"Thank you for being a Champion for your Community"
2012 Campaign
$1,562,191
I am pleased to report that the countless hours devoted to the 2012 campaign generated $1,562,191 in contributions for United Way of Fairfield County. This is a phenominal result during a time of great economic uncertainty!
When the 2012 Campaign began, the business economy in our community appeared to have stabilized, but high levels of uncertainty remained. Unemployment rates were still high; the national government had become paralyzed; and local government spending was reduced. These and other factors created stress for United Way's member agencies - demand for help was going up while governmental support was reduced.
United Way has developed the greatest potential to step into the void between our community's needs and reduced funding from traditional resources. The United Way does it best. Therefore, we set the 2012 campaign goal at $1,650,000 - an increase in $40,000 over 2011's actual campaign results. We designed that goal to challenge ourselves to be "Champions for Our Community" and find ways to meet the increasing needs of our agencies and the people they serve. We recognized that the goal was very aggressive, but thought it possible to reach.
Although the 2012 campaign did not meet goal,
these are still exciing times for United Way and Fairfield County. One
might think that when three major employer campaigns were either not
run or curtailed as a result of change in ownership and/or management -
which resulted in a hold of approximately $99,000 compared to last
year's campaign - that overall attitudes and campaign results would be
depressed; NOT SO! Instead, we are thankful and enthused about United Way, about Fairfield County and about meeting the needs of our community. Your
2012 campaign efforts closed that $99,000 gap to less than $48,000. In
fact, with those few missing/curtailed campaigns at just flat levels, we
would have exceeded our 2012 goal of $1,650,000. We are enthused about the potential for the 2013
campaign (and beyond) for two primary reasons. First, we look forward to
getting those three major employers back in the fold for in 2013.
Second, we look forward to capitalizing on the great strides made during
2012 in expanding the base of donors and cultivating new relationships.
The table is set for United Way to ensure that its memeber agencies
will continue their history of helping make Fairfield County a desirable
place to live in Central Ohio.
On Behalf of the entire United Way team, I want to say THANK YOU to each person, business, and agency for being a Champion of Our Community
- by contributing their time, talent and/or treasure toward the 2012
Campaign. The results are impressive and the impact is lasting change
for our Community!
