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00:00-->00:06 United Way Logo on Screen
00:07 --> 00:10 Thank you David, and good afternoon everyone.
00:10 --> 00:18 He's right, it's true that I much prefer to
be a part of a meeting or initiative that has a a vision or a purpose.
00:18 --> 00:25 Just as I prefer to have discussions that
are actionable versus just provides an update.
00:26 --> 00:32 My hope is that you will leave here today
with a better understanding of United Way's purpose, our vision.
00:33 --> 00:38 That you will leave here today with information
that you can and want to take with you because you feel good.
00:39 --> 00:45 Actually, scratch that. We want you to feel
great because of your engagement with the United Way of Cass-Clay.
00:46 --> 00:52 Now David mentioned that I was going to talk
to you a little bit today about the changes in the way that we are utilizing your donor
dollars. 00:53 --> 00:55
I tend to think of it as more of an evolution. 00:56 --> 01:01
But semantics aside, why is it important that United Way change or evolve now?
01:02 -->01:05 Well, let's begin by taking a look at our
community overall. 01:06 --> 01:12
We have a thriving business community; we're sitting at 3.6% unemployment or approximately
50% of the national average. 01:13 --> 01:17
We have collective goodwill and a willingness to partner across the non-profit sector.
01:18 --> 01:23 And we have a community culture of active
philanthropy. 01:24 --> 01:33
In short, life is so good for so many of us, and yet our community, like many others, faces
challenges. 01:33 --> 01:37
There are individuals and families that need our help.
01:38 --> 01:47 So with all that we have going for us in this
community, the leadership at United Way believes that now is right time to leverage United
Way's unique position, 01:48--> 01:57
our ability to bring people and organizations together from all across different sectors
to make our community a better place for all who live here.
01:58 -->02:00 So let's talk about this evolution.
02:01 --> 02:05 86 years ago the United Way of Cass-Clay began,
and we were often referred to as the Community Chest.
02:06 --> 02:13 We would invest in non-profit agencies that
all had varied missions, but that all had one thing in common: and that was helping
individuals and families. 02:14 -- 02:23
Then in the 1990's, we evolved into funding and investing in programs that could measure
their outcomes so that we could report back to all of you, our investors.
02:24—>02:28 What was the return on your investment, what
was the social change that had been created? 02:29—>02:40
In 2013 and beyond, we want to make the most of our unique position in the community to
move from individual organization outcomes to community wide solutions.
02:41—>02:49 Because of our longevity, in working with
both the not-for-profit sector and the for-profit sector, combined with our volunteer led funding
model,
02:50—>02:54 we have the ability to see common concerns
that we all share
02:55—>03:03 so that together we can determine strategies
and action steps that address these concerns in the most cost effective way possible.
03:04—>03:11 Our evolution in a nutshell is from investing
in agencies to programs to now a collaborative approach
03:12—>03:15 that will address community needs involving
many different sectors. 03:16—>03:19
So what do I really mean by community collaborations? 03:20—>03:22
We will still have a volunteer-led vetting process.
03:23—>03:27 We will still invest in non-profit programs
or provide grants. 03:28—>03:38
But instead of having one to one relationship between the United Way and our non-profit
partners, we are going to create partnerships across sectors that are all working on similar
issues. 03:39—>03:43
Let me be frank. There is no silver bullet.
03:44—>03:50 No one organization alone can end hunger,
or homelessness, or any other need that a community faces.
03:51—>04:01 But when we work together, playing to each
organizations respective strengths, we can and will help those most in need in this community.
04:02—>04:09 At United Way, we've been investing or funding
programs in the areas of Basic Needs and Prevention & Development,
04:10—>04:13 and we've been working in the area of Education
for over a decade. 04:14—>04:23
So like the evolution that is taking place in how we are going to invest, we are also
going to be evolving the areas that we are going to invest in.
