Greater Mankato Area United Way
October 3, 2023
Amount Requested$20,000.00
127 S 2ND ST #190
MANKATO, Minnesota 56001
Laura Murray
Dir. of Operations & Communications
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General Operating
Greater Mankato Area United Way's mission is to unite the community to secure and invest resources to improve people's lives by focusing on the impact areas of basic needs, health, and education. We strive to identify, convene, and facilitate action around community issues and engage a diverse group of community leaders and strategic partners at all levels. We aim to be innovative and resourceful while developing and nurturing key relationships in order to build a better tomorrow for our region.
$20,000.00
$1,803,137.63
$3,433,002.33
Yes
We are grateful for the Olseth Family Foundation’s continued support and partnership in keeping our region strong.
MATCHING GIFT:
In this application, we are requesting $20,000, contingent on our donors reaching this amount through a match promotion. Since our campaign kicked off in August, we DID meet this $20,000 match! We promoted the donation as a match on all new gifts (meaning the gift from a donor who did not give last year) and on any increased gifts (meaning the amount that a donor from last year increased their gift). Here are examples of the way we promoted this match and our partnership with the Olseth Family Foundation:
• We recorded a PSA with KEYC that played on rotation on their stations. KEYC donated this in-kind.
• We included an insert slip that went into our community mailers regarding the campaign; over 1,000 people received.
• Shared on social media.
• Our CEO Barb Kaus shared with media during radio interviews.
• We shared at our Women with Heart event in early August with 700+ attendees (verbally on stage and visually in PowerPoints). Each attendee received the informational match slip inside their personalized envelope with a pledge form.
• We shared about the match during United Way workplace presentations (“rallies”) for area businesses. These are where we go into businesses to share about United Way’s work/community impact and give employees the chance to give. Several hundred employees were part of these rallies.
• Anecdotally, we received several calls and inquiries from community members to ensure their gift would count toward the Olseth match!
We are grateful for the opportunity to leverage the generosity of the Olseth Family Foundation to encourage more people to give and in turn allowing us to help more individuals in our region.
HOW OUR REQUEST FITS THE FOCUS AREAS:
Greater Mankato Area United Way's mission is to unite the community to secure and invest resources to improve people's lives by focusing on the impact areas of Basic Needs, Health, and Education. Those are the areas that our region needs our focus on in order to stay strong and sustainable. All of our programs (62 programs in 2024) must fall into at least one of these areas. By keeping these three pillars strong and balanced, we can continue to build a better tomorrow for our region.
We always take a holistic rather than a singular focus, because when someone needs help in one area, they need help in many others, and it’s our job to make sure that’s done. For instance, when a child needs a scholarship through the Connecting Kids program, they need more than just scholarship assistance to participate in out of school activities. They may need a mentor or tutor, or their family may also be struggling with housing, healthcare, food, or other aspects. We must support all those areas in order to truly break the cycle of need and put the child on a path to success.
This request pertains to our 2024 partner programs. Greater Mankato Area United Way supports many other initiatives that are not included in this grant request or program budget, including literacy, suicide prevention, substance use disorder advocacy, youth mental health, and more.
Our work directly aligns with the Olseth Family Foundation’s funding area of education as well as basic needs such as housing and food security. Our programs under the impact area of Education fall into three categories. "Success by Six" builds systems of support for parents and young children to ensure that all children are ready for kindergarten. "Nurturing Children and Families" ensures that youth in our communities have educational opportunities that promote healthy development. "Youth Outreach" ensures that all youth have access to quality youth development activities that foster positive experiences.
Examples of these programs include: Project for Teens' Peer Education, ServeMN's MN Reading Corps, Greater Mankato Diversity Council’s Promoting Respect Workshops, Blue Earth County First Steps’ prenatal program, YWCA’s New American Families and Youth Programming, Lutheran Social Services’ Sex Trafficking Prevention, YMCA’s School-Based Mentoring and Brother/Sister Program, Mankato Area Public Schools' Lincoln Logs Learning Center, Greater Mankato Area United Way’s Books for Kids program and WellShare International’s Somali Youth Program.
