speakunitedci

ICVS Hosts Public Forums on Service

2009-09-24T15:15:00.001-05:00

Adam Lounsbury, Iowa Commission on Volunteer Service, 515.725.3099

Iowa Commission on Volunteer Service Hosts Statewide Public Forums

September 23, 2009 (Des Moines) - This fall, the Iowa Commission on Volunteer Service (ICVS) will host statewide public forums designed to seek input for its State Service Plan that will help shape national service funding decisions for programs authorized by the new Serve America Act.

The ICVS considers this plan a blueprint that will be used, in conjunction with partners, to meet the strategic objectives for volunteer service in Iowa over the next three years. ICVS is committed to strengthening volunteer referral networks and providing support to nonprofit organizations to effectively utilize volunteers in Iowa.

One-hour public forums are scheduled throughout Iowa:
* Iowa City Public Library, Sept. 29, 9:30 a.m.
* Fairmont St. Public Library in Davenport, Sept. 29, 1:00 p.m.
* Burlington Public Library, Sept. 29, 4:00 p.m.
* Sioux City Public Library (Main), Oct. 1, 2:00 p.m.
* Cedar Falls Public Library, Oct. 6, 9:30 a.m.
* Fort Dodge Public Library, Oct. 6, 1:00 p.m.
* Urbandale Public Library, Oct. 6, 4:00 p.m.

There is no cost to attend the forums, but pre-registration is requested to help plan for space requirements. Participation is needed from nonprofit organizations, educational institutions, local government entities and state agencies. Visit www.volunteeriowa.org<http://www.volunteeriowa.org/> for more information.

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We Can Do Better for Iowa's Children

2009-08-17T12:51:00.004-05:00

By: Lisa Sieren

It’s August and it’s warm. But even the summer heat cannot overshadow the fire Women’s Leadership Connection members have for ensuring quality early learning for Iowa’s children. Last week, United Way of Central Iowa, Women’s Leadership Connection and Polk County Empowerment hosted "Meet and Greet for Kids," a legislative event to advocate for affordable quality early childhood programs.

Over 50 early childhood advocates, including WLC members and legislators, networked and discussed the importance of improving access to quality early learning programs. The highlight of the event was a short program that included the personal story by one family whose child attends Xochipilli Early Education Center at Hispanic Educational Resources. With a tight family budget and the father returning to college to complete his education, the family was unsure they would be able to keep their child at the center and they did not qualify for state child care assistance. With the help of child care scholarships, the child was able to remain at Xochipilli and receive quality early education.

Hearing the family’s story resonated with those in attendance, including me. What also resonated with me was a call to action by Debbie Hubbell, chair of the Women’s Leadership Connection Advocacy Committee, when she said "we can do better." And we can. That’s why interim legislative events like these are so important. Advocacy is a year-round effort. The state legislature is only in session a few months of the year. It takes efforts like these to build the relationships and support necessary to move an issue during session.

Pacesetters

2009-08-14T16:08:00.004-05:00

Wow – you wouldn’t know it if you were in my shoes but the 2009 campaign STILL hasn’t officially kicked off yet! The official start to our annual workplace campaign is mid-September but the campaign staff and our volunteers have been going full throttle since June. A special group of “early-birds” that I want to highlight here are our Pacesetter campaigns.

Each year, in the hot days of summer, we join up with a community volunteer to recruit a group of companies that agree to set an aggressive goal for their United Way campaigns and then run their campaigns before the rest of the community even gets started. The hope is that this set of companies can set the pace for other companies to follow – thus building the momentum for a successful community-wide campaign.

Our lead volunteer in the 2009 pacesetter effort is Gary Palmer, President and CEO at Prairie Meadows. Gary is no rookie at community engagement and this is his second year in a row lending his time to recruiting our pacesetter companies. He did an outstanding job this year recruiting a top notch group of organizations that were eager to demonstrate their community support. Those companies are (in alpha order): Alliance Technologies, AVIVA USA, Central Financial Group, City of Ankeny, City of Clive, City of Johnston, Delta Dental, GuideOne Insurance, Homesteaders Life Co., Hubbell Realty Co., KPMG, Kum & Go, and Mediacom.

I have the opportunity to work closely with GuideOne and Hubbell Realty on their pacesetter campaigns. I have been extremely impressed with their employees’ level of engagement and enthusiasm for United Way. It has been encouraging for me to see that they truly understand this year is not a year to let up on investing in our community.

If you know someone who works for one of these companies, please join me in thanking them for stepping up during a year when it would be easy to step down. Also, please stay tuned to this blog for updates on how the pacesetter effort wraps up. Will they get a million in the door before September 4… ?