04:24—>04:31 In 2013 and beyond, they are Education, Income
Stability, and Health. 04:32—>04:34
Now, why should we focus on these three? 04:35—>04:43
Because at United Way, we believe that Education is essential to getting and keeping a job
with a wage that can sustain a family. 04:44—>04:51
And income that can cover for today, and save for tomorrow can build a family's solid foundation.
04:52—>04:57 And good health keeps children on track at
school and parents productive at work. 04:58—>05:08
By leveraging these three investments, we believe that we will have a foundation across
our community for not only individual prosperity, but community prosperity.
05:10—>05:15 This new approach of funding solutions instead
of programs or agencies individually 05:16—>05:23
allows us to create and sustain partnerships that will last beyond funding allocations
and short term solutions. 05:24—>05:31
To partnerships with a focus on community wide goals, and here's the key, that address
root cause issues.
05:32—>05:36 This is an evolutionary change, this is an
evolutionary process.
05:37—>05:42 And we've already begun by taking the first
steps in focusing in the area of Education.
05:43—>05:49 Now as I begin to share with you about the
significant amount of resources that we are going to invest in the area of Education,
05:50—>05:57 some of you may be quietly wondering, "Hey,
United Way. Don't we have some of the highest graduation rates in the country?," and you're
right, we do. 05:58—>06:00
We do have some of the highest graduation rates in the country,
06:01—>06:08 but unfortunately looking at graduation rates
alone doesn't tell you the full story of what's going on in the area of Education.
06:09—>06:12 Now there is a tremendous amount of stats
or research or documents that I could point to.
06:13—>06:16 But for the sake of time today, I want to
share with you three.
06:17—>06:26 We all know that anyone working in the area
of education is really a cradle to career undertaking, because education truly starts
at birth. 06:27—>06:32
But there are indicators, and they're on the screen in front of you, that we can use when
we look at the area of Education.
06:33—>06:37 I want to begin by talking about the first
one, or what we call Kindergarten Readiness. 06:38—>06:42
And in order to do that, we need to take a look at the childcare issue in our community.
06:43—>06:54 We have approximately 29,000 students in our
community 12 and under, or presumably the age that would need to have child care.
06:55 --> 07:00 And yet 50% have it available to them. 50%.
07:01--> 07:13 We know from childcare providers that the
current waiting list is at best months long, and our educators tell us that oftentimes
children are at home unattended, or at best with a younger or older sibling.
07:14—>07:24 The lack of childcare is an issue that needs
to be addressed if we want our children to be ready to successful when they enter school.
07:25—>07:31 Now, before some of you say, 'Hey, wait a
minute, I stay at home with my children. They don't need to be in a center to be ready for
school. '
07:32—>07:34 Parent-to-parent, I would tell you I agree
with you. 07:35—>07:40
But the truth of the matter is we have children in this community who need to be in a setting
that aren't 07:41—>07:48
because their parents don't have access to quality childcare options, and they don't
have friends or family for those children to be with.
07:49—>07:52 So now there is so much more that I could
share with you, but again we want to honor your time.
07:53—>07:57 So now that we've taken a look at just one
data point around the first indicator, or Kindergarten Readiness,
07:58—>08:03 let's move to that last indicator and talk
about College, Work, and Life Preparedness. 08:04—>08:18
Here's a stat that you may find alarming (I know I did): The percent of students that
are attending a North Dakota State University System College that need to take remedial
courses is 24%. 08:19—>08:21
Look around your tables. There's approximately eight of you at each table.
08:22—>08:25 That means that two of you would need to take
remedial courses. 08:26—>08:28
Now let me say this again: 08:29—>08:40
[Crowd laughter] You can all decide who it's going to be! Opened a can of worms there,
didn't I?
08:41—>08:50 The percent of students that are attending
a North Dakota State University System College or a college that receives state funding
008:51—>08:57 that need to take a remedial course, or a
course that these kids are going to pay for but they're not going to receive any college
credit for, 08:58- 09:06
because they're not academically ready yet is 24%. These kids are our future workforce.
09:07—>09:13 Do they have the 21st century skills necessary
for you, your teams, or those that you serve? 09:14—>09:16
Many of you in the room today are business leaders.
