• Mission: Uniting our community to empower people and improve lives.
• Services provided: We provide grants to organizations working to lift children and their families out of poverty. We also operate a Gift In Kind Warehouse that provides a variety of household products to almost 200 organizations in the community, maintain the 211 crisis line, coordinate a Volunteer Income Tax Assistance/Free Tax Service initiative and provide capacity building services to local nonprofit organizations. Finally, we manage a number of volunteer projects including Live United Day and Fill The Bus.
Live United Day
Who: United Way of Northwest Arkansas
What: One-day volunteer efforts with volunteers paired with nonprofit organizations.
When: 8:30 a.m-4 p.m. May 27
Where: Northwest Arkansas charities
Information: (479) 750-1221 or unitedwaynwa.org
• Service area: We serve Washington, Benton and Madison Counties in Arkansas and McDonald County in Missouri.
How is your organization unique? The United Way is actually the first "crowd funding" organization! We combine the funds of donors to have greater impact in a community, with the goal of moving the needle on issues related to poverty and providing resources to support the sustainability of our local nonprofits.
Why do you work for a nonprofit organization? Do you have a personal connection to the mission? If so, what is it? I worked for a number of years in the business sector in a job that required extensive travel. I started feeling disconnected from my local community and decided I needed to make a change. So I became a "sector switcher," shifting into the nonprofit world. While I thoroughly enjoyed my prior work life, the sense of significance is much higher for me working for a nonprofit organization! And through the United Way of Northwest Arkansas, our staff and I have the opportunity to influence the lives of people across the community.
What part of your job fills the most of your time? I spend a lot of time thinking forward, considering what the organization needs to look like and the impact it needs to have on the community in the coming years. As the world around us is dynamic, we have to be dynamic, as well, and able to respond to changes in our environment. Practically, I spend time with staff talking through what we've accomplished, what we're doing and what we need to do.
What have you learned on the job that you didn't expect? Pretty much everything; it's been a tremendous learning experience to work for a United Way!
What challenges face your organization? Our biggest challenge right now is shifting our funding model, as the workplace campaign that has been the signature of United Ways across the country is in decline.
Are there volunteer opportunities in your organization? What are they? Our two biggest volunteer opportunities are coming up this month and in August. We have Live United Day on April 27, which will connect around 800 volunteers with a variety of organizations across the community. Folks can still sign up on our website! And on August 3 and 4 we will be Filling The Bus(es) with school supplies for area children. Sign-ups for that event will be on our website sometime in June.
What upcoming fundraisers and/or other events does your organization have planned? In addition to LU Day and FTB, several local businesses are holding a golf tournament on our behalf on May 21st at the Springdale County Club. All golfers are welcome and information is on our website!
NAN Profiles on 04/15/2018