Young adults as today's and tomorrow's leaders

2009-07-24T12:00:00.003-05:00

I believe Whitney sang it best: "I believe the children are our future..." While Ms. Houston's message is nice, from my experience in working with young adults in our community young people are more than our future, they are part of our world today. So why don't we start treating them that way? I can't tell you how many times a week I hear condescending remarks about "young people" and what gets me every time is how those making these remarks miss the mark completely: (1) Talking bad about someone isn't going to motivate them to change their behavior or it is just going to reinforce that bad behavior; (2) If young people are so bad, where do you think they learned it? As Bill Millikin, author of Stop the Epidemic: The Last Dropout states, "We don't have a youth problem, we have an adult problem."

Now I'm not going to be whiny in this entire post and I'm going to talk about a few exciting things when it comes to young people in our community. Here in Central Iowa we have a lot of colleges and universities that support service learning, which gives college students the opportunity to apply what they are learning in class through service in their local community. This past year, United Way of Central Iowa offered the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program as a service learning opportunity, and 30 percent of our volunteers ended up being college students. Additionally, United Way of Central Iowa works with young people all throughout Central Iowa through our Student United Way and The 10,000 Hours Show Show. Both programs have had great outcomes by recognizing more than 17,000 hours of service this past year, and starting up programming at a Boys and Girls Club.

Simply put ,we need to start encouraging and demonstrating positive behavior and stop reinforcing the negative behavior. I'll step off my soapbox now.

No, it's not a potato chip

2009-07-16T09:31:00.000-05:00

By Lisa Sieren

No, it’s not a potato chip—it’s children’s health insurance. You may have heard many iterations of the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP). SCHIP: State Children’s Health Insurance Program (the former acronym). CHIPRA: Children’s Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act (the new acronym). Or just plain old Hawk-I: Iowa’s version of CHIP. With all these acronyms, I would not hold it against you if you did think it was a potato chip.

You have probably seen news stories, billboards or advocacy campaigns related to children’s health insurance. CHIP is going to continue to get a lot of press and promotion in the coming months, so I thought it was time to give a brief overview of this program, especially given its link to United Way’s health priority of improving people’s health.

In short, CHIP is a federal program to cover America’s uninsured children, specifically low-income children. While the federal government provides guidelines around CHIP, states are largely responsible for the design and implementation of the program. Each state’s CHIP program looks different. Iowa’s version, Hawk-I, is specifically designed to meet the needs of Iowa’s children. To learn more about Hawk-I, check out their website at http://www.hawk-i.org/.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services recently released information on outreach and enrollment grants that will focus on reaching more uninsured children with this program. Based on these grants, we are likely to see more public campaigns on Hawk-I in the state.

That’s just a quick overview CHIP (just a chip of CHIP, if you will tolerate my humor). There’s a host of information out there on this program, so I encourage you to look more into it if you are interested. Feel free to email me at lsieren@unitedwaydm.org to learn more about what United Way of Central Iowa is doing to improve children’s health.

Day of Action

2009-07-14T12:00:00.001-05:00

On Wednesday this week, United Way of Central Iowa announced registration is open for Day of Action. Companies and groups are invited to help advance the common good in the priority areas of education, income, and health during Day of Action on September 17, 2009.

Companies are asked to organize teams of four to 20 employees to take on short-term projects that can often be completed in just a few hours. These projects benefit United Way community partners and schools throughout Polk, Dallas and Warren counties.

This year United Way will have two featured projects including:

United Way Read to Learn
Read to Learn is an education initiative and one of the many opportunities we have for Day of Action volunteers. Volunteers work one-on-one (or in small groups) with third graders to increase their reading ability using proven, research-based literacy kits.

Destination Graduation: Reach Out to Dropouts Day
On Saturday, September 26 from 8 a.m. to noon, teams of United Way volunteers will join Des Moines Public Schools employees and go door-to-door to help re-enroll high school students who have not yet returned to school. Volunteers participating in the event are required to attend a training beforehand; training will be available on Day of Action from 8 to 9:30 a.m. After registering for the training, you will be contacted about more information regarding the Reach Out to Dropouts Day on September 26.

To Register for Day of Action click here.

Dreams

2009-07-03T22:49:00.003-05:00

By Colin Peterson

(warning, this blog is a bit rambling but it does have a point at the end if you get there)

We all have dreams. I have lots of dreams. I dream of being a rock star traveling the country and playing in sold-out arenas. That is a far-fetched dream and I hope you’ll cross your fingers with me that it might someday come true. Meanwhile, here is a dream that is much more achievable – I’d like to someday be a millionaire.

A millionaire!? Yes, that is what I said. People who know me will say since you work for a non-profit and your wife is a public school teacher, becoming a millionaire is a pretty long shot. I don’t think so. There is lots of research that shows people can achieve significant wealth in one generation with modest incomes. It all depends on what choices an individual makes regarding spending and saving decisions (I think a bit of luck helps too since none of us is immune to tragedies and other events that can knock you off even the most solid financial footing).

One source to back this up and give me some hope is a book I’ve been reading entitled, “The Millionaire Next Door.” The authors conducted extensive research to find out what wealth in America looks like. What they found is that often times, people who look like they are millionaires aren’t, and vice versa. They use their findings to paint a picture of the typical American millionaire.