09:17—>09:20 Your organizations have visions and goals
that you want to accomplish. 09:21—>09:26
Does this next generation of workforce have the skills in order to help get your company
there? 09:27—>09:32
So now we've talked a little bit about the first indicator, or Pre-K readiness,
09:33—>09:35 we've talked about that last indicator, or
Post-secondary Education. 09:36—>09:40
I want to talk a little bit about what happens during those middle years.
09:41—>09:46 When our team was taking a look at some academic
information from the Department of Public Instruction,
09:47—>09:51 we realized that we have an achievement gap
that's happening across our community. 09:52—>09:56
And in order to illustrate this, I want to share with you the information from two of
our local schools. 09:57—>10:01
Now on the screen in front of you, you're going to see information from Centennial Elementary,
10:02-10:06 you're probably mostly familiar with this,
this is the elementary school that's south on 25th street.
10:07—>10:12 And then we're also going to take a look at
Jefferson Elementary. Jefferson Elementary is north of 13th in the Jefferson Neighborhood.
10:13—>10:17 So let's begin by taking a look at some of
their reading and math scores. 10:18—>10:23
Math first. 91% versus 77% between Centennial and Jefferson.
10:24—>10:32 Now let's take a look at the associated reading
scores. In Centennial, you can see that it's 80%, and in Jefferson, it's 67.
10:33—>10:39 And you can also see that we have a gap of
14 and 13 per cent, respectively. Why is this happening?
10:40—>10:42 So our team went back and we said what else
can we learn about these schools? 10:43—>10:51
And let me share two more indicators with you. The first one is what is the median household
income that feeds into these schools? 10:52—>11:01
Take a look at this: $110,000 for Centennial median household income, as compared to $29,600
in Jefferson. 11:02—>11:07
So then we asked ourselves: what's the percent of children that are on the Federal Free and
Reduced lunch program? 11:08—>11:13
Now you may not be surprised by Centennial's percentages, but I bet some of you are surprised
by Jefferson. 11:14—>11:21
These schools are exactly 4.3 miles apart. These schools are in the same school district.
11:22—>11:30 What do these numbers that we've shared with
you today tell you about the students and their ability to be successful in school,
and eventually life? 11:31—>11:41
The one consistent message that we hear from our educators and our non-profits that we
work with when we ask them why aren't students doing well in school?
11:42—>11:49 It's not race, it's not ethnicity, and it's
not gender. It's poverty. 11:50- 11:58
Poverty is the biggest single consistent factor when it comes to the academic achievement
gap.
11:59—>12:07 The federal poverty level for a family of
four is living on an annual household of $23,550 a year.
12:08—>12:12 And in our two county area, that equates to
13% of our residents. 12:13—>12:18
Or more specifically, 5500 students in our three metro school districts alone.
12:18—>12:25 Poverty. It isn't a word that we often think
about when we think about individuals and families in this community.
12:26—>12:30 But it does exist here and it has implications
for our community overall. 12:31—>12:38
Now, United Way isn't going to exclusively focus on kids at the poverty level, but we
do want to be clear. 12:39—>12:47
One of the goals of our new United for Education Collaborative is to help kids be successful
in school along their educational journey. 12:48—>12:58
And we know that some kids will need more access to intervention than others, but we
also know that this is the right place to make our investment for all the reasons that
research tells us. 12:59—>13:07
At this time, it is important that I point out that United Way is a huge proponent for
our local educators. 13:08—>13:18
And in no way do the stats that I've shared with you today around the lack of childcare,
the achievement gap, or the need for remedial reading reflect locally on their ability to
teach. 13:19—>13:26
But, one educator that we spoke with has put it this way: "If we only had a chance to teach
them." 13:27—>13:33
We know that kids are coming into the schools and into the classrooms with all kinds of
issues that they are facing today, 13:34—>13:43
which is one of the reasons why we are so excited about working with this new way of
working with the educators and the non-profits together.
