In one day, 60 volunteers from across the Iron Range interviewed more than 40 non-profit representatives serving the Iron Range to determine how best to allocate $500,000 in donations to United Way of Northeastern Minnesota (UWNEMN).
UWNEMN’s annual Fund Distribution Day was held March 10th at Gethsemane Lutheran Church in Virginia where volunteers were split into panels and assigned rooms to interview agencies. Prior to Fund Distribution Day, volunteers reviewed the funding request applications for three or four agencies they’d be interviewing. Non-profits’ applications had been divided based on UWNEMN’s focus areas: helping children succeed, empowering healthy lives, or stabilizing families and individuals. Panel members also reviewed UWNEMN’s budget prior to making funding recommendations.
“There are a lot of layers to this process because we want to ensure our community members are fully informed in order to help us invest donor dollars wisely,” said UWNEMN Executive Director Erin Shay. “We are so grateful for the time volunteers spent and how seriously they took the process.”
After a two-year hiatus due to the pandemic, UWNEMN’s team was excited to return to an in-person Fund Distribution Day.
“There’s an energy to the day that can’t be replicated without being in person,” Shay said. “It was even more exciting because many of our volunteers, agency representatives, and even some of our staff were experiencing it for the first time!”
First-time and repeat volunteers alike called UWNEMN’s Fund Distribution Day “eye opening” in a follow-up survey.
“I didn't realize how much support UWNEMN gives to other agencies,” one volunteer responded. “I love the transparency of use of UWNEMN funds and community input.”
Key takeaways for volunteers included UWNEMN’s impact on the region’s non-profits, the impactful work being done by local non-profits, and the vast array of community needs.
“I had no idea how much money UWNEMN gives to the community and how much these organizations rely on the funding,” reads another response. “I learned that there is a huge need for funding to help with the current community needs. All of these places, whether small or large are working so hard to get their jobs done.”
Reactions to the day were emotional - ranging from sadness about the level of need, admiration of the work being done, and a sense of pride in volunteering.
“Always humbling to realize how many people have great needs for shelter, medical care, and just basic human interaction and how I take for granted how easy it is for me and my family to access a lot of those things,” said one volunteer.
Many reported a desire to volunteer more, give more, or generally “do more.”
“I walked away from the process wanting to help and volunteer in as many ways possible,” one volunteer said.
“I also realized that I could benefit from being more involved in the community,” another echoed. “UWNEMN has such a huge impact on our communities, I will be advocating more for the agency.”
At the end of the day, agencies made funding recommendations based on their review of agency applications and in-person interviews. The UWNEMN Board of Directors met immediately after to discuss recommendations and approve 2022 UWNEMN Partner Agencies.
2022 UWNEMN Partner Agencies Helping Children Succeed include: Arrowhead Center Outpatient Adolescent Treatment, Boys & Girls Club of Hibbing, Check & Connect, Camp Chicagami, Volunteers in Education (VinE), Girl Scouts of MN and WI Lakes & Pines, ServeMinnesota Reading Corps, and Ely Community Resource.
2022 UWNEMN Partner Agencies Empowering Healthy Lives include: Care Partners, Angel Fund, Project Care, and Ely Community Health Center.
2022 UWNEMN Partner Agencies Stabilizing Families and Individuals include: Advocates for Family Peace, Sexual Assault Program of Northern St. Louis County, Support Within Reach, Habitat for Humanity of Northern St. Louis County, Star of the North Maternity Home, Northwoods Partners, Salvation Army Hibbing, Salvation Army Virginia, and Second Harvest Northern Lakes Food Bank.
In addition, UWNEMN’s Board of Directors approved $30,000 in funding to distribute among all food shelves and $20,000 to distribute among local libraries for summer reading programs in UWNEMN’s service area.
“The decisions of the board reflect our community recommendations and the focus areas of our investment plan,” Shay said. “They also reflect how donations to UWNEMN support an entire network of organizations impacting lives across our region.”