The good news is my family already does a pretty good job making decisions regarding spending and saving that are in line with the typical American millionaire’s spending and saving habits. However, there is certainly room for improvement. According to this book I should stop shopping at the Banana Republic and Brooks Brothers and start buying all my clothes at JC Penney. Although I feel pretty attached to the aforementioned clothiers, I’m willing to make the change and I’ve made a resolution to start shopping at JC Penney.

So what does this all have to do with philanthropy? Well, in the book the authors state that when asked what their favorite charity is, the typical American millionaire will say, “me.” Wow, I was hanging onto the advice in this book like it was the gospel until I read that. That is one characteristic of the typical American millionaire I will never subscribe to. Giving to charity is far too important. As Suku Radia at Bankers Trust says, philanthropy is all about "paying our civic rent.”

I’ve really enjoyed this book and it has a lot of good insights. However, at the end of the day, if the one thing preventing me from someday becoming a millionaire is my commitment to investing in the social fabric of my community, then so be it. My wife and I will continue to exercise fiscal discipline so we may grow our assets while making modest incomes and keep giving back to help those that need it most.

Young Adult Engagment Best Practice Winner

2009-07-02T12:00:00.001-05:00

In May at United Way's National Staff Leaders Conference United Way of Central Iowa was one of three organizations featured as a best practice winner. United Way of America featured our work around young adult engagement by compiling a short video. The other two United Ways featured were Jacksonville, FL for their Coaching Program and Hartford, CT for their Achievers of Life program. Additionally, United Way of Central Iowa was also recognized for our work around public policy as a statewide group of United Ways of Iowa and also for our local media coverage.

Here is the video featuring United Way of Central Iowa's young adult engagement (the first 15 seconds there is a barcode and beeping, but then it'll go into the video):

You can also check out the video Student United Way at Drake created for the LIVE UNITED video contest:

Happy Birthday America!

2009-07-01T12:00:00.000-05:00

By Lisa Sieren

This Saturday represents our great country’s 233rd birthday, our Independence Day. What does that mean? Fireworks, grilling and lots of red, white and blue. And a whole lot of advocacy. I find it interesting that we think of potato salad when we think of July 4, but not necessarily advocacy.

The whole movement to establish our country was based on individuals advocating for our rights. In honor of our nation’s birthday, I have listed a few advocacy activities you and your family can engage in this weekend.

Educate on our history
Take this opportunity to talk about the advocacy work of our founding fathers and use this as a teachable moment on the importance of engaging in advocacy.

Speak out for responsible behavior
Holidays are an important time to remind friends and family to drink responsibly and to have a designated sober driver.

Support healthy habits
Time with family and friends does not just have to be about eating together. Planning outdoor activities such as biking or hiking and rallying family and friends to participate is a great way to show your support for healthy lifestyles.

Keep in mind this weekend that our country’s independence is the result of great advocacy work. Have a great holiday weekend and take time advocate!

Call this Mile One

2009-06-26T12:00:00.000-05:00

By Lisa Sieren

Last week I talked about the marathon that is United Way’s public policy engagement. I’ll continue with the marathon theme this week—partly because both Sarah Ramsey and I like to run (she the skilled runner and me the novice), but mostly just because I can. We just finished our 2008-2009 public policy marathon, and have begun our 2009-2010 public policy marathon. Let’s call our work right now Mile One of this year’s marathon. Why? Because United Way has recently started its 2010 Agenda Development.

Yes, I know it is only June. And yes, I know that the 2010 Iowa Legislative Session does not begin until January 11. Developing a legislative agenda takes time, though, and United Way takes great care in researching issues and ensuring alignment to all of our community impact work.

Right now, United Ways across the state are working with staff, volunteers and community partners to discuss policy issues and submitting them for consideration for our 2010 agenda. For an issue to receive consideration for our legislative agenda, it must be a significant policy issue impacting one of the following:

United Way’s core work in the areas of Education, Income and Health
Nonprofit management and operations, including charitable giving, volunteerism and nonprofit disaster recovery.

As we continue in our agenda development process, many more considerations and criteria come into play. Right now, though, we are putting on our thinking caps and focusing on the basic criteria above. It is now time for YOU to put on your thinking cap and help us out. (Yes, you….the person reading this blog). Focusing on the above criteria, brainstorm on issues that are impacting our community. Email me at lsieren@unitedwaydm.org with your ideas or comment on this blog with the policy issues you would like to nominate.

