Orange County United Way 2011 Abbreviated Annual Report

Orange County United Way

2011 Annual Report

MESSAGE FROM MAX

UNITED TO STRENGTHEN OUR COMMUNITY A MESSAGE FROM OUR PRESIDENT AND CEO

Dear Friends, 2011 has been a tough year, poverty numbers were growing, unemployment was up, and the cost of living continued to soar.

This created a perfect storm. United Way’s work has never been more urgent.

Fortunately, people like you are standing up, lending a hand, and working to turn around our community. Thousands have joined United Way’s movement to improve lives and strengthen OUR community. With your support, we continue to make progress toward our goal of improving lives and strengthening our community.

In 2010-11, our generous donors gave $17.8 million through the United Way campaign, hundreds of volunteers gave their time, and more than one hundred organizations partnered to move Orange County, children, families, and individuals towards self-sufficiency. Your generosity touched the lives of more than 164,000 people through United Way’s Community Impact work, including:

6,960 Orange County low-income working residents received free tax preparation services through OCUW’s Earn It! Keep It! Save It! program and as a result more than $10.5 million in federal and state tax refunds were returned, helping families to invest in the future of their children and their communities. Of these total returns, $3.1 million was from Earned Income Tax Credits. And, more than $1 million was saved in filing fees.

More than 80,000 calls were answered by the 2-1-1 Orange County information and referral line, linking our residents to emergency food, shelter, medical care, employment resources, and much more.

2,870 bank accounts were opened through our Income Initiative, Bank on Orange County.

1,600 at-risk students received curriculum support to keep them from dropping out of high school through our Education Initiative, Destination Graduation.

www.unitedwayoc.org

OCUW provided more than $5.6 million to support education, income, and health programs. More than 92 nonprofit agencies received $4.5 million in Community Impact Fund grants, as well as capacity building training and leadership development to ensure their programs operated at their fullest potential.

We partnered with Habitat for Humanity of Orange County to launch Building United, a pilot program to help our partner agencies make critical updates to their facilities so they can serve more people.

We facilitated $7.5M in donor directed philanthropy, by assisting hundreds of donors with the allocation of their charitable gifts to specific causes.

In the coming year, we will continue to adapt to achieve the greatest impact in areas we support as the Building Blocks for self-sufficiency and a better life: Education, Income, and Health.

We have also begun work on our new strategic plan, which will allow us to set aspirational community impact goals and our future direction for how we will achieve these goals.

On behalf of the more than 164,000 people who benefited from your support, THANK YOU for investing your dollars and your trust in Orange County United Way. Like a well-performing mutual fund, your donation is being invested to achieve maximum return in the form of a stronger Orange County. By Giving, Advocating, and Volunteering, you are helping Orange County United Way meet the greatest needs in OUR community.

With gratitude,

Max L. Gardner President and CEO Orange County United Way

OUR MISSION

To improve lives by mobilizing the caring power of Orange County to strengthen our community.

WHAT

Orange County United Way's Community Impact Fund

WE DO

We invest in Orange County children, families, and individuals by mobilizing our community to meet their most basic human needs—food, shelter, and medical care—while creating pathways to self-sufficient futures through education and training.

IN SHORT, WE HELP PEOPLE HELP THEMSELVES TO DO THIS, WE FOCUS ON THE BUILDING BLOCKS FOR A SELF-SUFFICIENT LIFE: EDUCATION

Helping children and youth reach their potential: Readiness to succeed in school Academic achievement Productive and engaged youth

INCOME

Promoting financial stability and independence: Develop job skills Increase income Build savings Gain and sustain assets

