How are United Way funds allocated?

Last month, United Way of the Chattahoochee Valley announced that it had surpassed its 2015 fundraising goal of $7.1 million.

But have you ever wondered what happens after all that money is raised?

The woman with the answer to that question is Jennifer St. John, vice president of United Way community initiatives. In a recent interview with the Ledger-Enquirer, she explained the organization’s allocation process, currently in progress.

“Raising money is the more public side of the United Way, the side that more people might be familiar with,” she said. “But the process of determining who gets the funding, it’s really unique and a great process.

“Just as we go to the community in the fall typically to raise those funds, we go back to the community in the spring to determine how those dollars are invested.”

St. John said agencies interested in applying for United Way funding were trained in January and had to submit applications by Feb. 26. At the same time, the organization recruited volunteers to assess the various agencies and make recommendations for allocations.

The organization recruited more than 70 volunteers who are divided into nine different teams, with about eight volunteers in each group. About 70 percent of the volunteers are people who participated in the allocation process last year. They are also required to be United Way donors.

“The new volunteers typically have some United Way experience,” St. John said. “They’re probably part of the group that helped raise the funds — either loaned executives or campaign coordinators, or in some other way were involved in helping with the campaign this year.”

United Way has four priority areas:

▪ Income.

▪ Health.

▪ Education.

▪ Basic needs.

So agencies have to submit applications related to those areas. Three teams will review each program and make recommendations to the United Way Community Investment Board, which consists of nine team leaders and nine community investment board members.

St. John said the review process is divided into two parts: application review and site visits. “They look at the narrative that describes the organization,” she said, “from the board level, to mission, to its organizational structure, to history, to the real specifics of ‘This is the program that we’re seeking funds for, this is why it’s needed in the community. These are our clients. This is how we’re serving them and this is what we think is going to change in their lives as a result of our program.’”

Volunteers trained on March 17 and began working immediately, St. John said. Site visits will begin this week, and the deadline to complete the review process is April 25. Allocations will be announced the third week in May. Areas of focus during the review process are need, results and stewardship.

St. John said agencies have submitted 56 program applications, and about four of them are new. Those chosen will be funded during fiscal year July 1, 2016, to June 30, 2017.

United Way Executive Director Scott Ferguson said about 87 percent of the money raised during the 2015 campaign will go to fund programs, and the rest will be used for administrative purposes.

This story was originally published March 29, 2016 at 4:45 PM with the headline "How are United Way funds allocated?."