United We Serve

2009-06-23T12:00:00.002-05:00

I am currently at the National Conference on Volunteering and Service in San Francisco, attending as the Youth Commissioner of the Iowa Commission on Volunteer Service. I got in Sunday and have already had two days of meeting new people, learning and listening about how we can all collaborate better to use service as a strategy to address our communities' biggest needs.
Last night's opening session included speakers Arnold Schwarzenneger, Arianna Huffington, Maria Shriver, and yes Matthew McConaghy. (When his name was called I was in the lobby and witnessed every woman in the building rushing to the stage, including me). Oh yeah, and another big speaker, Michelle Obama, who officially launched President Obama's United We Serve initiative. The Initiative starts now and runs through September 11, which was declared a National Holiday in the Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act. Michelle spoke to how this summer is really just a warm up to when on September 11 we will recommit to making service a part of our lives daily.

Also, we had two music performing acts including Bon Jovi and Chaka Khan. It was a fun, yet exhausting day and most impressively great to have so many celebrities in the room speaking to the importance of service. Voluntering is actually cool now (or so I'm telling myself).

I will never let anyone mess with my money

2009-06-12T12:00:00.014-05:00

By Rachel Manuel

Monday and Tuesday I was invited to attend a Dropout Reengagment Training hosted by United Way of Central Iowa at the Logan Boys and Girls Club. The training was facilitated by Edward DeJesus, the founder and president of the Youth Development Research Fund. DeJesus is one of the most sought after experts on young adult/youth engagement and as I learned he even has the key to the city of Miami (and Edward DeJesus Day) for the work he has done in cities with dropout and youth engagement problems.

DeJesus started the training by doing a "thug" test of three boys in the room and asked them if they had any money. All three students passed the "thug" test, but he said that he wasn't actually asking them about the money in their pockets. He was asking them about the money they could have if they were successful in graduating from high school. This is where he made the entire room say together "I will never let anyone mess with my money." This seemed to really resonate with the students in the room, because too often they think of school as having little relevance to their future and it is easy to see the short term benefit of dropping out to start a job or even sell drugs on the streets to make money now, but DeJesus was able to help them see that by staying in school, they will make more money in the long run. He also however, was able to resonate with the adults in the room to understand how it is imporant to reinvent school to make it more interesting and relevant to young adults in today's world.

The training participants included youth program staff such as Boys and Girls Club and Creative Visions, Des Moines Public Schools, and young adults themselves who are in area youth programs and even some dropouts and those who are on probation from juvenile court.

The training was fantastic in really involving the young adults to help us "adults"(I loosely call myself an adult) in the room to better understand why young people may be struggling in school or why they might dropout. By better understanding these issues, we can hopefully keep the youth engaged and interested in school so they graduate and be successful in adulthood. One exercise we did in small groups was the adults in the room listed what they look for in a successful student, while the young people created a list of what they look for in a supportive teacher. We found that both the students and adults in the room value education and graduating, but sometimes our actions don't always match up with our values.

While there is so much more I could talk about from the training, overall it really opened my eyes to what DeJesus talked about being Youth Culturally Competant, which means engaging youth in the process. We will be more successful at keeping students in school, if they are involved in deciding what is best for them and how they are learning in school. By keeping them involved, they will in turn be invested.

Public Policy Marathon

2009-06-09T13:10:00.000-05:00

By Lisa Sieren

About this time last year, UWCI’s Public Policy Director Sarah Ramsey and I just looked at each other and said, "Isn’t this supposed to be our calm time of year?" Just this week, we were looking at our summer calendars and I had the same thought again. The truth is we never have a calm time of year. Even when the legislature is not in session, United Way’s ace public policy team is still at work.

Taking a page from Colin, I thought I’d use this blog to write about what we policy folks do once the legislative session is over. Here are the highlights:

Give thanks: We spend a great deal of time writing thank you notes to legislators and public officials. We make sure to give recognition where recognition is due, thanking those legislators who worked hard for United Way’s key priorities during session.

Put on the thinking cap: Starting in June, United Way meets with staff, volunteers and community partners across the state to discuss potential policy issues. In particular, UWCI’s impact leads highlight needs that affect the strategies they are working on to reach our goals in the areas of Education, Income and Health.

See what sticks: Once we have a list of potential policy issues, we spend a great deal of time researching the issues and potential policy solutions. This includes speaking with key experts in these areas and looking at best practices from other states. We then determine the viability of a policy solution—whether it is even achievable. We talk to elected officials and key government agencies about our ideas to gauge support. And, of course, our trusty lobbyists provide us a lot of input as well.

Make friends: The number one thing we work on outside of session is building relationships. This means meeting with legislators, the governor’s office and state government agencies. We want to know their priorities to look for potential partnerships and to understand where their focus is. We also invite them to United Way events so they can better understand our work. When we have good relationships with elected officials, they are more likely to give us their ear on our legislative priorities and look to us for input on legislation.

Those are just a few of the things we do outside of the legislative session. This is one of the most exciting times of the year, with the possibilities of new policy issues at the forefront and the time to strengthen relationships. Stay tuned for upcoming blogs about how you can get more involved in our work outside of session.