HEALTH

Supporting healthy lives: Essential food and proper nutrition Safe shelter and secure housing Basic health care

www.unitedwayoc.org

s m en t in

ve st

COMMUNITY IMPACT SNAPSHOT INVESTMENT

TOTAL

4,000

TOTAL

5

59,000

TOTAL

11

13,000

TOTAL

27

68,000

TOTAL

$4,531,000

TOTAL

GRAND TOTALS

TOTAL

TOTAL

$1,262,000

MEDICAL CARE

8

TOTAL

HEALTH

1,000

TOTAL

TOTAL

$1,358,000

SHELTER

13

TOTAL

HEALTH

15,000

TOTAL

TOTAL

$569,000

FOOD

9

TOTAL

HEALTH

4,000

TOTAL

TOTAL

$281,000

FINANCIAL LITERACY

www.unitedwayoc.org

$310,000

NO. OF PROGRAMS

TOTAL

INCOME

JOB TRAINING

$461,000

TOTAL

INCOME

K-12 YOUTH EDUCATION

$290,000

TOTAL

EDUCATION

0-5 EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION

TOTAL

EDUCATION

NO. SERVED

24

164,000

97

COMMUNITY IMPACT SNAPSHOT

In 2011, Orange County United Way funded 92 leading nonprofits through our competitive Community Impact Grant Fund, investing $4,531,000 to increase the delivery of critical education, income, and health programs in our county. We also supported a number of community-wide initiatives and programs, including the United Way-led Destination Graduation and Banking on the Future. These programs and initiatives helped create pathways to self-sufficient futures by preparing our residents to succeed in the classroom and in life. Below are some highlights from our 2011 Community Impact work.

EDUCATION You restored HOPE with your actions by providing:

INCOME You restored HOPE with your actions by providing:

We helped to support through our community impact grants:

9,000 students were inspired to pursue STEM related career through hands on science, technology, engineering, and math learning opportunities.

3,800 at-risk children ages 0-5 got a head start in life, receiving the cognitive and social development building blocks needed to succeed in kindergarten.

Through our community initiative:

You restored HOPE with your actions by providing:

We helped to support through our community impact grants:

3,600 OC residents received valuable lessons in financial literacy, so they could earn more, keep more, and save more.

1,200 job seekers benefited from skills training so they were able to compete and re-enter the workforce.

Through our community initiative:

13,000+ residents gained access to skills and services that put them on the path to financial stability, including free tax filing and eligible tax credits (Earn It. Keep It. Save It.), comprehensive financial literacy education, and access to low-cost mainstream banking services (Bank on Orange County), through Orange County United Way’s Income Initiative, Banking on the Future.

1,600 at-risk students received the educational support needed to motivate them to obtain their high school diplomas and continue on to college with a clear career path, through Orange County United Way’s Education Initiative, Destination Graduation.

HEALTH

We helped to support through our community impact grants:

50,000 people received healthy and nutritious meals through our partnerships with food banks and pantries, helping them to remain fortified, focused, and full of hope.

7,000 of our displaced neighbors received emergency/transitional shelter allowing families to remain together and individuals to recover from unexpected life crisis.

8,000+ Children received quality dental care, putting a smile on everyone’s face.

In addition to funding programs, Orange County United Way provides year-round capacity building and trainings to ensure the success of our 92 partner agencies.

www.unitedwayoc.org

In addition to the impact achieved through our Community Impact Fund Grants and community initiatives we lead, like Destination Graduation and Banking on the Future described on the preceding pages, the following partnerships are a few key examples of how Orange County United Way is working alongside other organizations, and people to improve lives and strengthen our community.

BUILDING UNITED

COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIPS WOMEN’S PHILANTHROPY FUND GRANT PROGRAM Developed by OCUW’s Women’s Philanthropy Fund, this program provides support to nonprofit partners meeting the needs of women and families in crisis. In 2011, more than $113,000 in micro-grants were dispersed among six agencies—Families Forward, Friendship Shelter, Girls Inc., Human Options, Taller San Jose, and WISEPlace—to tend to their clients unmet needs.

In addition, the WPF Grant Program allocated funds to each agency to support critical physical facility improvements, thereby providing a safe and comfortable environment for the clients and agency staff.

www.unitedwayoc.org

An innovative partnership between Orange County United Way and Habitat for Humanity of Orange County designed to build the service capacity of Orange County United Way partner agencies through the refurbishment and/or re purposing of their current facilities. Since its launch in 2011 Building United has already provided four Orange County United Way partner agencies with low-cost, high-quality repair and refurbishment services.

