Unite Magazine 2018 Issue 1

2018, ISSUE I

UNITE Central Ohio

HELPING PEOPLE get GOOD JOBS Part of the Plan in LINDEN

Fresh FUNDRAISING

POWERING

SOCIAL ENTERPRISE LINC member Kyle Willis brings the joy of reading to children.

Read more inside about the rise of the giving and volunteering group focused on young professionals.

FRESH FUNDRAISING United Way has long been synonymous with workforce campaigns. For decades, donors have been able to quickly and easily give throughout the year through payroll deduction at their organization.

But as the fundraising landscape continues to change rapidly, United Way of Central Ohio is responding by developing new and different ways for people to give and empower local nonprofits.

DRIVE UNITED Drive United is a raffle with a big payoff — a 3-year lease of a 2017 Jeep Wrangler, valued at approximately $12,000.

United Way used the power of online communication and social media to get the word out. Having a little star power didn’t hurt either. Jeni Britton Bauer the founder of Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams served as the enthusiastic spokesperson for the raffle by starring in a high-energy video that was viewed by thousands where she drove to local landmarks in the Wrangler. The star power didn’t end there. Honorary Campaign Chair (and basketball legend) Clark Kellogg pulled the winning ticket.

HOLLYWOOD CASINO GIVING BOXES Casino patrons often end up with cash tickets of small value at the end of an evening of gaming. Instead of cashing them in, they often just toss them. Now they can donate them to United Way. In a first for a casino in Ohio, Hollywood Casino Columbus installed boxes where customers can donate tickets with cash value. The casino will collect the tickets and donate their total value to United Way of Central Ohio and other local nonprofits.

SLIDING SOME HELP Here’s a deal: pick up a sack of sliders and give a little extra to help those in need. United Way partnered with White Castle to give customers a way to give back by making a donation while satisfying their crave.

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United Way of Central Ohio’s Homer Cordle who spearheaded the giving boxes project and our CEO Lisa Courtice joined Hollywood Casino Columbus Vice President and General Manager Himbert Sinopoli and Executive Director of Central Ohio Labor Council, AFL-CIO Walt Workman to launch the stations.

DONOR PROFILE:

ANTONIO SMYTH When asked about his personal thoughts on philanthropy, Antonio Smyth says, “It’s about engaging in our community and setting an example for others, especially younger professionals.”

Antonio has been setting an example in both his profession and in philanthropy for years. He is president of Transource Energy, an American Electric Power and Great Plains Energy company that focuses on electric transmission projects, and he’s a member of United Way’s most generous giving group, the Tocqueville Society. He focuses his giving primarily on early childhood education and explains his choice this way: “I believe that investing in children at an early age is extraordinarily important and pays huge dividends later in life.”

Antonio is a longtime board member at The Childhood League Center, which provides an inclusive early learning experience for many young children including those with special needs.

He credits his involvement with the center as

keeping his giving real and personal: “Seeing the children making progress is very different than statistics on paper. The outcomes are incredible and it means so much in the long term for these children and those who have become adults.”

He says the culture at AEP has had a significant influence on his philanthropy: “An outstanding attribute of AEP is the willingness to give back to the community.” And he notes the importance of the match his company makes to United Way’s Community Impact Fund, which helps every employee’s contributions multiply and make a much larger impact. Antonio says, “Giving has become much more meaningful to me over time,” and that has inspired him to encourage others to set aside cynicism and apathy, and get engaged.

“I believe that investing in children at an early age is extraordinarily important and pays huge dividends later in life.”

Rising

More than

700 & $1 MILLION members

since 2014.

Lead. Impact. Network. Change. That’s both the meaning of the name of United Way’s giving

group for young professionals and its mission. LINC has only been around since 2014 but it has risen rapidly as a popular way for young professionals to connect, develop leadership skills and give back to our community. Members of LINC enjoy unique engagement opportunities with a focus on volunteering with a social twist, as well as personal and professional development. The group has gone from zero to more than 700 members since its launch, completed more than 1,700 volunteer hours and raised more than $1 million for the Community Impact Fund.

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Helping People Economic development is thriving and central Ohio is close to full employment.

But for people with multiple barriers getting a job and keeping it may still be difficult.

OVERCOMING BARRIERS

What keeps people who want to work from getting a good job? Housing instability ranked number one.

Our funded partners report more than half of their clients had at least one barrier and for those with barriers to employment the average number was 2.4. Working with clients who may have a complex set of barriers to navigate is the specialty of the programs United Way funds.

Barriers to Employment Housing instability Cultural Family responsibility Language Relevant gaps in knowledge/basic skills Lacking in basic needs Legal issues Cognitive, emotional or behavioral Transportation Physical or sensory health/disabilities 0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%

A SNAPSHOT OF SUCCESS

When we look at the activity for the seven workforce development programs United Way funds a snapshot of need and success emerges. The programs were able to help a total of more than 1,200 people get the skill-building training and connections they need to become employed. This training led to 374 people acquiring jobs.

1,200 PEOPLE

received skill-building training 4

374 PEOPLE acquired good jobs

get Good Jobs United Way’s investments in workforce development focus on the members of our community who need the most help in securing good jobs.

40% 30% 20% 10%

Only 2.2% of people who work full time for the entire year have incomes below the poverty threshold in Franklin County.

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And the people who acquire jobs through United Wayfunded programs make significantly more than the minimum wage. The median hourly salary achieved is $10.36 an hour – more than $2 an hour higher than the $8.15 Ohio minimum wage. Additionally, the median weekly hours worked was 32 hours per week with 41% of workers working full time. Full-time employment significantly reduces the likelihood that someone lives in poverty. Only 2.2% of people who work full time for the entire year have incomes below the poverty threshold in Franklin County.

