The United Way of Umatilla & Morrow Counties wants to do more for local organizations, but needs help from the community to do so.
“If we don’t get it, we can’t give it,” said Kricket Nicholson, executive director of United Way of Umatilla & Morrow Counties.
Board Chairman Joe Zoske said programs rely on United Way to provide them with needed funding.
“When we decreased funding to 10 local programs last year, people wanted to know why, and not receiving the money to distribute was the bottom line,” Zoske said. “Most of our local nonprofits are relatively small and operate on shoestring budgets, with a minimal staff or volunteer force. They don’t have the resources to do constant fundraisers in order to keep going, they just need to concentrate on providing quality services. That’s where United Way comes in – it’s our job to raise money for them.”
This year’s fund-raising goal is $300,000. Last year, United Way was only able to distribute $94,402.
“We took a lot of flak last year from folks who were disappointed that we couldn’t do more,” said Nicholson. “We weren’t punishing any of the programs. Deciding where the money would go was a long and tedious process, based on many factors.”
“It was a lot easier to make funding decisions when we had $350,000 to distribute than when we had $94,000,” said Zoske.
United Way of Umatilla and Morrow Counties sole purpose is to raise funds so local charities can continue to provide much needed services. Those funds are raised through and annual fundraising campaign each fall.
“We ask once a year, but those donations work all year around,” Nicholson said.
When giving to United Way you can specify what kind of services you want to support (Emergency Assistance, Successful Kids or Tools for Independence). You can even specify the exact organization you want your donation to support.
Participating in the annual campaign is easy – send a check, set up a monthly bill pay, sign up for the payroll deduction plan through your HR department at work, go to the United Way website and click on DONATE.
“It doesn’t matter HOW you give, it just matters that you give in order to keep these services available in your community,” said Nicholson.
A list of organizations that received funding from last year’s UW campaign can be obtained by sending an e-mail to unitedwayumco@eoni.com with ‘Funding List’ in the Subject line. Call 541-276-2661 for more information.
