United Way changes grant money focus

The local chapter of the United Way has decided to narrow its focus in the way it disperses its one-time grant money.

Since 1999, the local United Way has divided its one-time grant money into the four biggest areas of needas determined by in-house assessments. Now, it has decided to focus its grants into one area.

The idea, executive director Nancy Jernigan said, is to create more collaboration among existing programs to maximize resources.

This year, for example, the focus is on family issues. The board of directors has asked its family issues council -- a focus group of about 30 people, many of whom are involved in community programs such as Boy Scouts funded by the United Way -- to come up with a plan of how to use the United Way's funds to best address the community's problems as it relates to families.

Jernigan said the United Way has, in recent years, set aside 10 percent of its allocations for one-time grant money. This year, she said it could be more. The United Way, in addition to its one-time grants, also allocates money to 32 different agencies every year. The board of directors will determine the amount given to those agencies at a meeting next Friday.

Once those decisions are made, the issues council and board of directors will have a better idea of how much is available for one-time grants. Jernigan said the total amount availabe for one-time grants could be between $50,000 to $80,000.

Alison Staggs, who is involved in the Big Brothers Big Sisters program is a member of the family issues council.

"Each family is so unique," she said. "Some families have job loss and financial issues, some have pregnant teens, some have substance abuse issues. And there are a lot of things that distract families. We had a big discussion on parenting skills; about parents not having the resources, the education or the background to know how to be good parents."

The family issues council, which was originally going to meet once or twice a year, has just started meeting monthly, trying to hash out priorities.

"It's not just about how to allocate the money," Jernigan said. "It's also about collaborations that can be formed around this issue ... how we can all work together through education and awareness. Hopefully, the outcome would be to have a comprehensive plan to get more people involved, whether it be the public sector or the private sector. We have to get smarter and more focused."

Jernigan said so many of the community's problems, such as teen pregnancy, drug abuse and mental health issues can be traced back to family situations. She said the board of directors is keen on parental involvement being the most important component.

"We have to identify homes where that's not in place and find out why," she said. "For those families where parental involvement isn't going to happen, that's where we need to bring a mentor into that child's life. You're not going to have a 'Leave it to Beaver' situation in every home, but we can bring a mentor into the family."

Even though the local United Way is talking about "one-time" grants, Jernigan said she sees the family issues focus going on for three to five years.

bmiller@semissourian.com

243-6635