Hourly Wages of Clients Acquiring a Job

$9

BETTER JOBS

United Way’s Workforce Development Funded Partners • Alvis • Community Properties Impact Corporation • Godman Guild • Goodwill Columbus • Jewish Family Services • Per Scholas • The Salvation Army

PROGRESS toward our PEOPLE GOAL United Way is getting closer to achieving our annual goal: 350,000 central Ohioans will have access to resources to meet their basic needs and the opportunity to be on a path toward a more stable, sustainable life.

Through last August we served more than 180,000 people across all of our investments.

MORE THAN

JANUARY - AUGUST

180,000 PEOPLE SERVED

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Part of the Plan United Way invests in the Linden Community Plan

Linden

When United Way selected Linden as a priority neighborhood in 2016, our approach was to take a comprehensive look at the many challenges facing this proud neighborhood, and work with residents and partners to determine the most effective ways of addressing them. As part of this effort, United Way has partnered with City of Columbus and The Ohio State University to support the Linden Community Plan—a holistic framework that will guide future investments in both people and place.

The Neighborhood Design Center, a United Way partner agency founded in 1982, is leading the work to listen to residents and community partners about the challenges the neighborhood faces and potential solutions to spark change. For United Way, the most important part of the work is a commitment to authentic community engagement.

To that end, working groups composed of residents have been meeting monthly since August and will continue to meet through April. The results of the working group discussions will directly shape the recommendations of the Linden Community Plan. To learn more about the planning process, visit ourlinden.com.

SMART LINDEN

One of the many Linden residents who participated in workshops on how to improve their neighborhood.

A big part of the momentum for positive change in Linden is the dedication of the City of Columbus to making the neighborhood better. The city has designated Linden as the priority residential neighborhood for the Smart Columbus initiative. Like the community planning process, Smart Columbus is putting the voices of the residents at the center of planning that will bring more and better transportation choices to the area. Hundreds of residents have engaged in community dialogues and offered their insights.

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POWERING

SOCIAL ENTERPRISE United Way doesn’t just invest in proven strategies to create opportunities; we seek out new and innovative ways to make our community better.

There is no shortage of creative people with great ideas in Columbus, and United Way is helping them develop their concepts and turn them into realities that benefit everyone.

Of course, as with any innovative process, some ideas are just not viable. We are helping to build a culture where entrepreneurs can fail fast, learn from the experience and build stronger concepts that will work.

Here is some of the work United Way is investing in to help move our community from generating ideas, to building capacity, to creating transformative impact.

GiveBackHack

This is an intensive process that happens in the space of a single weekend. Participants come up with ideas, select the best ones and then spend the weekend mentored by top social entrepreneurs, nonprofit and business leaders, and venture capitalists as they build ideas into real products – physical products, smartphone applications or websites that seek to tackle pressing community issues.

The Festival for Good

The Festival for Good was created to increase awareness of local social enterprises. More than 100 social enterprises operate in central Ohio, The Festival for Good organizers partnered with the North Market Development Authority to feature 25 of them at an event designed to generate support for these entrepreneurs who focus their missions on making our community better.

SEA Change

SEA Change is a Social Enterprise Accelerator program pairing business professionals with socially-minded startups. Culminating in a pitch event for cash prizes, this program accelerates new organizations to move forward further, faster.

SE Catalyst

SE Catalyst™ is an intensive eight-month immersion initiative for central Ohio nonprofits that wish to develop sustainable, social enterprise ventures. The program combines classroom instruction with coaching, technical assistance, and the real-world application of tools, approaches and principles to develop social enterprise ventures. At the end of the eight-month program, each participating organization presents a final plan to a panel of experts.

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UNITE Central Ohio

Non-Profit Org U.S. Postage Paid Permit No. 99 Columbus, OH

2018, ISSUE I

United Way of Central Ohio

360 South Third Street, Columbus, OH 43215 614.227.2700 liveunitedcentralohio.org Editor: Kermit Whitfield, AVP, Communications Design: Andy Rubey, Rubey Studio

Board of Trustees Lisa Ingram Chair

Craig Marshall

Immediate Past Chair

Donald E. Brown Treasurer

Virginia Nunes Gutierrez Secretary

THE FEEDS

Trudy Bartley Barbara Benham David Blom Duane Casares Dan Crane Dr. J. Daniel “Dan” Good The Reverend Monsignor Joseph M. Hendricks Lana Hillebrand Shawn Holt Chad Jester Adam Lewin Steve Markovich, MD Elizabeth Blount McCormick Fred Ransier Martyn Redgrave Tom Rieland Glen Skeen Elise Spriggs Robert Tannous Gabriella Terranova Mo Wright, M.P.A. Karin Wurapa, MD, MPH

Staff Lisa S. Courtice, Ph.D., CAP

THREE SIX ZERO

President & CEO

Jerry Dannemiller

Senior Vice President Marketing & Communications

Love podcasts and want to learn more about the life-changing work of United Way? You’re in luck.

You can subscribe to United Way’s own podcast Three Six Zero at SoundCloud or iTunes. Every month we will talk with experts on topics like neighborhood revitalization and diversity and inclusion.

Angel Harris

Senior Vice President Resource Development & Chief Development Officer

Cheryl Nelson

Senior Vice President Finance & Chief Financial Officer

Michael Wilkos

Senior Vice President Community Impact

United Way of Central Ohio

@UWCO

UWCO

United Way of Central Ohio