Our Volunteers Are Awesome

2009-06-05T14:15:00.001-05:00

By Colin Peterson
Today is one of those days when I feel really good about working at United Way of Central Iowa. I can brag on the staff (I think my colleagues rock!) but today I’m most pleased by the enthusiasm and support demonstrated by our volunteers (I realize I’m supposed to blog on Giving so my apologies to Rachel, our blogger for volunteerism).

This morning we had a meeting of our campaign cabinet followed by one of three trainings for volunteers that will be making CEO calls on our behalf this year (for explanation of what the cabinet and volunteer callers do go here).

All in all, 40 volunteers came through our door this morning. When we went around the room and introduced ourselves we asked everyone to share how long they’ve been volunteering for United Way. The winner, Dave Nagel from Freedom Financial Bank, has been a volunteer for nearly 50 years! Others in the room are volunteering for the first time.

A lot was covered in the meetings this morning including campaign goals, community impact goals, volunteer recruitment, and other business. Given the exceptional times our community and country have faced in the last 12 months it would be very easy to accept a defeatist, powerless outlook. Fortunately there was none of that in the building this morning. The level of engagement and enthusiasm reflected by these volunteers was astounding. This is a group that is clearly committed to giving their time, their treasure, and their voice to an ambitious community agenda.

I owe all of you who Give, Advocate, and Volunteer in central Iowa a big thank you! Your support is priceless and essential to the community. Moreover, it makes my job feel like a lot of fun!

Looking into the future

2009-06-02T09:30:00.003-05:00

By Rachel Manuel

Reading this article in the DSM Register
yesterday about literacy reminded me of the Common Good Forecaster that United Way of America recently released, which shows what the impact of education has within your state or even as specific as the county you live in. You are given the ability to change variables to see how education impacts people in our community's health and income, as well as educational success.

I won't spoil the fun for you completely, because it is interesting to see the different possibilities. For example, if you increase everyone's education level up one category in the state of Iowa (less than high school to completed high school, and high school completed to associates degree, etc) some the following is predicted: there would be around 24,000 less obese people in the state, 29 fewer murders, around 60,000 fewer people in poverty, around 21,000 fewer people unemployed, 3,200 more kids would be proficient in reading during the eigth grade, 11,600 less people incarcerated, and 245,000 more people would vote.

United Way of Central Iowa is doing a lot when it comes to helping children and youth achieve their potential through early childhood development and educational success to help ensure children are ready to succed in adulthood to lead healthy and financially independent lives. Currently, UWCI has two groups that focus on education. Women's Leadership Connection focuses on early childhood development and Emerging Leaders Initiative focuses on educational success, especially through a child's tougher transition years in 5th through 9th grade. There is a lot going on, and in the coming year we will learn more about what as a community we can do to increase everyone's educational success to improve lives in our community.

Is there any good news?

2009-05-29T11:15:00.000-05:00

By Lisa Sieren

My granny used to ask me as a kid, "Lisa Marie, what’s the good news and what’s the bad news?"

Not to be a downer, but let me just point out that what is in the news these days can’t exactly be called "good." With the economy in the state it is in, world hunger overwhelming and military conflicts across the globe, it is hard to see a bright spot in the day. It is even harder to see how we can change it.

My work at United Way of Central Iowa can make the news less overwhelming and negative for me. United Way is taking very concrete steps to create change during these tough times, just as we do in the less challenging times.

As an example, let me refer to an article in the newspaper on Thursday about the increased foreclosure rate in Iowa. Iowa’s rate for the first quarter of 2009 was 2.34%, higher than the last quarter of 2008 and higher than it was one year ago. While some states are certainly in a much worse situation, it becomes more of a reality when it hits home.

This isn’t an article that just dampens the mood, with another one waiting in the wings to bring more gloom. This is an article that highlights an issue that United Way is taking steps to mitigate. United Way has been working with community partners in central Iowa to lessen the impact of foreclosures. Through a Time Limited Grant, United Way is investing in Iowa Legal Aid’s Foreclosure Defense Project. This project assists and advises homeowners with low or moderate incomes to protect and sustain the important asset that is their home. In addition, United Way of Central Iowa is involved in the Polk County Housing Continuum, a collaboration whose mission is "to identify the state of homeless and affordable housing in Polk County and to create a coordinated plan that addresses the economic and social challenges that produce homelessness and lack of affordable housing."

As staff of United Way and seeing the change we create in the community, I feel a little more hopeful about the future. You don’t have to be a United Way employee, though, to feel a part of creating change in the community. As donors, advocates and volunteers, you play a vital role in this change. So the next time you see news about the tough economic times, think about what you are doing as a United Way supporter to change it. Amidst all of the bad news, that is some great news.

