Hobbled by Hurricane Irma, United Way funding declines in Volusia-Flagler
The organization collected
"Honestly, to me, 99.9 percent of it was Hurricane Irma," said Burns. "It hit right as our campaign was kicking off and put everything into turmoil."
Workplace employee giving showed the greatest slide -- more than
This marks the second consecutive campaign decrease.
A storm disrupted the 2016-17 fundraising season, too. Hurricane Matthew was largely responsible for the
An significant surge in funds donated to
Hurricane relief funds, money corporations donate specifically to help those suffering from storm damage that is not included in campaign fundraising, climbed from
"I honestly believe if we're fortunate enough not to have another storm, or have a storm later in the season, we'll be fine and will recoup some if not all of the losses we've had," Burns said.
The 2016-17 campaign also marked a significant shift in the way funds were allocated to programs and organizations dependent on
The traditional model funded a closed group of member agencies each year. In the new two-year community impact model, Burns said, "we want any agency that can move the needle" in three key areas -- education, financial stability and health.
The new model values outcome over output, he said.
Under the old model, for example, if an organization hosted a 100-person capacity class on financial stability and 95 people participated, it would be considered a success.
Now, an organization receiving funds for such a class would be required to follow up with those in attendance to see if they took practical steps toward stability -- opening a savings account, creating a budget and so forth.
At six, nine and 12 months, funded agencies submit a report that shows how they're effecting long-term change. If a program isn't successful, "we go back to the drawing board to see what can change," said Burns. "Maybe nothing, and it's (a program) we wouldn't fund again. Or maybe it just needs one or two tweaks."
Though the switch to a new model meant some former member agencies would no longer receive funding, inevitably ruffling some feathers, "I'm absolutely convinced it's the way to go, looking at the number of outcomes we're getting," Burns said.
At the
"Now we're getting tremendous results," said Burns. "We just don't have the money to fund more programs."
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