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The United Way of Boyertown Area has a long history of supporting the local agencies that provide much needed services to the Boyertown School District Area. As far back as 1932, community volunteers raised funds for the Boyertown Community Chest to benefit Boyertown service agencies. In October 1958, it was rechartered as the United Community Chest Fund of Boyertown Area and renamed the United Way of Boyertown Area in 1979. It is a tax exempt, non-profit organization registered with the IRS as a 501-3C organization. During it’s almost 80 years of existence, it has performed a function identical to other community-based United Ways throughout the United States:
- • Using volunteer help, funds are raised in the
community to support programs in local agencies that
benefit people in the community. The local agencies
are non-profit and each must meet a rigorous set of
eligibility requirements to become (and remain) a member
agency.
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- • An annual fund-raising campaign is conducted
from mid-September through the end of November. The
campaign is chaired by a volunteer from the community
who may also be a member of the Board of Directors.
This Campaign Chair is assisted by several division
chairpersons and many team member volunteers who are
responsible for soliciting within a defined group of
businesses, professionals, residential and others in
the community. Contribution goals are set for each
group, and for the campaign as a whole and progress
is reviewed in weekly meetings throughout the campaign
period. Campaign groups and goals have changed over
the years reflecting the change from many larger employers
who needed help running their own internal campaigns
to more smaller businesses with fewer employees per
business who need to be contacted. This loss of some
of our larger businesses in the Boyertown area has
also forced the campaigns to increase their focus on
residential and designations back to the Boyertown
area. To continue to help meet the expanded need for
service agency support, the campaign goals have increased
over the years from $3,000 in the 1930’s to well over
$300,000 in the 2000’s.
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- • Year-round, the Public Relations Committee provides
leadership in carrying out the Board of Director’s
vision of building a caring community by developing
and implementing a plan to keep the community informed
and involved in the activities of the United Way of
Boyertown Area. They sponsor/participate in events
like the Unity Walk, No Place for Hate Day and the
Boyertown Sidewalk Expo and Sale and give periodic
press releases to keep the community informed on their
activities and events.
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- • The Financial Committee is responsible for ensuring
the United Way of Boyertown Area is fiscally accountable
and fulfills all legal and regulatory requirements.
In addition, the Committee ensures an annual independent
audit is performed and all improvement recommendations
are implemented promptly.
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- • The Nominating Committee develops the new
leaders of the United Way of Boyertown Area by identifying
new members, assisting in their orientation and training
and mentoring these members to become high performance
leaders.
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- • The Community Impact Committee led a recent needs
assessment to determine the highest priority needs
in our local area. Local community agencies, businesses,
township leaders, police and area clubs were all involved
in this effort to identify the most critical needs
our United Way of Boyertown Area funds should meet.
A Boyertown Area Service Cooperative was formed in
2008 and meets five times a year to coordinate agency
activities, events, and programs to ensure community
services are provided in the most efficient and effective
way. A weekly, non-profit events Community Calendar
is e-mailed to interested parties. (Please e-mail Kenhuwba@dejazzd.com to add your name):
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- • Member agencies who have programs that are meeting
these critical needs or who develop new programs to
meet a needs gap complete requests for funding and
submit them in December. These requests require a detailed
description of the organization, financial statements,
and a specific description of the program, how the
funding will be used and the impact of the program
on the critical needs. Then after the campaign is finished,
the Allocation Committee meets with all agencies and
even visits some of their locations before making recommendations
as to the funding.
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There are currently 16 member agencies being funded by the United Way of Boyertown Area.
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