Our programs serve all ages at every stage of life, no matter the background or income level. Categories under the impact areas of Basic Needs and Health include "Emergency Services," "Enhancing the Lives of People with Disabilities," and "Supporting Individuals and Families." Some examples of the programs include Open Door Health Center's Integrated Clinic Operations, Salvation Army's Emergency Social Services, Committee Against Domestic Abuse (CADA)'s Advocacy & Therapeutic Support, MN Council of Churches Community Navigator Services, VINE’s Door-to-Door Transportation, and Partners for Housing’s shelters and transitional housing. New this year, Greater Mankato Area United Way is supporting the Youth Mental Health Navigator program, which we helped create and launch in local schools.
Your support truly makes a difference.
All ages and income levels. Majority low- to moderate income (LMI) clients served.
Blue Earth, Le Sueur, Nicollet, Waseca counties
1. Keep our region’s services and funding balanced throughout the major areas of need.
2. In the specific area of education, we will build systems of support for parents and young children to ensure that all children are ready for kindergarten.
3. Support the physical and mental health of vulnerable families and individuals.
1. Support programs that fall under the areas of basic needs, health, and education, all vetted by more than 90 community volunteers and approved by our board for the 2024 calendar year.
2. Provide programming that supports parents from all different backgrounds in meeting their children's basic needs to promote healthy development and educational needs.
3. Provide families and individuals tools to maintain all aspects of healthy living.
1. Track and report data of people served through each program and chart proportions of “Basic Needs,” “Health,” and “Education” to ensure the impact areas remain balanced and/or aligned with our community’s current needs.
2. Provide funding to partner programs including Blue Earth County First Steps, Lincoln Logs Learning Center, YWCA New American Families, and six public preschool programs around the region.
3. Fund/track programs that support sobriety, therapeutic counseling for domestic/sexual abuse survivors, scholarships for access to fitness facilities, access medical and dental services, and other programs that affect social determinants of health.
01/01/2024
12/31/2024
In 1931, citizens formed our organization because they saw a need for a community-driven agency to address needs, raise essential funds, ensure transparency, and keep the region strong and balanced. Through the decades, we have overcome many challenges together, proving time and time again that we are stronger united. The foundation of our organization has always been collaboration and partnership. We are proud of our diverse partnerships with businesses, city/county leaders, nonprofits, schools, and community members of many backgrounds.
Businesses welcome us into their workplaces to hold more than 200 employee rallies throughout the campaign to learn about the impact our partner programs have on the region. Dozens of businesses provide sponsorships and/or in-kind donations to support our work. Last year, more than 1,500 corporate and community volunteers made our work possible.
We also have close collaborations with our partner agencies, with which members of our staff, board, and Community Impact teams partner.
Greater Mankato Area United Way participates in many groups and initiatives, including Mankato Youth Place, Mankato Area Care Network, Early Childhood Dental Network, Blue Earth County Statewide Health Improvement Program, Children’s Museum of Southern MN Center for Childhood Community Partnership, Mankato Area Cross Cultural Connections, Hunger Assistance Professional Networking Group, and Blue Earth and Nicollet County Homeless Response Teams. Our literacy efforts include vital partnerships with Olseth Family Foundation, Capstone Publishing, regional elementary schools, and others.
Another key part of our mission is convening the community, which is not included in this specific grant request or program budget listed. Greater Mankato Area United Way is currently focusing on community needs around mental health, suicide, and substance use disorder advocacy. We are working with community partners to address needs and bring awareness to these key issues. United Way also hosts the resource hotline 2-1-1 as well as the local online volunteer connector, Get Connected, where nonprofits can post their volunteer needs.
Other year-round initiatives include hosting quarterly Success by Six forums with stakeholders interested in early childhood development, hosting philanthropic learning opportunities for our Emerging Leaders United group, and spotlighting children’s social, emotional, and mental health needs.
United Way serves as the fiscal agent and as a key member of the leadership team for Project Community Connect, an annual free community resource event that connects people who are struggling financially to services. This event welcomes more than 600 guests in need to receive free lunch and access to housing, employment, and other resources.
Other collaborative efforts include our annual Week of Action volunteer projects (connecting over 200 volunteers to local projects), Reading Festival (more than 600 attendees), local businesses' community fundraisers, and much more.
Each day, we strive to engage our region to live united. By working together, we are able to carry out our mission of improving people's lives.
This funding will be used for the programs' activities serving individuals and families in the 2024 calendar year.
Unapproved