Anthony Maione knows about running a nonprofit – and about reaching out to help those in need. Prior to joining the United Way of Rhode Island as an executive vice president in June, Maione headed up Rhode Island’s National Conference for Community and Justice. Before joining the NCCJ, he was executive director of the Samaritans in Rhode Island.
“You run twice as fast every year and then you look up and the scenery hasn’t changed,” says Maione.
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That sentiment describes how the folks at the United Way of Rhode Island and so many others in the nonprofit sector feel, as do the generous individuals and businesses that support nonprofits.
Consider that while millions of dollars are raised each year to support nonprofits and their invaluable social programs, societal problems not only continue to exist – in many cases they are getting worse.
Consider the following:
• Ten years ago, 14 in 100 children in Rhode Island lived in poverty. Today, 18 in 100 live in poverty. In fact, among the New England states, Rhode Island has the highest child poverty rate, the highest high school dropout rate and the highest rate of teens not working.
• The number of children in shelters has increased by nearly 200 percent from years ago.
• In 2002, the Rhode Island Community Food Bank saw record food distribution figures – 6.5 million pounds of food, a 7 percent increase over the previous year and double what it was five years ago.
• As of October 2002, there were 39,717 children in Rhode Island who were receiving benefits from the Food Stamp program. Half of all Food Stamp recipients in Rhode Island are children under age 18.
I could go on, but you get the point.
Things are not getting better – they’re getting worse. The United Way of Rhode Island recognizes this. And so this year, the organization’s campaign has a different feel to it.
Just so there is no confusion, understand that the United Way still needs your money.
The agency’s general campaign for 2003-04 is under way. Expectations are high for raising capital that can be funneled to so many local organizations that are in the business of helping others.
But this year, United Way officials are asking for something else, as well. They need your time, your ideas and your energy. They’re determined to act as a leader in making a push to better organize the many charitable efforts taking place in Rhode Island.
Jack Nixon, an executive vice president at Fleet Bank, is chairing the 2003-04 United Way of Rhode Island general campaign. He points out that in the past decade, there has been a 70 percent growth in the number of nonprofits operating in Rhode Island. There are now close to 4,000.
That, said Nixon, translates to a proliferation of people asking for money – for help. As a result, the United Way has decided that it wants to play a far more active role in organizing the “giving power.”
“There is no master plan … to go after the major community needs,” said Nixon. “One of the key issues of the United Way is to harness and pull groups together to address community needs.”
Nixon sees statistics that say more working Rhode Islanders – and their children – are living in shelters each day.
These statistics cry out that more needs to be done – that for all the good will and generosity, it just isn’t enough.
“It’s not that there hasn’t been a lot of energy and progress,” said Nixon. “A lot of battles have been won. … But we have to get to the root causes. And with all the resources, there really needs to be a focus. There needs to be a more disciplined approach to identifying the issues that need to be addressed.”
The United Way of Rhode Island has a plan.
The agency is contacting community leaders from across the state, asking them to recommend people who could help make a difference by taking part in one of two summits planned for early next year.
The first is scheduled for Jan. 14 through 16 and is entitled “Children, Youth and Families: From Vulnerable to Strong.” The second, “People and Neighborhoods: From Crisis to Security,” is scheduled for Feb. 25 through 27.
More than 1,000 community leaders have already or will soon receive a letter from the United Way. The goal is to find people from various constituency groups, including parents and young people, policy-makers, community experts and service providers.
The aim of the summits is to produce a targeted list of specific community goals. The United Way will take on the leadership of some – but the idea is that other organizations and coalitions will take on others.
“The list of human needs and social issues facing us is long and our collective resources are limited,” said Dennis Murphy, United Way of Rhode Island’s president and CEO. “We recognize that no one agency or organization can respond to all the human service needs in Rhode Island. … We hope these summits will serve as a first step.”
They can be. But the United Way needs your help. So if you did get a letter, or you get one in the coming days, take a few minutes to give it a thoughtful response.
“Ultimately, these issues don’t belong to one sector,” said Maione. “To make a dent in them, we need the whole community.”