Take a look under the hood, Part Deux

2009-05-22T15:37:00.004-05:00

By Colin Peterson

In my last post I shared a look behind the scenes at what is keeping the resource development staff busy this time of year. As promised, this week I’ll tell you about goal setting…

Where to begin? Well, when we look at planning our goals for the new campaign year the first thing we consider is what we did last year. In 2008, our campaign cabinet set a goal of $26,250,000 which was a modest 5% increase over 2007 (United Way of Central Iowa’s history of campaign increases has historically trended between 8-12%). That was determined in June, 2008 at a time when prospective donors were concerned about high gas and increasing food prices. We all know what happened in the economy last fall and as a result we did not achieve our campaign goal. We did, however, raise more money than in 2007 and set a new campaign record of $25,012,000 which speaks volumes about the generosity of people in Central Iowa.

Getting back to the present and the goal for 2009: the short story for now is that we have not yet finalized a goal. I, along with my colleagues, am going through our entire campaign company by company (and in some cases, donor by donor) to paint a picture of where we see possible gains and losses. Thankfully, the picture is reflecting more opportunity for gains than losses. To get our heads around it we’re analyzing every company’s five-year giving history, trends in participation rates and leadership giving, downsizing events and hiring increases, as well as changes in leadership which may impact the visibility of the United Way campaign in a given company. I can’t say for sure when a goal will be finalized and made public but if you’re reading this blog or following us on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, or YouTube you’ll likely be amongst the first to know.

This whole goal setting process is all fine and well and since my job is to raise money for United Way it is obviously an important part of my existence. But beyond the confines of my spreadsheets and this cubicle I sit in, the campaign goal is really insignificant by comparison to the goals set by our community impact department. In 2009 you are going to see United Way of Central Iowa put its neck out (figuratively speaking, of course) in a way you haven’t seen before. We will be unveiling goals for 2020 that will detail exactly what progress we intend to see in central Iowa relating to our work in education, income, and health. Of course, achieving those goals will rely on the continued generosity of current and new donors but the community’s success achieving these goals will depend as much on the good work of our community partners, engagement in advocacy and countless volunteer hours.

I encourage you to stay tuned for information about all of United Way of Central Iowa’s goals and then sign up to do your part to achieve said goals.

Thanks to our veterans

2009-05-22T12:00:00.006-05:00

This week I started summer classes and my professor happens to be a Vietnam veteran. At the end of class Wednesday night he wished us a safe weekend and asked us all to think about what we can do to reach out to thank a veteran this Memorial Day.

He spoke to how we all have the opportunity to celebrate our country's veterans by giving some of our time. Whether it is through companionship with a veteran at the local VA Hospital or a retirement home or even an educational experience to learn more about our history; we all can learn a lot about why our country is what is today, in part, thanks to those who have served our country through national service.

According to the National Coalition for Homeless Veterans (NCHV), veterans account for approximately 23 percent of all homeless people. While no amount of homelessness is acceptable whether veteran or not, there are things that the NCHV suggests we can all do to help homeless veterans in our area:

-Visit with homeless veteran providers.
-Involve others. If you are not already part of an organization, pull together a few people who might be interested in attacking this issue.
-Participate in local homeless coalitions.
-Contact your elected officials, and discuss what is being done in your community for homeless veterans.

If you are interested in connecting with homeless or veteran organizations please don't hesitate to contact me and I'd be happy to help connect you. You can also search for opportunities and Memorial Day related events online.

I want to say thanks to all the veterans I know including my grandpa Jack (pictured with me above), my deceased grandpa Jim, my uncle Rex, and my professor. Thanks for everything and to your friends that served beside you.

When we meet in the middle

2009-05-19T12:42:00.000-05:00

By Lisa Sieren

Have you every heard the Diamond Rio song "Meet in the Middle?" The chorus says the following (be thankful you can’t hear me sing this):

"I’d start walking your way, you’d start walking mine
We’d meet in the middle, ‘neath that old Georgia pine
We’d gain a lot of ground, if we both give a little
There ain’t no road too long, when we meet in the middle."

Why am I highlighting a country song? Because I think the lyrics explain how great policy is developed and the importance of finding common ground.

This past weekend, President Barack Obama delivered a commencement address at the University of Notre Dame. In case you have not followed the story, there has been controversy surrounding his invitation to speak and receiving a university honor due to his position on a few issues. President Obama addressed the controversy directly in his speech. At one point he stated "…when we open our hearts and our minds to those who may not think like we do or believe what we do -- that's when we discover at least the possibility of common ground."

Finding common ground is a true balancing act, especially in the world of advocacy and public policy. But it is possible, when we are willing to sit together at a table and listen to the viewpoints of others. I think United Way does a great job of bringing people to the table; after all, it is in our mission statement.

United Way’s mission is "to improve lives by uniting the caring power of our community." I like to emphasize the uniting part, especially in advocacy work. As I look back over our accomplishments during the legislative session, there was a great deal of "uniting" that occurred by United Way partnering with a variety of organizations to reach our common goals. Examples include partnering with children’s advocates to protect Iowa Empowerment funding and with workforce development supporters to extend unemployment insurance benefits. Does this mean we agreed with our partners on every issue? Not necessarily. But we did find common ground on issues important to achieve our respective advocacy goals. How? We sat at the table and learned each other’s perspectives.

