United Way announces 2016-2019 funded partner agencies

Cape Girardeau – After five months of review, research and community evaluation, United Way of

Southeast Missouri is pleased to announce its investment in more than 30 community programs

throughout Southeast Missouri.

In 2009, the funding cycle of United Way of Southeast Missouri was extended to a three-year

commitment. This was designed to help partner agencies have a better idea of how to budget for their

organizations. A longer time frame also enables them to produce and report more accurate, long-term

impact.

Agencies requested funding by completing an extensive application that required general agency

information, details about how their program or service impacts the community and United Way's

community impact goals, how results will be tracked and measured, and how the program connects to

one or more of United Way's three key focus areas: education, income and health.

Funding was then reviewed and eventually approved by many community volunteers serving on one or

more groups: a Proposal Review Panel, the Community Impact Committee and United Way’s Board of

Directors. The agencies and programs selected must then attend quarterly review meetings and provide

annual outcomes.

"Most members of the communities we serve have no idea how involved our funding and vetting process

is. We believe it is extremely important to be able to tell our donors that 99 cents of every dollar is going exactly where it is intended," explains Elizabeth Shelton, executive director of United Way of Southeast Missouri., “Few nonprofits are able to make that statement.”

Those who are familiar with United Way may recognize some organizations from previous years. In addition to the 20 agencies that will continue to receive funding, there are two new agencies that are joining the United Way family.

Little Whitewater Baptist Church Food Pantry may be new to United Way donors, but the program itself has grown over the last few years. The pantry began as a small church project serving around two families a month and operated out of a Sunday school classroom and the fellowship hall. Over the last few years, it has evolved into a program that assisted more than 40 families in Bollinger County last month. The organization recently obtained ownership of a former volunteer firehouse and is in the process of installing shelving units, air conditioning and refrigerators in an effort to provide even more assistance to the families in need.

Scott County 4-H is another new program the community chose to invest in and is one of the few Scott City-based partners United Way of Southeast Missouri has worked with in recent years. The newly created Junior Leaders program focuses on keeping youth over the age of 12 involved with 4-H activities geared more toward career preparation and basic life skills including changing a tire, giving correct change and sewing a button.

The following organizations have been approved to receive United Way funding over the course of the next three years; some receive funding for multiple programs:

The American Red Cross

A.P.P.L.E.

Big Brothers/Big Sisters

Boy Scouts

Boys and Girls Club of Southeast Missouri

Cape County 4-H

Cape Girardeau Public Schools

Community Caring Council

EduCare

Girl Scouts of the Missouri Heartland

Habitat for Humanity

Hoover Center

Jackson Ministerial Alliance

Jackson R-2 Schools

Jackson Senior Center

Little Whitewater Baptist Church Food Pantry

Lutheran Family & Children's Services

Safe House for Women

The Salvation Army

Scott City Ministerial Alliance

Scott County 4-H

Voices for Children/CASA

For more information on our funded partners and their specific programs, please visit www.unitedwayofsemo.org.

United Way of Southeast Missouri fights for the health, education and financial stability of every individual in the communities we serve: Cape Girardeau, Jackson, Scott City, Bollinger and Perry Counties. United Way mobilizes organizations, institutions and volunteers to address the community’s most pressing issues, focusing on the building blocks of a vibrant community: Education, Income and Health. The problems facing our community are complex; they are issues that no single organization or individual alone can solve. Real change is possible when nonprofit, public and private sectors work together. United Way has the network, partnerships and strategic initiatives to create lasting change in the lives of our friends and neighbors and in the strangers who are the future of our community. For more information please visit www.UnitedWayofSEMO.org or call 573-334-9634.