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Editor’s Note:
Pamela Beckford has been at the helm of the United Way of Wells County since 1999. She has seen the organization though good economic times and bad and has been instrumental in evolving the organization into a more pro-active role in the community.
The traditional role of the United Way has been to collect and allocate funds to a variety of local social service and youth-oriented programs. Beckford has led efforts to raise community awareness of poverty issues, been deeply involved in coordinating and consolidating common efforts as well as helping to establish the Wells County Leadership Academy.
We recently asked for a brief update via a few questions with Beckford:
-Mark Miller
The Wells County United Way campaign for 2010 fell a bit short of its goal. What adjustments does this necessitate for your office?
Unfortunately, yes, we did fall short in this past fall’s campaign. However, the community still supported United Way. We have made some internal budget cuts to deal with the short fall. We did not want to reduce any funding for programs in the community and the United Way board of directors authorized taking funds out of our reserves in order to keep our overall funding level with last year. This is certainly not something we can do every year, but felt that we could do it this year to bridge the gap.
How did the Wells County campaign compare to other units’ efforts, regionally and nationally?
The fundraising environment has been uncertain for the last couple of years and that has effected United Way fundraising nationally, as well as most of the funded programs.
In Indiana campaigns were down about 5% overall; however, there were some strong pockets of support, such as the Warsaw area.
How does the United Way adjust its focus during tougher economic times?
We have learned over the past several years that United Way cannot fund every good program in our community. Our focus is on Education, Income and Health, both locally and nationally.
We know that our children need to be ready for school in order to graduate and lead successful lives. We know that we need to have individuals earning a living wage and being able to put food on their table and a roof over the heads of their family. And we know that we want to prevent unhealthy lifestyles so that we can live long and healthy lives.
United Way of Wells County is particularly focused on bridging the gap for those individuals that are struggling to make ends meet. We are also very focused (and will be more so in the next few years) on being sure that children are ready to learn in school.
What’s the biggest changes you’ve seen in your work in the ten years you’ve held this position?
I was very fortunate when I started this job in 1999 that our local United Way had a board of dedicated individuals who were forward-looking and had a vision. Our mission statement (To provide and promote visionary leadership and positive solutions for the concerns of our Community) has not changed much in that time.
Our fundraising is a means to an end for us to achieve our goals of a stronger community. United Way is so much more than fundraising, although that is a critical component of what we do. United Way is truly about making this a better and stronger community - and about having people who live here be able to contribute to its success.
What are the most critical issues in local charitable work? How has the Wells County United Way adapted?
Right now, the most critical issue for all charitable organizations is the ability to do more with less. Our resources are limited and we must learn how to maintain our focus. I am reminded of a Tim Elmore Habitude called Rivers and Floods. Rivers are a very good thing - they provide transportation, food, and a livelihood. Floods, on the other hand, can be devastating. When we lose our focus (trying to be all things to all people), we can’t do anything well.
It is important for each organization to determine what their mission is and measure every activity against that mission. If it doesn’t fit, even if it is a good thing, we need to let somebody else tackle it. If we spread ourselves too thin, then we aren’t good at any one thing. But if we remain focused, we can all excel.