Next year for our Day on the Hill, maybe my colleagues will let me use Diamond Rio’s song as the theme song. Probably not, but I will keep their lyrics and President Obama’s words in mind as we work with our advocacy partners to achieve great policy that can improve the lives of Iowans.

A look behind the scenes . . .

2009-05-15T08:07:00.002-05:00

By Colin Peterson

I’m back! After conning a couple of my co-workers to pinch-hit for me on recent blogs, I’m back to actually write one myself. I thought this week I would tell you a little bit about what’s been keeping me busy and away from writing blogs.

This time of year is planning time for the campaign staff at United Way of Central Iowa. We’re pretty well known for the workplace fund raising campaign we put on each fall and now is the time we tune up and get the machine ready to run come September. The two big to-dos we’re working on now are volunteer recruitment and goal setting. I’ll tell you about volunteer recruitment today and leave you in suspense to learn about goal setting in my next post.

Each year we are fortunate to receive the committed support of individuals serving on our campaign cabinet. This year’s cabinet of 32 volunteers includes leaders from central Iowa’s biggest employers, federal, state and local government, small business, community volunteers, and non-profits. The cabinet is recruited by the campaign chairperson which this year is Suku Radia, CEO at Bankers Trust Company.

Each cabinet member is assigned to lead a segment of our campaign (segments reflect groupings of companies by size and industry). Two of the volunteers I’m working with are Dan Houston (President – Retirement & Investment Services, Principal Financial Group) and Kip Albertson (Senior VP, Bankers Trust Company). Dan and Kip are co-chairing the Major Firms segment which includes 57 companies that collectively raised $4.8 million in 2008. These two gentlemen will be providing me with guidance throughout the 2009 campaign in addition to supporting a strong campaign in their workplace and encouraging support for United Way by members of their peer group.

One of the key items they’re working on now is the recruitment of volunteer callers to conduct something we call the CEO call. As I write this blog Dan and Kip are working through a list of 19 prospective volunteers. The team they recruit will begin calling upon the men and women in charge of the 57 Major Firms companies to ask for their financial commitment to United Way in addition to supporting a workplace campaign at their businesses this fall.

The work these volunteers do and the contacts they make are critical to the eventual success of our campaign. These volunteers go to companies that have been long-time supporters to thank them and encourage their continued involvement. Perhaps even more critical is the doors they can open for us at companies where there isn’t a long record of support.

These volunteers, as with so many people in our community, are profoundly committed to improving lives in central Iowa. These two men along with the rest of the campaign cabinet help create the crucial momentum that will end in a successful campaign.

Drake students turn "Trash to Treasure"

2009-05-12T12:00:00.007-05:00

Even among finals week, the students involved in Student United Way at Drake are working hard to raise money for their future programming focused on United Way of Central Iowa's priorities of education, income, and health.

Throughout this week, Drake students are donating items for Student United Way's Trash to Treasure community yard sale on Friday, May 15 from 2 to 6 p.m on Helmick Commons (rain location Olmsted Center, click for a campus map). Many students throw away good items (futons, lamps, school supplies) that they simply are unable to take home or wherever they are going after graduation. Student United Way decided they wanted to help reduce this waste and saw an opportunity to raise some funds, while also offering affordable items to the Drake and Des Moines community.

If you are available this Friday, stop by sometime between 2 and 6 to see if there is an item that you might need. You never know!

All remaining items from the sale will be donated to Salvation Army. To read more about the sale click here.

Nonprofits: The underdogs of public policy

2009-05-08T12:00:00.000-05:00

By Lisa Sieren

Saturday was the first time I ever watched the Kentucky Derby. I have to say it was fascinating, with the big hats and horses and a surprising amount of to-do for such a short race. I was captivated by all the excitement when Calvin Borel on Mine That Bird came from behind to win. Though I knew nothing about the horses and bets prior to the race, I was thrilled to learn that the underdog had won.

I’ve always been a fan of underdogs, be it the tortoise, Rudy or the Mighty Ducks. Note: our friendly blog editor is a little (a lot) obsessed with Rocky Balboa. Maybe my preference for underdogs lends to work in nonprofit public policy, for nonprofits are very much the underdog in public policy work. Unfortunately, not everyone loves an underdog, especially when there a number of competing interests like there are in public policy.

Like any good underdog, nonprofits grit their teeth and continue working hard. But why do we do it? The Center for Lobbying in the Public Interest lists ten reasons why nonprofits should lobby, and here are my few favorite reasons:

· "Policymakers need your expertise. Few institutions are closer to the real problems of people than community-based nonprofits." Nonprofits are at the heart of the community, reaching out a hand to those who need it most.
· "Lobbying helps find real solutions. People thinking creatively and asking their elected officials for support can generate innovative solutions that overcome the root cause of a problem." That’s what we are about at United Way—creating lasting and sustainable change by targeting the root of our issues.
· "Lobbying is a democratic tradition." Just like underdogs are often told they shouldn’t be in the race, nonprofits are told they can’t or shouldn’t be involved in public policy. Advocating for a cause is as old as our democracy, and nonprofits have just as much right to speak out as others.

