BE THE CHANGE
By Nicole Vleck, Community Volunteer
Just after lunch, I sit in a small crowded conference room wiping tears from my eyes. Not my normal Monday afternoon routine, to cry in conference rooms. But today is different. Today I am attending
site visits for four of the nearly 20 United Way of Denton County partner agencies. As a volunteer on the United Way Community Investment and Impact Grant Review Panel, we are tasked with an impossible job — to review the partner agency’s grant applications and make recommendations to the UWDC Board of Directors about how much to fund each agency, within the existing United Way budget.
These agencies provide amazing services and assistance to members of our community in the toughest times of their lives — leaving abusive situations, becoming disabled, or losing a job. Each agency aligns with one of the strategic focus areas identified by United Way’s Community Needs Assessment. But they do more than that; they are filled with compassionate people who truly want to serve others and make Denton County a better place. One agency head told us that morning, “If someone asks me for help, I can’t say no. Even if I don’t have a program for what they need, I say yes on the spot, and we find the way to fund it later.”
In my perfect world, we’d fund every single agency at 110% of what they think they need — you know, in case of emergencies or exploding populations. But with limited funds, our panel is tasked with ensuring United Way dollars are spent efficiently and effectively. We have to look at various matters when determining funding recommendations, including the changes the agencies have made in recent years, to staff or physical locations. We ask tough questions about their clients, their salaries, their quantifiable results. We look at the agency’s Boards of Directors and how involved they are in ensuring their success. We make recommendations that hopefully will lead each agency to be more successful in their missions in the long term.
It’s been a long day, and this agency is weighing heavy on my heart with the increases they have seen in need in just a few short years. But the passion shines through. The staff is tired and weary, but they are energized by the work they do. They are excited to work with United Way to serve more people. And they are empowered by suggestions by the panel of new partnerships and new ways to reach out to those in need. In a time when the news is so depressing, these agencies, their employees, and their passion provide me that hope that there are amazing people in the world, those who believe that they can make changes in our little corner of the world by showing up. And they are. They Live United.