WINTER TRANSITIONAL SHELTER PROGRAM

Orange County United Way is working with local funders and leaders to address the needs of homeless families in Orange County including funding for the Homeless Family Winter Transitional Shelter Program, run by the Illumination Foundation and Mercy House.

Families with children and pregnant women are immediately moved from the Winter Armory to a safer shelter setting and provided with casemanaged care leading to permanent housing placement. In 2011, more than 120 children and families benefited from this unique program.

ORANGE COUNTY FUNDERS ROUNDTABLE

Orange County United Way is a member of the Orange County Funders Roundtable, a funders’ collaborative committed to promoting effective philanthropy and philanthropic engagement, and strengthening the capacity of the nonprofit sector in Orange County.

2-1-1 ORANGE COUNTY

Orange County United Way is one of the largest private funders of 2-1-1 Orange County, a 24hour, toll-free number that connects residents in crisis with multilingual trained and certified specialists who provide information on local supportive services. This year, 2-1-1 responded to more than 80,000 calls from individuals and families seeking food, shelter, child and elder care, medical needs, employment resources, and more, with the majority of callers seeking multiple needs.

RENÉE Orange County United Way’s success is measured by the lives we improve. When an outof work father receives the job training he needs to provide for his family, a senior citizen opens the door to a volunteer delivering a much-needed daily meal, or at-risk teens are introduced to positive after-school activities to keep them on the right path, we all become stronger as a community. Your support of our Community Impact Fund helps make these success stories possible—stories like Renée’s.

STRENGTH. COURAGE. CONFIDENCE.

First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt once said, “You gain strength, courage, and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You are able to say to yourself, ‘I lived through this horror. I can take the next thing that comes along.”

This is a quote that Renée, a client of an Orange County United Way Community Impact health partner lives by. It’s a quote that has given her the strength, courage, confidence, and inspiration to beat addiction and humbly ask for help to improve her life. Renée believes in what she calls “second firsts”—another chance to take a new path. Renee received her “second first” at OCUW partner agency WISEPlace, an organization that gives homeless women in OUR community a place to stay and the support they need to get back on a path to self-sufficiency.

After being admitted into the transitional housing program, Renée embarked on a new journey to get clean from drugs and begin looking for a job. Thanks to their job training, she eventually landed an interview at Disneyland. “It was probably the best interview I ever had.” That meeting turned into a full-time position and today, Renée continues to turn her life around. She‘s sober and plans to move into an apartment with one of her current house mates soon.

Grateful for the help she received, Renée is now giving back by making a weekly donation to our LIVE UNITED movement to help more women in the position she was once in—to help them achieve their “second first.” Renée had simple dreams when she was younger: she wanted a family and a job, but most importantly she wanted to live with respect and dignity. Today she is doing just that. Is Renée’s life perfect? No. Is she grateful? Absolutely.

To read more success stories, visit our blog at blog.unitedwayoc.org

www.unitedwayoc.org

INVESTORS IN CHANGE:

OUR CORPORATE PARTNERS

ENCOURAGING EMPLOYEE GIVING AND GOOD CORPORATE CITIZENSHIP

DIMENSIONS IN GIVING PARTNER Orange County United Way recognizes and thanks our 2011 Dimensions in Giving Partner, Western Digital. This distinction is given to the corporate partner that truly impacts our community through dollars raised for United Way’s Community Impact Fund, active community service, and an overall commitment to helping people though contributions of time, leadership, resources, and a spirit of giving.

SPIRIT OF ORANGE COUNTY PARTNERS Orange County United Way thanks our Spirit of Orange County Partners for demonstrating their commitment to impacting people’s lives in Orange County through annual corporate investments of $100,000 or more in United Way’s Community Impact Fund. All of these companies also enjoy the distinction of being recognized as Orange County United Way Golden Key Partners.

GOLDEN KEY PARTNERS

Orange County United Way thanks our Golden Key Partners for demonstrating their commitment to impacting people’s lives in our community by raising the most dollars during their annual campaigns for United Way’s Community Impact Fund.

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