United Way Of Lake County Inc

UNITED WAY OF LAKE COUNTY, ALONG WITH ITS MISSION TO "MEASURABLY IMPROVE THE QUALITY OF PEOPLE'S LIVES IN LAKE COUNTY", PROVIDES THE MOST EFFECTIVE CHANNEL THROUGH WHICH THE COMMUNITY MAY PARTICIPATE IN A VOLUNTARY, COOPERATIVE EFFORT TO IDENTIFY, EVALUATE, SUPPORT AND FUND CURRENT HUMAN SERVICE NEEDS IN LAKE COUNTY. UNITED WAY OF LAKE COUNTY IS A LOCAL, INDEPENDENT NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION THAT FUNDS PROGRAMS IN THE THREE BUILDING BLOCKS TO A BETTER COMMUNITY; EDUCATION, FINANCIAL STABILITY, AND HEALTH, ALONG WITH BASIC NEEDS. UNITED WAY OF LAKE COUNTY AFFECTS TWO OUT OF EVERY THREE RESIDENTS WHILE STRIVING TO MAKE A MEASURABLE IMPACT ON ALL RESIDENTS IN THE COMMUNITY. UNITED WAY OF LAKE COUNTY'S VISION IS TO BECOME THE ENTRUSTED CHAMPION THAT DRIVES IMPROVED OUTCOMES IN OUR COMMUNITY BY FUNDING SERVICES THAT IMPACT EDUCATION, INCOME (FINANCIAL STABILITY) AND HEALTH.

ALLOCATIONS AND AGENCY RELATIONS INCLUDE THE EVALUATION OF COMMUNITY NEEDS AND THE DISTRIBUTION OF FUNDS TO BEST MEET THOSE NEEDS. UNITED WAY OF LAKE COUNTY'S (UWLC) MANY VOLUNTEERS ARE CRITICAL DECISION- MAKERS WHEN MAKING PROGRAM FUNDING DECISIONS. STAFF LEAD THE GROUP, BUT IT IS THE COLLECTION OF 15-20 VOLUNTEERS THAT MEET WEEKLY FOR SEVERAL MONTHS TO EVALUATE PROGRAMS, LISTEN TO AGENCY REPRESENTATIVES, THEN DECIDE WHICH PROGRAMS WILL RECEIVE FUNDING. WITH UWLC'S UPDATED FUNDING MODEL FULLY IN PLACE, IT ALLOWED THE PAST NEW PROGRAMS TO REMAIN IN THE FOLD FOR FUNDING AND BEING EVALUATED BY THE VOLUNTEER PANELS. UWLC UTILIZED THE SAME ONLINE PLATFORM FOR APPLICATIONS AND EVALUATIONS, SO OUR DEDICATED VOLUNTEERS WERE ABLE TO MEET EFFICIENTLY USING ZOOM WHEN NEEDED, BUT WE WERE ABLE TO MEET IN-PERSON AGAIN FOR THE FIRST TIME IN TWO YEARS SO THAT REALLY HELPED TO SPARK GOOD CONVERSATIONS AND QUESTIONS AMONGST THE GROUP. TO RAISE THE DOLLARS THAT OUR VOLUNTEERS ARE ABLE TO ALLOCATE, HUNDREDS OF COMPANIES RUN WORKPLACE CAMPAIGNS, INVOLVING CORPORATE GIFTS AND SPECIAL EVENTS, ALONG WITH HUNDREDS OF LAKE COUNTY RESIDENTS THAT GIVE INDIVIDUALLY THAT HELP KEEP LAKE COUNTY ENGAGED IN MAKING IT A BETTER PLACE TO LIVE AND WORK, AND ULTIMATELY IMPROVE THE BUILDING BLOCKS TO A STRONGER COMMUNITY, WHICH ARE: EDUCATION, FINANCIAL STABILITY, AND HEALTH.

COMMUNITY PLANNING INCLUDES COORDINATION OF AGENCY STAFF, VOLUNTEERS, AND OTHER RESOURCES TO CONDUCT ACTIVITIES FOR THE BETTERMENT OF THE COMMUNITY. AS WAS THE CASE LAST YEAR, WE HAD TO MAKE CHANGES TO OUR LARGEST VOLUNTEER EFFORT OF THE YEAR, DAY OF CARING. WE WERE ABLE TO HOST A SCALED DOWN VERSION WHERE WE WERE BACK TO HAVING COMPANIES AND ORGANIZATIONS ADOPT COMMUNITY PROJECTS ACROSS LAKE COUNTY. IN THE MIDST OF THE GRANT ALLOCATION PROCESS IN THE SPRING, WE STILL RAN OUR ANNUAL FEED LAKE COUNTY DRIVE THROUGH A SOLICITATION MAILING AND SEVERAL COMPANIES RAN FOOD AND MONETARY DRIVES. BECAUSE OF THE SUPPORT OF SO MANY COMPANIES AND INDIVIDUALS, EVEN DURING THE LATTER PARTS OF THE PANDEMIC, WE WERE ABLE TO HOST SEVERAL FOOD DISTRIBUTIONS ALL THROUGHOUT THE YEAR, TOTALING OVER 50,000 IN DIRECT FOOD PURCHASES FROM LOCAL GROCERS, ON TOP OF DISTRIBUTING TENS OF THOUSANDS OF POUNDS DONATED BY AREA COMPANIES AND INDIVIDUALS. WE ALSO HAVE TWO AFFINITY GROUPS THAT WERE ABLE TO CONTINUE RUNNING THROUGHOUT THE YEAR. BELOW ARE SOME HIGHLIGHTS FROM THEM: EMERGING LEADERS (EL) - MADE UP OF A GROUP OF LAKE COUNTY YOUNG PROFESSIONALS THAT HOST AN ANNUAL GOLF OUTING AND OTHER FUNDRAISING/NETWORK EVENTS THROUGHOUT THE YEAR, THEY ALSO EVALUATE THE GRANT APPLICATIONS RECEIVED DURING THE REGULAR GRANT CYCLE. BECAUSE OF THEIR EFFORTS, THEY WERE ABLE TO ALLOCATE 30,000 TO PROGRAMS RELATED TO THEIR YOUTH-DRIVEN MISSION. WOMEN UNITED (WU) - MADE UP OF A GROUP OF LAKE COUNTY WOMEN WHOSE MISSION IS TO IMPROVE THE LIVES OF WOMEN AND GIRLS IN LAKE COUNTY. THEY WERE ABLE TO HOST SOME VIRTUAL EVENTS THROUGHOUT THE YEAR, INCLUDING A SPEAKER SERIES, AND THEIR SIGNATURE EVENT HELD IN DECEMBER, WOMEN'S WINTERFEST, WAS DONE AS A VIRTUAL RAFFLE THAT RAISED MORE MONEY THAN THE PAST IN-PERSON EVENTS WERE ABLE TO. DOLLARS RAISED FROM WU FUNDRAISING EFFORTS ARE ALLOCATED TO PROGRAMS THAT SUPPORT AT-RISK WOMEN AND GIRLS IN LAKE COUNTY, AND GO THROUGH THE SAME PROCESS AS THE EL GROUP. BECAUSE OF THEIR EFFORTS, WOMEN UNITED WAS ABLE TO ALLOCATE 60,000 TO THEIR MISSION-DRIVEN PROGRAMS.