uwca.org
United Way of Central Alabama’s Board of Directors recently approved allocating $26.4 million to 71 partner agencies. The funding will support 249 programs within a five-county region that includes Jefferson, Shelby, St. Clair, Blount and Walker counties.
The funding recommendation was made by members of the UWCA Allocations Committee, led by Tracey Morant Adams, Sr. Executive Vice President and Chief Community Development & Corporate Social Responsibility Officer at Renasant Bank.
In 2019, over 500 community volunteers from more than 100 organizations reviewed United Way’s agency programs. The allocations will be invested in United Way’s four impact areas: 38 percent in health, 27 percent in education, 13 percent in financial stability, and 22 percent in access to services.
“We work hard to assure that United Way dollars are being used effectively throughout the UWCA five-county area,” said Morant Adams, “Our team is well-diversified and very committed to making sure the allocations process is fair and efficient—both to the UWCA partner agencies and to the hundreds of thousands of individuals served through the agency programs.”
Annually, agencies submit funding requests for specific programs. They provide detailed agency and program information and provide an on-site presentation to United Way’s Volunteer Allocation teams. The volunteers ask probing questions about agency management, measurable program results, how clients are served and the effectiveness of each program. This ensures donations are distributed fairly and to maximum effect. The meetings are always challenging because funding requests always exceed dollars to allocate.
The local United Way has received the highest possible scores from charitable rating services, such as Charity Navigator, because of its Visiting Allocation Teams. Along with holding the United Way accountable, community volunteers get to review partner agencies and personally hear testimonials from agency clients before they determine the allocations.
“United Way’s allocation to Childcare Resources is critical to our mission,” said Joan Wright, Executive Director of Childcare Resources. The organization was established as an outgrowth of a childcare task force, convened by United Way of Central Alabama, and received its first allocation in 1984.
“The funding from United Way affords our agency the opportunity to best fulfill our mission to meet the demands for services from our agency. In the absence of this significant portion of our annual budget, we would not be able to meet the needs of the community for quality and affordable childcare. United Way founded our agency and is still the primary reason we exist today,” said Wright.
Childcare Resources supports over 2,800 children by providing information, education, and assistance to families, providers of childcare, and the community and is just one of the 249 agency programs that receive funds through an annual allocation from United Way.
To learn more about United Way Visiting Allocation teams and ways you can support our community through United Way, visit www.uwca.org.
