Community Impact
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: There has been talk of a “model change” taking place within the North Penn United Way. What does this mean?
A: Currently we are in the middle of a significant transition. We are moving to a new Community Impact model, which is an exciting shift from the way our United Way has served our community in the past. We are transforming from the historic “community chest” model with its broad charitable mission, into a results-based, change agent model aimed at mobilizing the caring power of the community to achieve three compelling goals.
Q: Globally, United Way Worldwide focuses on Education, Income and Health. How do the North Penn United Way goals relate or connect?
A: What the United Way has learned from having conversations in communities, not just here, but around the globe, is that Education, Income and Health are the basic building blocks of a good life. These are universally agreed-upon goals that resonate with people.
It’s simple really… it doesn’t matter where you live in the world, having access to, and being able to better yourself through education allows you to earn a family sustaining wage so that you can produce enough income to support yourself and your family through your life and well into retirement…and, without your health, or access to healthcare, what do you have?
What’s great about the global United Way framework is that these three overarching goals can be drilled down to meet the needs of individual communities. The North Penn United Way studied the demographic trends of our community, explored local data about who is facing the greatest challenges in terms of these basic building blocks of life, and pursued conversations with community partners and leaders to learn more about these needs and populations. As a result, our United Way has adopted three Community Goals that keep education, income and health in mind, while providing the sharpened focus necessary for creating the kind of strategic investments and actions that can make a bigger difference in the lives of our community members.
Q: What are the three Community Goals that the North Penn United Way will be focusing on?
A: The North Penn United Way (with a tremendous amount of input from key stakeholders in our service area), has identified three Community Goals that we feel we are uniquely positioned to tackle. We will recruit and mobilize the people and organizations from throughout the community who bring passion, expertise and the resources needed to accomplish our mission. Our three Community Goals are:
o All North Penn & Indian Valley Students Succeed in School
o All North Penn & Indian Valley Older Adults are as Independent and Community Connected as Possible
o All North Penn & Indian Valley Residents have a Strong Safety Net (programs and services for people in crisis situations)
Q: What does Safety Net mean?
A: When we say we want all North Penn & Indian Valley residents to have a strong safety net, we mean we want to make sure there are programs in place to help community members who find themselves in crisis situations. Examples of this include people facing job loss, inability to pay rent, inability to afford heat or food, abuse by a spouse or a parent, a fire in their home, a natural disaster, etc. We are committed to investing in programs and services that provide responsive, helpful and respectful support to community members who need it most.
Q: Did the North Penn United Way consider making “Health” one of its Community Goals?
A: The reality is that health is an integral part of all three of our targeted community goals, and ultimately we anticipate that health concerns will be addressed in many of the programs and initiatives that will be part of our investments.
In addition, our community is fortunate to be supported by the North Penn Community Health Foundation, a dedicated organization laser-focused on health issues in our region.
Q: The Community Impact model has been implemented in other parts of the country, and even in our surrounding area. Financially, how has the model change affected United Ways in terms of dollars raised?
A: According to national research, those United Ways that have embraced the Community Engagement and Impact Model have seen their donation dollars rise over time.
The primary reason for these increases has been because donors (corporate partners, individual donors, leadership givers and affinity groups) have recognized the merit in working toward solving targeted issues and concerns that are taking place in their communities. And, because of the collaborative nature of the model, many United Ways are able to leverage dollars received from donors with money from foundations, grants and their state and local governments -- to have an even greater financial impact on their targeted areas of concern.
Q: Who makes up the Community Investment Team and what is this group’s role in the new investment process?
A: The Community Investment Team (CIT) is a group of volunteers convened to guide North Penn United Way’s overall investment policy and process in order to maximize impact on our three Community Goals. These key stakeholders come from business, education, human services, government, foundations, the community-at-large and the North Penn United Way Board. This team has a significant advisory role, making recommendations to the Board of Directors who give final approval of investment policy, investment plans, and actual investment awards.
Q: Who participated in the five Community Goal Strategy Sessions, and what was their role?
A: As we worked toward a strengthened plan to change lives and community conditions, we knew that we needed to develop detailed Investment Plans for each of our three Community Goals. As such, we identified and invited over 200 people from our community to attend one (or all) of five strategy sessions offered during the last quarter of 2011. People with high-level expertise in the areas of early childhood education, K-12 education, older adult issues, and crisis services were asked to join us as these sessions. During these sessions, participants were asked to weigh in on important questions such as: “What would it take to begin to turn the curve…to increase the number and percentage of citizens with positive well-being related to each of our Community Goals” and “What would be the best ways for North Penn United Way to invest its dollars and leadership towards these goals?”
Our United Way is committed to making the very best investment decisions possible on behalf of our community and our donors. By convening these strategy sessions with the most knowledgeable and engaged individuals from across our community (education, government, medical, non-profits, health & human service providers, faith partners, foundations, and more), we have added an important measure of due diligence and depth to our investment process and decision making.
Q: How can I support the efforts of the North Penn United Way as you begin to focus on your three targeted community goals?
A: The beauty of the new model is that there are so many ways to support our efforts. Ultimately you can GIVE, ADVOCATE and/or VOLUNTEER. Currently you can GIVE to the United Way Community Fund through a workplace campaign donation, or via our website (www.npuw.org), or by calling 215-855-3002. You can VOLUNTEER your time, talents and expertise by contacting Christa Detweiler, our Dir. of Volunteerism at 215-855-3319. You can become an ADVOCATE for change as we move forward with our work. Keep checking our website and join our Facebook page to keep up to date on opportunities to help influence others.