13:44—>13:52 Now, I want to stay focused on the Jefferson
Community for a minute, because I bet a few of you, like me, had kind of a 'a-ha' moment
when we took a look at those statistics. 13:53—>13:58
Brad Franklin is the principal at Jefferson Elementary, and unfortunately, he is unable
to be with us today. 13:59—>14:07
But he called our office last fall, and this is what he said to us, "United Way, I have
approximately 350 elementary students in my school.
14:08—>14:12 And on average, a third of them move in and
out of the school year. 14:13—>14:24
And when they do that, as you can imagine, it's very traumatic and their families because
they lose up to two months of academic learning every time they move in and out of the school.
14:25—>14:30 We've had programs in the past, but unfortunately,
grants dry up and they go away, and the community can't support them."
14:31—>14:42 Now, unfortunately, Brad isn't able to be
here with us today, he had a prior family commitment. He's actually at Disney World.
I can't imagine he'd pick Disney World over this, but he did.
14:43—>14:47 However, I did have a chance to sit with him
last week and I want to share with you briefly what we discussed.
14-48-14:50 VIDEO SEGMENT BEGINS
14:51—>14:56 SHER: Principal Franklin, when you reached
out to United Way, what was happening at Jefferson Neighborhood and specifically Jefferson Elementary?
14:57—>15:08 PRINCIPAL FRANKLIN: We had a halftime social
worker through a grant and the grant dried up. So we saw some tremendous gains having
that social worker here at Jefferson, and we wanted to sustain that program.
15:09—>15:19 SHER: You know, in response to the needs of
the students and the families here at Jefferson, United Way was able to help put a social worker
back in place. Can you share with us some of the successes that have happened since
she has been back in place? 15:20—>15:29
PRINCIPAL FRANKLIN: Ah, just the last few weeks we've had Amy, our social worker, work
with a first grade family. This student was coming to school late, sometimes not coming
to school at all. 15:30—>15:38
PF: So she just reached out to that family to help them with the root cause of why that
student wasn't getting to Jefferson on time. 15:39—>15:51
PF: She would help them set up medical appointments, sometimes they were working split shifts,
so she'd help them kind of structure the morning or after school to make sure that child could
get here on time and was being successful at home.
15:52—>15:57 PF: And also something so simple as getting
them eyeglasses so that when they were at Jefferson, they were prepared to have a productive
day. 15:58—>16:02
SHER: Brad, can you share with us some of your short and long term goals now that we
have this partnership together? 16:03—>16:07
PRINCIPAL FRANKLIN: If we can get students here on time each day and to school each day
we know they can learn. 16:08—>16:16
PF: So our short term goal is working with the families to make sure these students do
get to Jefferson each day, on time, so they can start their school day with all the other
students in the classroom. 16:17—>16:25
PF: Our long term goal is just to create habits and positive patterns in these students so
as they transition through Jefferson, they're successful.
16:26—>16:31 PF: But also as they go to middle school or
high school, they'll have a positive experience. 16:32—>16:41
SHER: Principal Franklin, thank you so much for reaching out to United Way. We know that
education is important at Jefferson Elementary, just like education is important at United
Way. 16:42—>16:53
SHER: Through this new partnership, we are incredibly excited about being able to create
patterns for students so they can be successful in elementary school and as they continue
on their educational journey. We so look forward to working with you.
16:54—>16:58 PRINCIPAL FRANKLIN: And we thank United Way.
We've already even seen a difference already this week, so thank you for your support.
