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by Tom Montgomery
Editor
United Way of Tuscola County officials' hopes for a more fruitful 2007-08 campaign overall didn't come to pass, but they haven't abandoned their resolve to do a better job of getting more county residents to dig a little deeper next year.
United Way Director of Operations Jim Heiser, Cass City, figures the best way to do that is by concentrating on encouraging more businesses to establish payroll deduction plans.
"That will be the focus as far as I'm concerned," said Heiser, who pointed out that 85 percent of United Way contributions are collected in the form of payroll deductions.
For now, however, Heiser and the county United Way board of directors are concentrating on distributing the money they've received during this past year's campaign to 30 agencies. The board met Thursday at Rawson Memorial Library to divide the just under $50,000 in donations -- that's about 13 percent less than last year -- collected to-date.
The board previously met March 25 and 27 to host agency presentations, according to Heiser.
"These presentations allow agencies requesting funding to present their agency and programs to board members, and allow board members to become familiar with and ask questions of the agency representatives prior to making fund allocation decisions," he explained. "A total of 28 agencies participated in these 15-minute presentations.
"These presentations help to remind us that there are many individuals as well as agencies dedicated to providing much-needed services to Tuscola County residents," Heiser said. "Each year, it seems that the needs become greater, and the board of directors continues to work harder to raise additional funds to support the work these agencies perform."
During last week's meeting, the United Way of Tuscola County Board of Directors allocated a total of $49,948.
"Checks for 50 percent of each agency's allocation will be mailed shortly, with the second check to be presented at the annual campaign kick-off breakfast in September," Heiser said.
He noted the board distributes donations in 4 basic categories -- health, education, emergency preparedness assistance and avoidance, and youth activities and development.
This year's recipients include:
American Association of University Women ($700), American Red Cross - East Shoreline Chapter ($3,000), Blue Water Center for Independent Living ($1,200), Cass City Girls' Softball ($400), Cass City Literacy Council ($1,500), Cass City Youth Football ($400), Foster Grandparent Program ($1,300), Good Samaritan Fund $4,000), HDC Generations Enrichment Program ($800), Innerlink Youth Protection Council ($3,000), LHAC Boy Scouts of America ($800), Mitten Bay Girl Scout Council ($800), Rawson Memorial Library ($800), Special Needs Vision Clinic ($2,500), Thumb Area Assault Crisis Center ($4,000), Thumb Area Big Brothers-Big Sisters ($5,500), Thumb Compassionate Friends ($1,000), Tuscola County Christmas Baskets ($3,500), Tuscola County MSU Extension 4-H ($500), Tuscola Homeless Coalition ($4,500) and Tuscola Place for Peace ($3,000).
Heiser said some individual donors also request that their funds be given to specific agencies, including The Fowler Center ($130), Catholic Family Services ($416) and YMCA of Saginaw ($52).
Although total contributions were down in 2007-08, officials said the annual mail-in campaign last fall proved fruitful, with a total of $9,318 collected. "The goal was to exceed the prior year by 10 percent, and we are pleased that we had success in exceeding this goal," Heiser said. "The amount collected is 16.5 percent above the 2006 amount."
As for next year's campaign, Heiser again emphasized the need to focus on giving at the workplace, an approach that has been extremely successful at the UPS center in Cass City and Walbro Engine Management, both of which saw donations increase this year. Companies joining those with payroll deduction plans over the past year include Hills and Dales General Hospital, the Tuscola County Medical Care Facility, and Northstar Bank.
Heiser sees a great deal of potential in tapping into county government employee plans, which cover some 400 workers, not to mention school employees.
"It really puts the employee in a position to make a decision to support United Way," he said. "There are big numbers there, and if these numbers would give a little, we would be in much better shape.
"This (year's United Way) allocation is much less than our expectations, and it is still not as good as we can be," Heiser added. "Our emphasis again this year will be to improve payroll deduction participation at existing locations and solicit additional business and industry to begin payroll deductions."
Members of the United Way of Tuscola County Board of Directors are: Ken Spencer, Cass City, president; Susan Holder, Caro, vice president; Shelli Pohlod, Cass City, secretary; Dawn Prieskorn, Cass City, treasurer; Ray Bates, Caro, director; Jennifer Cooper, Vassar, director; Al Dadacki, Cass City, director; Sandy Gaudreau, Vassar, director; Michelle Hill, Cass City, director; Janet Raleigh, Millington, director; and Ron Wilson, Cass City, director.
Business representatives interested in obtaining more information about payroll deductions, or who are interested in scheduling meetings and presentations by United Way officials are asked to contact Heiser at (989) 325-1980, or by e-mail at: info@unitedwaytuscola.org.
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