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The nonprofit’s ‘Investment Portfolio’ is aptly named Of all the business news, brochures and annual reports that pour into Churm Publishing, Inc.’s office, few stand out. The Orange County United Way’s Investment Portfolio is one that does. The investment is in people, and the cost of not doing so is evidently large. The United Way, long known for assessing other nonprofits and distributing money to them to create an umbrella of resources, is transforming itself into a “Community Impact” player. For the past six years under the leadership of Maria Chavez Wilcox the president and CEO celebrated her 10th anniversary here last year United Way has worked on many specific fronts. Three that stand out are Keeping Kids On Track (after-school mentoring, tutoring and enrichment programs); the Women’s Empowerment Portfolio (creating financial self-sufficiency for women and girls); and Somos Familia (financial literacy and community development in low-income communities). However, now rather than only addressing symptoms, the county’s largest nonprofit wants to address the causes and barriers. For example, in Orange County, the homeless population has increased by 88% since 2000 (now more than 35,000 are without shelter at least some of the time); a child is born into poverty every couple of hours; and 57% of renters do not earn enough income to afford a median-priced, two-bedroom apartment. United Way’s Economic Empowerment Community Action Plan, to help residents achieve a self-sufficient wage, to find good housing, and to be highly educated, is now off the ground and will be officially unveiled July 1, says Ms. Chavez Wilcox. “We need to look at the root causes of some of those problems,” she says. “For example, providing support to a food bank will always be a good thing. However, those people who go to the food bank go day after day after day. What we are saying is, let’s identify why they are in the food bank in the first place. No job? No daycare? Not enough literacy? In addition to support, we’ll start working with organizations to permanently get people off the food bank. Why? Because they will be working somewhere to generate an income to pay for their own food.” About 20% of America’s 1,400 United Ways are switching in this direction, Chavez Wilcox says. This doesn’t mean that the dozens of organizations the United Way supports will be left on their own. “It’s just that we’re shifting from 100% of that to 60% to basic services and 40% to the new Economic Empowerment agenda. We’re not abandoning the organizations we are funding; we’re just changing the mix.” The county’s United Way raises more than $22 million each year and is one of the country’s 25 largest.m United Way’s reach The Orange County United Way defines itself as “ensuring that children, youth and adults have the necessary literacy and learning skills to succeed, promoting self-sufficiency for adults and families, and providing critical resources for families, the elderly and the abused.” It focuses on: • Housing • Employment • Childcare • Crisis support • Food • Transportation • Health care Local nonprofits that benefit from United Way dollars include: • Boys & Girls Club • Girls Inc. • Laura’s House • Orange County Child Abuse Prevention Center • Camp Fire Boys and Girls • Vietnamese Community Orange County, Inc. • Jewish Family Services • AIDS Services Foundation • American Lung Association • Share Our Selves • YMCA and YWCA • Human Options • Olive Crest • Goodwill Industries • Orange County Youth and Family Services As the only Orange County organization that addresses health and human care issues in all local cities, the United Way board determined last year that it would be prudent to begin an endowment fund to supplement the annual campaign. The fund effort’s chairwoman is community leader Kathy Bronstein. For information, to donate, and to volunteer: 949.660.7600 or www.unitedwayoc.org |
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