Our Strength - Our Members

August 7,2012

Collective impact is the new buzz around the non-profit community; but what exactly is it? Simply put, it is the realization that one community organization cannot solve the tangible challenges of our region alone. It’s going to “take a village.”

Working collectively is nothing new to United Way of the National Capital Area (United Way NCA). We have always believed that our member nonprofits were the heart and soul of community impact, and for 38 years in greater Washington, we have worked to promote this fact; to inspire donors, volunteers and advocates to acts of caring and compassion. And we take that mission and vision seriously.

In July, United Way NCA brought together nearly 300 representatives from 231 nonprofit organizations to examine ways for aligning around one of the most important aspects of nonprofit life: fundraising.

At its core, collective impact is about more than raising money for distinct organizations. It’s about aligning resources, expertise and capacities to solve specific problems. This is where United Way NCA is heading as we begin planning and executing on our newly announced strategic initiative, Workforce Readiness. However, we have a great foundation to build on; our relationship and collaborative history with our vast and diverse network of nonprofit members.

That diversity was well represented. Incredibly busy people invested an entire afternoon to deepen their connection to United Way; CEOs, Directors of Development, founders and sole staff members from all-volunteer neighborhood organizations.

In a gathering established to tackle fundraising, as representatives greeted United Way NCA staff or their peers from other nonprofits, it’s their mission they’re talking about.

“Did you read about our last graduating class,” says a Development Director for a workforce development program.

“How did you raise awareness when you first started out,” asked the founder of a nascent health organization as he’s introduced to a more seasoned health-service veteran

Music education! Mentoring our youth! Financial literacy programs!

There’s passion in the room; and dedication to causes they truly care about.

The funding is just the necessary means.

It is a new era for what has historically been United Way NCA’s bread and butter. Boosting our workplace campaigns undeniably requires a collective effort. Today more of our members are getting out in front of new audiences and promoting the fact that they are a choice in workplace giving. More importantly, it is their stories that spark the questions in the minds of potential supporters, “What do I care about? How can I make a difference?”

United Way NCA has worked hard to make sure our nonprofit members – the greatest spokespersons for what giving can give – get chances to promote themselves and to extol the value of the nonprofit community: exhibiting at workplaces, speaking at events, hosting volunteer days, and finding creative ways to tell their stories. Together, we’re expanding our engagement beyond the week or two our workplace partners “run campaigns.” It’s about service projects, days of caring, and sharing the results of their contributions.

“I always knew [United Way membership] was a vehicle for workplace giving. I was not aware about all the ways you can engage potential donors, and become a more known quantity in the community,” said Jack McCarthy, President and CEO of AppleTree Institute. “It seems aimed at developing long term relationships; … a multi-year effort that builds slowly and incrementally, but substantially.”

Our stronger alignment around fundraising has brought year-on-year increases in both public and private sector workplace giving. More new companies came to us to run new campaigns last year than in the previous two years.

Collective effort is working.

This same energy and synergy will propel us to even greater success as we adopt the collective impact model to take on the most serious of our region's problems, working, of course, with our nonprofit partners.

Read stories of success from our Nonprofit Members.
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Did You Know?

In 2011, the Lamb Center, a United Way NCA member nonprofit, provided: 44,725 meals,12,952 showers, 9,531 loads of laundry, 270 AA meetings, 575 job counseling sessions, and more.

The Capital Area Food Bank reports more than 641,000 residents of the Washington region are experiencing or at risk of hunger, including more than 100,000 in Fairfax County alone.

Residents in Ward 8 have to travel far to gain access to a public library. This distance can make it hard for residents to continue to succeed in their education.

Residents in Ward 7 have to travel far to gain access to a public library. This distance can make it hard for residents to continue to succeed in their education.

Residents in Ward 5 have to travel far to gain access to a public library. This distance can make it hard for residents to continue to succeed in their education.

In Ward 8, over 40% of single-family home and condominium sales resulted from foreclosure completions or owners selling under distress.

45.0% of residents living in Ward 8 receive food stamps.

In Ward 7, over 40% of single-family home and condominium sales resulted from foreclosure completions or owners selling under distress.

35.0% of residents living in Ward 7 receive food stamps.

5.0% of residents living in Ward 2 receive food stamps.

9.8% of residents in Ward 4 are unemployed.

