As they head into the 75th year of serving their 7-county service area, United Way of the Ohio Valley (UWOV) is hoping to add a new level of connectivity between their organization and the community.
Executive Director Paula Yevincy said the organization has always been built on supporting and connecting the community to a number of services and resources.
“We want to take that knowledge and experience to address the social issues we are dealing with in our community. We do our best to use the resources we have to gather new resources already. Now we not only address symptoms of those social issues but strive to get at the root cause of those issues,” Yevincy said.
The organization introduced the Community Impact Funding at the end of 2023. They plan to use those funds to partner with agencies across their service area to open up appropriate programs for each community.
Director of Community Investment & Impact Vikki Embry said one example of such a program could be focusing on solving community homelessness. As with many issues, she said it would take regional efforts to solve the issue through affordable housing, prevention and intervention housing, financial stability lessons, and more.
“We are looking at programs that address that and how we can help them, not just with monetary funding — that’s obviously very important to nonprofits — but how we can help those programs move the needle in our community to help lift families and individuals out of poverty,” Embry said.
Most of these problem-solving conversations will involve collaborating with partners, community stakeholders, and nonprofit directors to ensure change is seen as a whole.
Yevincy said that the organization also has several extensive and successful partnerships throughout the state that can help make meaningful change.
“We want to take care of our people, but we’re also part of a much bigger problem that stretches beyond our borders, and we want to work collaboratively even on a larger level,” Yevincy said. “We’re really going to stress that in this 75th year. We’re trying to stretch beyond what we’ve done before because we know we’re needed. We know our community needs us.”
Board Chair Jonathan Carroll also said he wants the organization to hone in on connectivity this year.
“By deepening our commitment to impactful projects and strategic collaborations with local governments and nonprofits, we ensure that our legacy of support continues to positively shape the community,” Carroll said.
Those skills will be trained at all levels of the organization, Carroll said, with board members, staff, and community outreach members all working toward a deeper connection.
Going into this year, the team plans to have more events and fundraisers throughout the community. Yevincy said they also anticipate the results from the Harwood Institute for Public Innovation intiative to make a wider and more invested impact.
“I’m sure there’ll be some things that’ll be daunting for us to see, but then we can say, ‘how are we going to come together as a community to address these things that this report will show us.’ That goes along with the United Way mission,” she said.
Another focus this year is to get the next generation involved in nonprofit work.
For Director of Resource Development & Marketing Savannah Daniels, that means making nonprofit work more recognized in the community among the younger generations. She hopes to grow the volunteer base for younger crowds and instill an understanding of nonprofits’ importance in their communities.
“If we lose sight of the importance of giving in our community as a generation, there’s no way that we’re going to make it,” she said.
For more information on the Community Impact Funding, contact Embry at 270 684-0668 Ext. 25 or email [email protected].
