The Dartmouth United Way Steering Committee has set a new record following its most recent fundraising campaign for Upper Valley-based Granite United Way, according to Diana Lawrence, co-chair of the steering committee. The campaign, which ran from November to January, received $282,000 from 600 donors, both of which constitute record numbers.
"It's historic," said Lawrence. "It's never been this high."
Lawrence attributed the campaign's success to the "match program," which ran from Nov. 15 to Dec. 15. During that time, all donations were matched in full by a group of anonymous donors.
"The donors found that really motivating," she said. "I think they like the idea of seeing their gift grow and generating even more money."
Granite United Way has not yet determined the recipient of the funds raised by the steering community, according to Lawrence, who declined to comment on potential partner agencies or the status of any applications.
Granite United Way operates in 14 towns in New Hampshire and over 30 towns in Vermont, according to Lawrence. The organization serves 500,000 individuals in over 40 percent of the two states' total geographic territory.
The Dartmouth Steering Committee's accomplishment is beneficial to all Dartmouth-based charities, according to Kurt Nelson, who is the assistant chaplain for the Tucker Center and works with local philanthropic organization Cover Home Repair.
"United Way does great things with a lot of local agencies," he said. "We'd definitely like to network with them in the future.
United Way is a national organization with various self-directing branches across the country, Lawrence said. Each branch fundraises within a local community to meet identified needs, she said. When the fundraising campaign ends, an allocations panel composed of local residents votes on which charitable organizations working within the community receive the money, she said. The Dartmouth steering committee is the College's fundraising arm for Granite United Way.
"That's why I work for United Way," Lawrence said. "Because the local branches are so self-determining, I think it keeps overheads down and provides a really efficient way to get funds to where they're most needed in the community."
Although anyone can volunteer to sit on an allocations committee for Granite United Way, the national United Way provides "airtight" guidelines on the distribution of funds, according to Lawrence.
The United Way works in the areas of education, income stability and health, according to the organization's website.
Granite United Way specifically identifies physical and mental health and wellness, education and lifelong learning, housing and self-sufficiency as "the areas of critical need," Lawrence said. Due to the damage inflicted to homes by Hurricane Irene in the Upper Valley, Granite United Way has added home repair as a temporary critical area, she said.
Potential partner agencies whose scope falls within one of the critical areas must submit requests for funding, according to Lawrence.
Lawrence said she gained "immense respect" for the "rigor" of the United Way's formal allocations progress, which emphasizes accountability and streamlined distribution.
"It ensures money raised in the community gets returned to the community in the most efficient way possible," she said.
Deputy Director of Athletics Robert Ceplikas, Director of Administrative Operations for the Dartmouth Institute Cynthia Crutchfield and Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Steve Kadish co-chaired the steering committee. Ceplikas and Crutchfield could not be reached for comment by press time. Judith Durell, a steering committee coordinator, declined requests for comment.
