UWCC Announces Local Government Funding Distribution
by Angie Matthiessen, Executive Director – United Way of Charlotte County
Truly, one of the best days in our office is when we send award letters out to the local nonprofits agencies who will receive funding for the next grant cycle. As any nonprofit can attest, the effort to “do the work” every single day, especially this past four years, with the leanest of resources, can get very exhausting. Yet the passion and commitment to mission continues to drive the Charlotte County human services professionals. Ask the people at any nonprofit agency, they will all agree Charlotte County residents who rely on human service programs are reaching out for help in significantly increasing numbers.
This past year alone, nonprofit partners in Charlotte County have faced significant challenges that have strained their financial resources. We’ve seen this in increased program costs due to inflation, as well as the effects of Hurricane Ian. Many of our partner agencies reported damage to their facilities from Ian, resulting in major costs to relocate offices (moving and storage), purchasing new furniture and supplies, and increased staff hours. This combination has created a challenging financial landscape for our nonprofit partners in Charlotte County.
Here at UWCC, the staff and board are proud to partner with the Charlotte County Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) to invest Charlotte County human service dollars towards the greatest impact. For over twenty years, this partnership has allowed UWCC to do what we do – mobilize community citizens to vet, score, and provide feedback to the nonprofit partners on how they can have an even greater impact. This is no small feat.
Of the seventeen funded agencies and their programs, these support fulfillment of acute, basic needs, others are prevention-based, aimed at breaking the cycle of poverty in our community. Homelessness prevention, childcare subsidies, and trauma and grief counseling all help our community build a strong foundation.
UWCC is honored with the privilege of being entrusted to oversee and allocate funds for the betterment of Charlotte County. Year after year, a dedicated team of five UWCC staff members, along with Board of Directors and numerous community volunteers, invest their time and talent to ensure the funds are managed in a manner of integrity, efficiency, and accountability. This process has been fine-tuned over the many years UWCC has served in this role and provides tremendous value to Charlotte County.
This week’s award letters included a total allocation of $876,546 for the nonprofit partners and $40,000 for UWCC to support the massive effort it takes to execute this very important part of our mission. I truly appreciate that the commissioners rely on our experience to manage this process and that they have collectively supported providing us much needed administrative funding to carry out this work.
United Way of Charlotte County (UWCC) mobilizes the power of our community to break the cycle of poverty. Our local partner agencies join us in the fight to break the cycle of poverty. A complete list of funding recipients and their programs is available, click here.
For more information about United Way of Charlotte County’s mission: Mobilizing the power of our community to break the cycle of poverty, please contact Angie Matthiessen, Executive Director. She can be reached at director@unitedwayccfl.org.