Friday, March 21, 2003
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Friday, March 21, 2003 |
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United Way reviewing Coweta programs The Coweta County United Way has begun its annual funding review of local programs providing services to residents of the county. Each year the Local Investment Committee of the Coweta United Way reviews all programs in Coweta that have applied for funding from United Way. The committee then makes decisions on funding levels based on need, effectiveness of the program and the program's alignment with United Way goals. This year the process began when several members of the Local Investment Committee attended training in Atlanta. They then brought that knowledge back to the rest of the committee with a training session Feb. 12 for all members of the Local Investment Committee. At that time up to three members of the committee volunteered to conduct a site visit to each of the applying agencies. Among the agencies to be reviewed were the Boy Scouts, Breakaway Child Care, Meals on Wheels, Special Olympics, Habitat for Humanity, and the Boys & Girls Club. During the visit volunteers assess the financial condition of the agencies as well as its effectiveness in meeting the United Way goal of building stronger and safer communities. In 2002 United Way of Coweta funded seventeen organizations that provide services in the county. The United Way regional offices in Atlanta also funds additional programs that provide services to residents of the county. The entire committee will reconvene March 27 for a discussion of funding levels for each agency. Unfortunately, given the current economic climate United Way in Coweta was not able to meet its fundraising goal this year so most agencies will receive a reduction in funding this year regardless of their effectiveness and the communities need for such services. United Way of Coweta does have one advantage in that by virtue of being a member of the United Way of Metro Atlanta the local investment group actually has more money to grant than the amount that was raised in Coweta. "We are very lucky that our own fundraising coupled with the supplemental funding received from Atlanta will allow us to make the minimum cuts to these programs which are so vital to the health of our community," said committee member Rachel Murray.
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