Mine That Bird strategically moved through the pack to come out the winner. That is how nonprofits will succeed in policy work: being strategic in our advocacy and bringing our issues to the forefront. The underdog will eventually prevail. Who’s your favorite underdog?

Lightning Strikes

2009-05-05T14:31:00.000-05:00

A note from Colin Peterson: After his house was hit by lightning, my colleague Tim Nelsen felt inspired to write a guest blog. This isn't the only unusual behavior he has been exhibiting since the incident...

So our house was struck by lightning last weekend. I was mostly assured that the worst our small suburban home would have to weather this spring was a large influx of kids selling magazine subscriptions. Turns out it was lightning, and magazine kids, but mostly lightning.

It made me realize something though. While the damage I faced was minimal and mostly covered by the homeowners insurance, I was still amazed at how fast things could change. It’s very easy to go through life and just assume that everything will be ok, but when it’s not, it’s good to have someone to turn to.

Without my insurance, I would have faced several thousand dollars worth of repairs and some tough financial decisions. Luckily, I was able to work through my insurance agent (thanks Mike) and get everything back on track, hot water running, stove repaired and peace of mind restored in my home.

In a weird way my relationship with my insurance agent is a lot like the community’s relationship with United Way. We make our contributions and then when somebody is in need, services are available to assist. True, replacing my water heater is not equal to feeding a family, but without my insurance I would have been worse off. Just as without the community contributions to United Way, the families in need would be facing much greater struggles.

You can’t always tell when things are going to change, but we can make sure that we are always prepared. I pay my insurance company because I believe in the protection they offer. I give to United Way because I believe in our community and want the best for all.

High school students receive service awards

2009-05-01T12:00:00.000-05:00

By Rachel Manuel

This past week Indianola High School and Hoover High School recognized those students in their schools that volunteer in our community. Both schools participate in United Way of Central Iowa's Student Recognition of Volunteers (SRV) program, and this year we had 300 students nominated for service awards throughout central Iowa. Other high schools participating in the program include Waukee, Bondurant, and Valley. Students received a certificate of appreciation signed by Shannon Cofield, president of United Way of Central Iowa, and Governor Chet Culver. For those students completing 100 hours of service or more this past year, they also received the President's Volunteer Service Award including a certificate of appreciation, a lapel pin and a letter from a president.

At Indianola's program, attended by the entire student body, they ended the program by recognizing Assistant Principal, Mr. Taylor, as he leaves for Iraq in a few weeks for the second time. The students gave Mr. Taylor a standing ovation for his service to our country and Indianola's Principal Mr. Morton gave a heartfelt speech.

The SRV program is led by a planning committee consisting of area high school students, nonprofit representatives, and high school staff. This year the team was led by Valley High School senior, Hana Sayeed. Thanks to Hana and her fellow students, other students in Central Iowa are being recognized for their service in central Iowa.

Action Alert: Protect infant/toddler child care scholarship money!

2009-04-29T14:27:00.000-05:00

The Legislature approved $2.36 million in stimulus funds for infant/toddler child care scholarships! Now, we need to make sure the Governor keeps the money in there.

The scholarships would help low-income working families between 145 - 185% poverty level (a family of four at 185% FPL translates to $41,625/yr income). Provided through Empowerment, the scholarships would help families get back to work! Click here to read the bill language: HF820
What You Can Do Please make a phone call or email ASAP with this message. The Pass this message onto your Board members and volunteers. We need as many people as possible to contact the Governor. Governor Culver has 30 days to veto/approve all measures.

Dear Governor Culver: United Way and our partners are very interested in making sure that families can get back to work. Many hard working families need help paying for day care so they can get and keep a job. You can help these hard working families by protecting child care scholarship money for infants and toddlers. House File 820 outlines how this one-time child care scholarship can help thousands of low-income families get back to work. Available on a sliding fee scale, these "bridge" payments can be one-time payments to parents up to 185% of the federal poverty level, and temporary payments to families who are recently unemployed and seeking work. These scholarships would help kids not currently income-eligible for state child care assistance.

This money can help hundreds of kids with full time care, and potentially thousands with temporary, short-term care. (Average quality care can cost $100/week per child, $5200/yr). This project is shovel-ready: several Iowa Empowerment regions already provide flexible scholarships for families. We need additional funding to assist more families at this time of economic crisis. Over 11,000 kids in Iowa live in families earning between 145 and 185% federal poverty level (185% FPL represents an annual income of $41,625 for a family of four).

Families cannot afford to be without child care when they go back to work. Please help children stay safe and in good care and support our hard working Iowa families.