The United Way for Southeastern Michigan (UWSEM) is changing the way we do business in order to meet the needs of the communities we serve. We have transformed into an impact-driven organization seeking to create measurable and lasting change in the areas most critical to the well being of Southeastern Michigan communities.

Background

Why we are making this change: The economic landscape and outlook for Southeast Michigan has dramatically changed. And with it, the issues facing families and individuals in our communities have become greater in number and more acute. UWSEM’s shift in function and focus is an agile, swift response to rapidly changing community needs.

What the community told us: In order to gather community input and ascertain the most acute needs of our communities, we launched a three-phase process in 2005. Phase one involved an unprecedented outreach effort. We heard from more than 6,500 residents through our community action survey. In the last two phases, we held 100 personal interviews with regional leaders and 30 focus groups, and spent months reviewing best practices and conducting research.

The Agenda for Change: After diligent research, listening and outreach, a set of priorities for a new action plan became abundantly clear. This new action plan targets the issues of educational preparedness (children are ready to succeed in school and beyond), financial stability (people are financially stable and secure) and basic needs (people are able to meet their needs and move toward financial stability), for all of the residents of Southeast Michigan.

Click here to learn more about the Agenda for Change.

Funding Impacts

What’s changed. The shift to the Agenda for Change has driven a transformation that has permeated every aspect of our organization. We have created a comprehensive public policy strategy to support the Agenda for Change. We have restructured our leadership and operations, and have aligned all of our resources to Educational Preparedness, Financial Stability and Basic Needs. And we have created a scorecard to measure our results and share our progress in an open and transparent way.

Funding changes. United Way for Southeastern Michigan’s board of directors has approved the selection of its new agency partners and affiliates and initiative investments for 2008-2011. The grant-funded programs and agency partners for the new 3-year funding cycle represent the best partners and programs to help UWSEM create real and lasting change in the three focus areas of its Agenda for Change: Income, Education and Basic Needs.

Why funding changes? Changes in how UWSEM provides grant funding to agencies reflects a fundamental shift in UWSEM’s purpose from fundraising to solving complex social issues in our communities. These decisions are in no way a value judgment of any agency involved in the grant-funding application process.

How many proposals were submitted? We received more than 360 proposals from 191 agencies and 91 collaboratives throughout Southeast Michigan. The total request for funding from all 361 proposals combined exceeded $92 million. With $59 million raised during our 2007 annual fund drive, we could not possibly fund all the proposals received.

Integrity of the process. The grant proposal review and selection process was open, forthright, thorough and inclusive. Detailed guidelines were available for public viewing on UWSEM’s Web site from the onset. 130 volunteers representing the nonprofit, business, labor, faith-based, civic, government and education communities served on 23 review committees. 10-15 person hours were spent reviewing each proposal, and a multi-tier process ensured a system of checks and balances. Agencies engaged in the process were communicated with at every step of the way.

New opportunities for agencies. United Way opened the doors for new agencies to apply for grant funding, and actively encouraged agencies to collaborate around common goals and outcomes. These efforts resulted in innovative partnerships with high likelihood for creating impact.

Tough decisions – United Way. Our decision to either reduce or eliminate grant funding for some agency partners was very difficult, as we greatly value the work these agencies do in our communities. Nonetheless, we are accountable to those we serve and to our donors for the strategic and focused application of resources.

Transitional funding. Agencies that will no longer receive grant funding from United Way can apply for transitional funding. Criteria and application information are available at uwsem.org under ‘partner resources.’

Tough decisions - Agencies. As we have encouraged partner agencies at the start of the grant-funding application process to develop a plan for funding diversification should they not be selected as a partner moving forward, we fully expect agencies to make equally difficult decisions about the future of their organization and how to best serve the needs of people in Southeastern Michigan. We respect those decisions and regard them as evidence of good stewardship.

Can people still designate their donations? Donor choice is important to us and the designation process is in place now and will continue. Regardless of the outcome of grant proposals, partner agencies that remain in good standing will still be eligible for designations. What is changing is how we are asking agency partners to use their designations. We are requiring agencies to use these dollars to further their work in the Impact Area (Educational Preparedness, Financial Stability, Basic Needs) of their choice. They simply have to communicate their choice to us.

Is this the last step in United Way’s transformation? The announcement of new partner and affiliate agencies for the new funding cycle beginning 2008 is a milestone in a journey started in 2005 to create lasting change in Southeastern Michigan. Through surveys, focus groups and research we listened to people in communities describe their greatest needs as Income, Education and Basic Needs. We formed our Agenda for Change based on this guideline. The announcement of new partner and affiliate agencies is yet another step in the realignment of United Way’s resources to the Agenda for Change.

Accountability. Now that we have selected the best partners and programs to help move the Agenda for Change forward, we are committed to open accountability for these resource application decisions. We have created a scorecard to measure results and will be reporting back to share our progress on an ongoing basis.

About the Work

Educational Preparedness work: The agenda will focus on making sure all of Southeast Michigan’s youth are prepared to succeed in life, work and post-secondary education. This will likely include programming aimed at helping more children enter school ready to learn, getting more children to read at grade level consistently, getting more youth to stay in school and enabling all children and families access to supportive services needed to be successful in school and life.

Click here to learn more about our work in Educational Preparedness.

Financial Stability work: Another focus will involve getting individuals and families of all ages the assets needed to achieve their educational and financial goals. This will likely include programming designed to increase financial literacy and home ownership rates, and to provide individuals and families of all ages access to the supportive services needed to move toward financial stability.

Click here to learn more about our work in Financial Stability.

Basic needs work: The agenda will also focus on helping individuals and families of all ages meet their basic needs and progress toward self-sufficiency. This will likely include programming designed to enable individuals and families of all ages to successfully navigate through systems in order to receive services.

Click here to learn more about our work in Basic Needs.

Measuring impact: We will monitor our progress on the Agenda for Change against a scorecard we plan to make public. The scorecard will reflect our performance in executing strategies and achieving anticipated outcomes.