UNITED WAY DISPERSES MONEY

The 26 agencies supported by the Area Wide United Way have received their portions of $436,700 collected during the 1992 United Way campaign.

Ollie Miller, president of Mercantile Bank and new president of the United Way, said plans are under way now for the 1993 campaign.

He hopes to increase the number of contributors to the annual campaign as a way to increase donations.

The Area Wide United Way 1992 campaign fell 8 percent short of its goal. The United Way received pledges of $436,700; the goal was $477,000.

To deal with the shortfall, the board of directors decided in December on a 5 percent decrease in funding for local agencies.

The 1992 goal was based on budget requests submitted by the agencies prior to the campaign, Miller said. The 5 percent cut was made from those projected budget figures.

"Unfortunately the needs of the agencies have grown faster than the amount we have been able to collect," he said.

"And in fact, because of the economic situation in 1992, we met only about 92-93 percent of our goal."

Miller said the budgeting decisions are made by the United Way board, which is composed of 25 people.

Delivering less money to agencies than the organizations had planned is tough, Miller said.

"What we'd like to try and do in 1993 is increase our campaign funds so we can honor more of the requests," he said.

The United Way board met Wednesday to map out a such a strategy.

The key is to let potential givers know the needs and how United Way agencies meet those needs, he said.

"We haven't done as good a job in the past as perhaps we should have of letting people know the need is there," he said. "We are going to try to talk with more companies and with more employees.

"We feel the United Way is the premier fund-raising organization in Cape Girardeau. There are many charities, but we are the only organization that supports as many different things."

The United Way has not accepted additional agencies for funding this year, Miller said.

"We are not able to take care of the needs of the agencies we have," he said. "But we hope to expand the number of contributors."

That could lead to additional agencies being brought into the fold.

Miller said the United Way has a strong track record in getting donations to the agencies.

"With a lot of other fund-raising organizations, you are lucky if 80 percent goes to the people the money was intended for.

"With United Way, 95 cents of every dollar goes directly to the people in need. Only 5 percent goes to administrative costs. We are very efficient and we're pretty proud of that."

In addition to Miller, other 1993 United Way officers are John Mehner, Advanced Business Systems, who will serve as vice chairman; and James Erlacker of Kerber, Eck and Braeckel, treasurer.

New members elected to the Board of Directors are William Miller, retired from Wetterau, Inc.; Albert M. Spradling Jr., Spradling and Spradling; Ronald Hopkins, Commerce Bank; and David "Skip" Smith, Southeast Missouri State University.

The following agencies will receive funding in 1993: American Heart Association, $19,855; American Lung Association, $8,550; American Red Cross, $53,200; Association for Retarded Citizens, $30,400; Boy Scouts, $32,300; Cancer Research, $2,850; Cape Senior Center, $8,550; Cape County 4-H Council, $1,950; Civil Air Patrol, $500; Civic Center, $37,050; Easter Seal Society, $17,100; Family Learning Center, $28,500; Gibson Recovery Center, $23,750; Habitat for Humanity, $3,800; Hoover Eldercare Center, $2,375; Jackson Ministerial Alliance, $1,900; Jackson R-2 Children's Welfare Fund, $1,900; Jackson Senior Center, $8,550; Lutheran Family Services, $11,875; Mental Health Association, $475; Otahki Girl Scout Council, $32,300; Radio Information Service, $1,900; Safe House for Women, $8,550; Salvation Army, $42,750; V.I.P. Industries, $2,500 and USO, $475.