United Way begins accepting funding requests

NORWICH – Beginning Aug. 20, the Chenango County United Way started the Request for Proposal process to determine which programs in the county will receive funding, and how much funding they will receive.

This will be the second year the United Way and their community partners will be working with the RFP process, which asks that agencies submit a proposal that not only explains the program they wish to fund, but also has information about the results the program will achieve.

“We’ve heard from our donors that they’re appreciative of the outcome data the program is able to provide, because they know their donations are being used effectively,” said United Way Executive Director Elizabeth Monaco.

The RFP process asks all agencies asking for funding to submit a proposal. “They can ask for as little as $1,500 or as much as $40,000,” Monaco said. Proposals for programs must fall into one of the four identified focus areas, which include poverty issues of housing and hunger, the aging population, access to healthcare or opportunities for children and youth.

Monaco explained that key aspects of the proposals are their ability to fall into one of the four focus areas and the measured outcomes they show. “They have to demonstrate measured outcomes, and show the difference the program makes in a person’s life,” she said. An example of this, she explained, would be a proposal from a Head Start Program showing not only how many children attend the program, but also the percentage of children who leave able to read their name and able to count to ten.