Trust is something that is built and not easily given. Trust is defined as "firm belief in the reliability, truth, ability, or strength of someone or something" (google dictionary).
When looking at a place to volunteer do you think about trust?
As a nonprofit we strive to gain the trust of the community we serve and are willing to work for it. Transparency is one way we try to accomplish this. Anyone can view our website and volunteer website and explore it to the fullest before signing on with us. You can see our mission and values, financials, board, and team.
Our Mission: We want to increase the organized capacity of people to care for one another. To achieve this we serve as a HUB for those who want to volunteer and also contribute financially to support local charities in Kings County.
Kings United Way was incorporated in 1966 and works to serve the community in a couple ways. Most importantly is the funding opportunities and efforts we provide to local charities that we call our Affiliates, you can see a list of our current Affiliates on our website. Our affiliates change every year, this enables us to work with organizations that are working on the most pressing issues in our county.
How do we raise the funds to support our affiliates?
Affiliates receive funding collected through workplace campaigns and fundraising events, and are included in our capacity building efforts.
Workplace campaigns and Nonprofit Capacity
The United Way workplace campaign unites employees in all offices or branches of a company, and gives them an opportunity to donate, volunteer and speak out for causes that matter to them. We want you to know we work alongside you in our community's efforts for change. Kings United Way is governed by our volunteer board and we act as a 501(c)(3) and are not governed by United Way Worldwide. Many people are reluctant to donate to organizations that have high overhead costs. Calnonprofits states, "Overhead is calculated by adding Management & General expenses to Fundraising expenses, then dividing by total expenses"(2014). There is much debate on whether overhead is a good or bad thing, and what is too much. Think about this, what you put in relative to what you get out of it. Take the 3 Little Pigs Story, Children's Storybook Garden features these. The house of straw and sticks took less time and cost less. The third little pig took the time and spent the money to ensure his house would withstand the wolf's blow. Organizations have to use sturdy materials and invest in people and items to make the organization strong. Fortunately, Kings United Way has been able to do both, thanks to specific program grant funding, keeping our overhead costs around 4%.
Have you ran in our annual Turkey Trot race? We started Turkey Trot as a way to unite our community on Thanksgiving morning. We can jumpstart your day by helping you get ready for your family dinner by joining our family for a quick run. The money raised from this event goes to our affiliates.
What else do we do?
The nonprofit capacity building is only one aspect of what we do, we also have the 2-1-1 and HMIS programs operating under Kings United Way.
A Homeless Management Information System (HMIS) is a local information technology system used to collect client-level data and data on the provision of housing and services to individuals and families experiencing homelessness. HMIS allows the aggregation of client-level data across service agencies to generate an unduplicated count of clients served, understand patterns of service use and measure the effectiveness of homeless programs.
2-1-1 serves as an informational tool to find local public resources and services from government, community and non-profit organizations. Find help with food, housing, child care, job training, mental health and many more services that can help either you, your friends, or your family when times get tough. Call 2-1-1. Visit www.211kingscounty.org. Download 211 IntellifulTM.
Of course we can't forget the Community Volunteer Program and Get Connected. Most organizations depend of volunteers like you to keep the doors open and programs running. I hope this has helped you understand more about King United Way and helped gain more of your trust and interest for our job in the community.
Live United
It's a credo. A mission. A goal. A constant reminder that when we reach out a hand to one, we influence the condition of all. We build the strength of our neighborhoods. We bolster the health of our communities. And we change the lives of those who walk by us every day.
Stay Tuned for the next blog in the Trusting Organizations Series where we'll tell you about building relationships.
