MARC JACOBS
Hutch Post
HUTCHINSON, Kan. — United Way of Reno County will announce Wednesday how it plans to invest $950,000 in community programs during the coming year, supporting 39 programs across 23 partner agencies throughout Reno County.
The funding represents the culmination of a year-long campaign and community allocations process that engaged a record number of local volunteers in reviewing applications and determining how donor dollars should be distributed.
United Way CEO Lacey Mills said the organization's investment strategy focuses on addressing some of the community's most pressing challenges, including housing, child care, mental health and youth opportunities.
"We are planning on supporting all of our 23 partners, but we're investing in 39 programs this upcoming year," Mills said. "Thanks to the support of this community, we go through an entire allocations process to really hear what our partners are working on, where they're seeing gaps in community, and what they want to focus on in each of their specific areas."
The allocations process involved nearly 40 volunteers who reviewed applications, analyzed budgets and spent a full day discussing funding priorities. According to Stanfield, volunteers came from a variety of backgrounds, including education, business and other community sectors.
"This year we actually engaged a record-breaking number of volunteers on those panels," Stanfield said. "We're asking these folks to give us a full working day of thought, and before that some homework of reading applications and looking at budgets and really thinking through where those gaps are and how these services are providing opportunity for those in our community."
Funding decisions are guided by four United Way focus areas: youth opportunity, healthy communities, community resiliency and financial security. Programs receiving support must align with one of those priorities.
Mills said the organization's work is increasingly influenced by ALICE data. ALICE, which stands for Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed, refers to households that are working but still struggle to afford basic necessities.
According to United Way data, 42 percent of Reno County households fall into the ALICE category or live below the poverty level.
"That tells me that we've got some work to do," Mills said. "This is not just a United Way problem, and this is not just an ALICE problem. This is a community problem, and we all have a part to play in trying to bring this number down in our community."
Mills noted that a single adult in Reno County needs approximately $49,000 annually, or about $24.50 per hour, to achieve basic financial stability.
While many people associate financial hardship strictly with wages, Stanfield said the challenges are often tied to broader issues such as affordable housing, child care and access to food.
"It's really about tapping into resources to support these families and these individuals so that they can meet those basic needs and then move beyond the crisis of meeting those daily needs," Stanfield said.
United Way leaders said they hope the investments will not only address immediate needs but also support long-term, preventive solutions.
"We try really hard to focus our investments not only on crisis," Mills said. "We really want to focus our investments on trying to support programs that are coming at an approach of an upstream solution — preventative and proactive — and trying to focus on things that are hand ups, not necessarily handouts."
The funding announcement will take place Wednesday morning at the Stringer Fine Arts Center, where partner agencies, volunteers and community supporters will gather to learn the final funding allocations for the coming year.