‘We need to have a greater impact.’ Local United Way CEO shares his goals for the organization
Ben Moser missed good barbecue and fried chicken.
Moser worked as an attorney in New York City after receiving his juris doctorate at New York Law School. Before that, he worked three years for a congressman in Washington D.C., straight out of UNC-Chapel Hill where he earned his bachelor’s degree in history.
“After six-and-a-half years of that, lots of 80-to-100-hour weeks and my missing of family, good barbecue, fried chicken and all the things that southern towns have to offer, I decided to make my way back to my hometown of Winston-Salem,” Moser said.
At that same time Moser made that decision, the United Way in Forsyth County, North Carolina, had a position available, and Moser first joined United Way as a data manager in 2012.
There, he learned the ins-and-outs of nonprofit management and fundraising, and the impact organizations like United Way can have on local communities.
“I was sold, pretty soon after starting there, that I would like to make a career out of this,” Moser said. “And it just was a much more fulfilling way to spend my time than being a cog in the wheel of multi-billion-dollar companies suing each other.”
Moser hasn’t looked back since: He enters his fourth month in the Chattahoochee Valley this December. He began his position as the new President and CEO of the United Way of the Chattahoochee Valley on Aug. 1.
Moser was the director of major gifts for the United Way of Asheville and Buncombe County in North Carolina, before he was unanimously approved in June by the United Way of the Chattahoochee Valley’s executive committee to succeed the retiring Scott Ferguson.
Moser sat down with the L-E Thursday morning to discuss his goals for the United Way of the Chattahoochee Valley, and how the organization plans to help the community with temperatures dropping.
L-E: What were your goals when you first took the job, and what are they now?
BM: “The overarching goal is to continue to serve the community here, at the level that United Way of the Chattahoochee Valley has been serving this community for 70 years. It’s a phenomenal organization. Fantastic staff. A great history, and just an enormous amount of community trust that has been placed in our organization over that period of time. So, to continue that legacy on is my No. 1 thing.
“And to continue to raise $7 million-plus-a-year in the community, and then re-invest or invest that money back into our partner agencies and local nonprofits here and continue to provide support for those agencies, and provide the service of vetting every dollar raised and spent here, through United Way, is a real focus that will continue to be our core business.
“We know that we need to have a greater impact in this community, so we’re looking for new, innovative, progressive, exciting ways to serve the community here, and to do things a little bit differently than we’ve done the last 70 years, in order to have a greater impact.”
L-E: It’s getting colder outside, and the holidays are coming up. What does United Way of the CV have planned for the coming months, and how can people help?
BM: “We’re doing a big coat drive right now, trying to provide winter coats for folks who don’t have them. Our 211 health and human service referral line is always open for folks experiencing poverty or food insecurity. Folks who are about to have their electricity cut off, for instance, can call 2-1-1 and gain help and assistance. You can always plug into the community through United Way, so I would encourage anyone who has an interest in volunteering to get in touch with Rachel Chambless in our office.”