3.2% of residents in Ward 3 are unemployed.

6.0% of residents in Ward 2 are unemployed.

In Ward 1, over 40% of single-family home and condominium sales resulted from foreclosure completions or owners selling under distress.

12.0% of people living in Ward 1 receive food stamps.

6.0% of people live below the poverty level in Prince William County.

9.4% of students in Prince William County drop out of high school.

More than 130,000 residents in Prince William County do not have health insurance.

8.9% of students in Montgomery County do not graduate high school.

In Montgomery County, 1 in 6 children under 18 is at risk of hunger.

6.7% of people live below the poverty level in Montgomery County.

13.9% of students in Prince George's County do not graduate high school.

7.8% of people live below the poverty level in Prince George’s County.

In Prince George's County, approximately 1 in 4 children under 18 is at risk of hunger.

30,000 children in Northern Virginia live in poverty.

In Northern Virginia, 1 in 6 children under 18 is at risk of hunger.

In seven out of the eight wards in the city, residents are closer to fast food restaurants than large grocery stores, which could have a negative impact on residents’ health.

17.2% of residents in the District of Columbia live below the poverty level.

19.0% of residents in the District of Columbia receive food stamps.

11.9% of residents in the District of Columbia are unemployed.

22.0% of students in the District of Columbia do not graduate high school.

32% of children live below the poverty level in the District of Columbia.

In the District of Columbia, nearly 1 in 2 children under 18 is at the risk of hunger.

12.5% of residents living in Maryland do not graduate high school.

9.2% of people live below the poverty level in Maryland.

Last year 2-1-1 Maryland answered 240,000 calls around basic needs such as food, shelter, eviction prevention and financial assistance for prescriptions

Ward 8 public schools have the lowest average share of students testing at required standards, only 33% in reading and 32% in math.

Over 28% of residents living in Ward 8 are unemployed.

Nearly 20% of people living in Ward 7 are unemployed.

67% of children living in Ward 6 are below the poverty level.

15.8% of people living in Ward 5 are unemployed.

There are more than 40,000 uninsured residents living in Loudoun County.

6.1% of students living in Loudoun County drop out of high school.

Nearly 8,000 people in Loudoun County live on an income of $20,000 to support a family of four.

10.6% of people in Fairfax County do not have health insurance.

5.6% of people live below the poverty level in Fairfax County.

7.9% of students living in Fairfax County drop out of high school.

10.5% of children in Arlington County live below the poverty level.

9.4% of students in Arlington County drop out of high school.

More than 3,000 people in Northern Virginia are homeless, 10% of these live in Alexandria, Virginia.

In the past year, 2-1-1 has answered approximately 632,000 calls from the District of Columbia, Maryland and Virginia from residents seeking services.

Last year 2-1-1 Maryland answered 240,000 calls around basic needs such as food, shelter, eviction prevention and financial assistance for prescriptions.

In Northern Virginia, 1 in 6 children under 18 is at risk of hunger.

In Prince George's County, approximately 1 in 4 children under 18 is at risk of hunger.

In Montgomery County, 1 in 6 children under 18 is at risk of hunger.

In the District of Columbia, nearly 1 in 2 children under 18 is at the risk of hunger.

Kids who attend a high quality preschool are more likely to graduate from high school and have higher lifetime earnings.

Every $1 invested in high quality early childhood education saves taxpayers $7.

Upon entering first grade, the average middle-class child has spent 1,000 to 1,700 hours of reading time with picture books; a low-income child averages just 25 hours.

Food stamps last an average of 2 1/2 weeks.

By age three, middle-class children have a vocabulary of about 1,100 words compared to 525 words for low-income children.

According to the Partnership for America's Economic Success, if 50 first graders enter school with reading problems, 44 of them will still have difficulties reading in the fourth grade.

The 2009/2010 official federal poverty level for a family of four is an annual household income of $22,050. 185% of poverty is $40,792, a level at which people still struggle with hunger.

The Rand Corporation states that 90% of a person's brain growth happens before the age of 3.

More than 130,000 residents in Prince William County do not have health insurance.

Our Impact

Success Stories

Camp Fire Patuxent Area Council: Sam and Nikki’s Story

We had the privilege of having two children at Camp Fire, both adopted with special needs and identified as having serious learning and behavioral problems, participate in our program.