the Swift Current United Way's activities, because a lot of people volunteered to carry out tasks for local community agencies and during the last few years the Foundation of Hope gala was a memorable occasion.
“In general, if you could satisfy the requirements for the agencies that were part of the United Way over the years, I think that was the most satisfying part of the whole operation,” he said. “You knew that money was going to a good cause and everybody was very pleased to see the cheque being presented. That always made you feel good.”
United Way Regina CEO Robyn Edwards-Bentz attended the special public meeting. She noted that United Way offices across the province are working together to ensure that the organization will continue to have a presence in communities.
“The actual entity of the United Way Swift Current will discontinue, but we will continue to work with partners in the community and have a United Way presence and build community here too,” she said.
The United Way still needs to work out many of the details of that ongoing presence in southwest Saskatchewan.
“So we will want to engage and establish relationships and really work with the community in the best possible way, and so I think there’s lots of conversations that will happen in 2019 just to determine how we do that,” she said.
She acknowledged it will not be easy to ensure an ongoing visibility for the United Way in southwest Saskatchewan after the closure of the Swift Current office.
“That’s the biggest challenge, but with some work, and honestly it will take collaboration and partnership with those that live in Swift Current to make sure that the presence is here and the heart of what we do -volunteering and building community -- remains here,” she said.
“So although there might be challenges at the beginning, it has been successful in other communities and it has happened before, and I do believe that it’s about rallying the community around a common purpose, and that’s something that we’re really good at as an organization, and this should be no different.”
Both the United Way organizations in Swift Current and Weyburn will dissolve at the end of 2018. According to Edwards-Bentz there were about 10 United Way locations in the province in 2000 and after these two closures there will be five still in operation in the Battlefords, Saskatoon, Regina, Estevan and Yorkton.
“We have to find ways to be innovative, and it doesn’t change that we still need to advance our mission, that we are really important in communities across the province, but our presence might look different,” she said. “The way we support and serve may have to change, but the need is growing, we know that, in communities across the country, and so we have to be present. We have to do what we need to do to innovate and find new ways to help people that need help.”
Registered charities in southwest Saskatchewan can still apply for United Way funding in 2019 by contacting the United Way Regina office. All donations and funds raised in Swift Current and the southwest will be invested back into the communities where it came from.
“That's a foundational principle of United Way,” she emphasized. “No matter where you are, if you make a donation and you want to make it go back to your home community we absolutely make sure that happens. So that part is always the first question, but funds that are raised in the community, stay in the community. So we have adapted our process to make sure that that can happen.”