For release July 12, 2013

United Way commits over $1.8 million in Community Investment Funding;

Additional Distributions will bring 2013-2014 commitments to $2.4 million

Date: The Greenwich United Way Board of Directors has approved $1,838,974 in distributions for programs in 2013-2014 to help meet the health and human service needs of the Greenwich community as recommended by the Community Investment Committee. According to United Way President Stuart Adelberg, this sum represents the largest piece of the total funds that will be invested locally, made possible by contributions made to the Greenwich United Way’s 2013-2014 community-wide fund-raising campaign that begins later this summer.

The over $1.8 million in this first distribution will be invested in 24 organizations to provide specific services available to the Greenwich community.  Funding levels for these particular programs were determined by twenty-five volunteers serving on the Community Investment Committee which was headed this year by Stephanie Rogen, a member of the United Way board and veteran of Community Investment process. They spent months reviewing proposals from local agencies, visiting program sites and deliberating on the most compelling requests and effective uses for Greenwich United Way funds.  They were guided by documentation of local needs as published in the United Way 2011 Assessment of Human Service Needs and State of Greenwich Statistical Report, and 2013 Needs Assessment Update available at www.unitedway-greenwich.org.

DISTRIBUTIONS BY FIELD OF SERVICE

The Board approved the recommended distribution of $707,650 for programs in the service field Strengthening Children and Families.  Local agencies that provide services in this category include the Boys and Girls Club, Child Guidance Center, Family Centers, the Girl Scouts, Kids in Crisis, Liberation Programs, the Greenwich Family Y, and the YWCA of Greenwich.

$454,300 was approved for programs in the Assisting Individuals in Crisis service field, including the Food Bank of Lower Fairfield County, Family Centers, the Greenwich Chapter of the American Red Cross, the Child Guidance Center, Kids in Crisis, the Shelter for the Homeless, the Center for Sexual Assault Crisis Counseling and Education, the Domestic Abuse Service of the YWCA, and CT Legal Services.

$472,427 will be distributed for programs in the service field  Fostering Self-Sufficiency, including Community Centers, Inc., Abilis, the Transportation Association of Greenwich (TAG), Pathways, Literacy Volunteers, and Neighbor to Neighbor.

The $144,538 allocated for Supporting Seniors programs will be distributed among organizations including Greenwich Adult Day Care, TAG, Jewish Family Services, Greenwich Family Y, the American Red Cross, and the Family and Children’s Agency homebound monitoring program.

An additional $60,059 will be invested in Core Services offered by Community Answers, Infoline/211 and the Volunteer Center of SW Fairfield County, to support around-the clock-information and referral, crisis intervention, and volunteer recruitment/placement/training.

Approximately $2.4 Million to be Invested in Total this Year

This round of funding does not include an additional $550,000, approximately, that the organization will invest locally in other ways, including the Greenwich United Way Early Childhood and Youth Services Initiatives, Agency Support Efforts, Community Planning and Impact Initiatives, Critical Needs Grants that will be distributed later in the year, and an additional sum directed to specific agencies by individual donors.

In total the United Way anticipates putting approximately $2.4 million to work in the community throughout the fiscal year that started July 1, 2013.

In making this announcement, Greenwich United Way President and CEO Stuart Adelberg said “Though the United Way is thrilled to be able to put this level of funding to work in the Greenwich community, we acknowledge that the needs are great and wish we were in a position to do even more.  Our partner agencies are doing everything possible to meet the growing needs of our most vulnerable residents and it is only with the continued generosity of local United Way donors that we are able to help sustain these vital programs.”

Eighty Years of Sustaining the Community’s “Many Forces for Good”

Begun in 1933 as the Community Chest and Council, the Greenwich United Way has grown to become the largest local non-government source of funding for local health and human service programs. 2013 marks the 80^th year the community has relied on the leadership and expertise of United Way volunteers in researching and identifying local needs, driving planning efforts, uniting constituencies to develop effective solutions, and raising the funds to implement them.

The United Way actively supports dozens of programs provided by prominent agency partners, many of whom came into being as a result of United Way research, planning and coordination.  It is estimated that more than one third of the people living in Greenwich benefit directly from the United Way’s work.