UNITED WAY OF GREATER NASHUA FOCUSES ON COMMUNITY'S MOST PRESSING NEEDS
New mission seeks to create lasting, community-wide improvements; affordable housing is first target

NASHUA, N.H. (July 12, 2004) - United Way of Greater Nashua (UWGN) has announced a plan that redefines the organization's role and seeks to align financial, human, and other resources with the community's most pressing needs while maintaining core services.

The move, which was preceded by two years of strategic planning by the 27-member UWGN Board of Directors, is consistent with efforts by United Ways across the country to shift their focus away from raising and distributing funds to improving people's lives by creating lasting changes in community conditions.

"While we will continue to help area residents meet basic health and human services needs, United Way's traditional role as a fundraiser in the non-profit sector is just not as relevant today as it once was, and we need to adjust to the conditions that are changing around us," said UWGN Chair Kenneth Ferron of Covenant Health Systems. UWGN grew out of the Community Chest formed 75 years ago in Nashua, and for a long time, its "one campaign for all" approach had wide appeal, Ferron noted. However, increasing needs for services and an influx of new non-profit organizations competing for donors' support have resulted in United Ways nationwide reshaping their efforts. Instead of just funding direct services, United Ways are taking on a multitude of roles by focusing on their communities' most pressing needs and convening a wide variety of partners to eliminate the root causes of problems.

"Funding direct-service programs is important, and United Way will continue to do that, but to really have an impact on community conditions, we as a community need to come together to address problems at their source," Ferron said. "We realize that some issues affecting Greater Nashua residents' quality of life are too big for one organization to address, so we want to mobilize resources -- people, relationships, time, talent, leadership, influence, as well as financial assets - and direct them to where the needs are greatest."

The UWGN Board of Directors has decided that the first "community impact initiative" should address affordable housing, which consistently has ranked very high among needs identified in Greater Nashua Measures Up: The Community Assessment Report. The board also voted to direct 20 percent of available General Fund (non-designated) dollars from the 2004 fundraising campaign to the Affordable Housing Initiative.

"For the past decade, the Community Assessment Report has helped guide UWGN volunteers in deciding which programs to fund, and it has proven a useful tool in developing our first community impact initiative," said Rev. James Chaloner, pastor of the First Church of Nashua and chair of the Community Assessment Committee. "Once the UWGN Board decided that we needed to align resources with our community's most pressing needs, it wasn't hard to pick the first issue to address. Lack of affordable housing affects our community in so many ways."

Chaloner cited recent studies by the New Hampshire Housing Finance Authority and the Nashua Mayor's Task Force on Housing that show dual-income families often cannot afford a two-bedroom apartment in Greater Nashua, where the average monthly rent tops $1,000. For those who do rent here, so much of their income goes to housing that there often is little left for other basic needs, such as food and medicine, Chaloner said. Demand for shelter and other services increases, placing additional strain on the human care safety net. And businesses that want to locate or expand here have to consider whether their employees can afford to live in the area.

Ferron said UWGN is looking forward to working with existing groups addressing affordable housing, as well as diverse stakeholders, including foundations, neighborhood networks, corporations, faith-based groups, and others. The initiative is likely to be a multi-year commitment, but its form has not yet been determined.

"We need the community to come together to decide how best to focus its resources on the affordable housing issue," Ferron said. "Some Affordable Housing Initiative money may fund direct services, but it's entirely possible that some or all of it could go toward another effort that is deemed by the community to be more effective in addressing the root causes of the problem." While the usual disbursement of General Fund dollars is limited to UWGN participating agencies, the Affordable Housing Initiative process will be open to all proposals. Ferron said UWGN hopes the initiative will encourage groups to collaborate on innovative funding proposals.

With 20 percent of available General Fund money earmarked for affordable housing this year, UWGN will re-double its efforts to increase giving to the General Fund, which supports needed services in other areas, said UWGN Vice Chair and Campaign Co-chair Ed Zraket of BAE SYSTEMS.

"Two years ago when UWGN decided to begin its move to a community impact focus, we placed our fundraising emphasis on the General Fund because programs supported by that source must demonstrate measurable results in how they improve people's lives," Zraket said. "We realize that other community needs are not going to go away as we re-direct part of the General Fund toward affordable housing, so we will do all we can to encourage donors to support the General Fund."

UWGN officially kicks off its 2004 Campaign on September 15, although some companies will conduct workplace campaigns over the summer.