16:59—>17:00 VIDEO FADES OUT
17:01—>17:07 It was wonderful to be able to receive that
call last fall from Principal Franklin and other non-profits that reached out to United
Way and said
17:08—>17:16 'Can you help us? We have needs in our community,
we have needs in our school, and we'd like United Way to help lead us in determining
what the right solutions are.' 17:17—>17:26
We have over twenty organizations that are a part of the United for Jefferson Collaborative
ranging from non-profits to apartment managers to police, healthcare organizations,
17:27—>17:36 faith based organizations and parent groups,
and they are all working towards common goals for the kids and the families of the Jefferson
community. Our community. 17:37—>17:44
Much like the work that we have started in the Jefferson neighborhood, we have a wider
initiative called the United for Education Collaborative,
17:45—>17:53 and we have 26 non-profit partners in three
metro school districts and we're currently working with them to determine what are the
challenges, the gaps,
17:54—>18:04 and the barriers that they are facing so that
together with our educators and our non-profit partners, we can determine what are the appropriate
community wide strategies to help these kids be successful.
18:05—> 18:12 This new collaborative approach will allow
us to take what we refer to as a whole child approach.
18:13—> 18:21 Now what I mean by that is when we look at
creating opportunities for kids, we need to make sure that they can be successful in school
and in life. 18:22—> 18:28
And therefore, we need to begin by focusing on their basic needs. Do they have a stable
shelter? A stable home?
18:29—> 18:37 Do they have food to eat consistently or are
they going hungry? Is their home free from domestic violence?
18:38—> 18:47 Basic needs, such as these, always have and
always will be a part of the United Way investment strategy in this community.
18:48—> 18:57 But once we know that these basic needs are
met, we are able to focus on additional issues, such as: Do they have access to early, quality
childcare so they can be ready for school? 18:58—> 19:05
Do they have access to health or dental care so when they're in the classroom, they can
actually focus? Do they have a safe place to go after school?
19:06—> 19:12 And do they have a learning disability, and
if so, is it diagnosed, and do they have access to the appropriate interventions?
19:13—> 19:21 By utilizing this new collaborative approach,
we believe at United Way that we'll be able to help the children of today become prosperous
young adults. 19:22—> 19:34
But more importantly, help slow the cycle of poverty, which in turn will help create
a more vibrant and prosperous community for the individuals that live here in our community
overall. 19:35—> 19:39
Now for all of the reasons that I mentioned earlier, the time is now for this innovative
strategy.
19:40—> 19:52 United Way has the ability, we have the tools,
we have the resources to make a difference. Our community is ready to work in this way
and there is energy around a collaborative approach.
19:53—> 20:00 I want to offer one final example to you today
about the collective, excuse me, the collaborative approach in action.
20:01—> 20:06 Unfortunately, all of us in the room know
that we have hungry children in this community. 20:07—> 20:13
And we also know that we have philanthropic corporate partners like John Deere Electronic
Solutions, or JDES. 20:14—> 20:26
They contacted us last fall, and they said "United Way, we want a way to engage our entire
Fargo campus in two of our philanthropic interest areas, education and feeding the hungry.
20:27—> 20:33 We will provide $15,000 and 25 employees to
volunteer each week of the 12 week summer vacation
20:34—> 20:41 so that kids that are a part of the backpack
program during the school year also receive a backpack full of food during the summer
months." 20:42—> 20:47
Now in order for United Way to be able to accomplish a pilot like this, we needed to
reach out to our non-profit partners. 20:48—> 21:01
So we contacted the Great Plains Food Bank, The Salvation Army, Fargo Youth Commission,
and Charism to provide a summer food delivery program to 420 kids across six elementary
schools. 21:02—> 21:07
Now, we are going to continue this partnership in 2013 with JDES and we thank them for reaching
out to United Way. 21:08—> 21:15
And additionally, we're looking for more corporate partners to make sure that we can feed children
in this community through the summer. 21:16—> 21:21
So if you're interested in being one of those partners, please reach out to Kristi Huber
or Thomas Hill on the United Way staff. 21:22—> 21:26
You know, I talked a lot today about our change, or our evolution.
21:27—> 21:36 But the one thing that will never, ever change
at United Way is that at the heart of everything that we do is help people.
21:37—> 21:41 It always has been, and it always will be.
21:42—> 21:52 So our evolution on how we invest is from
funding agencies to funding programs to now investing in community wide solutions using
a collaborative approach.
21:53—> 22:02 And our evolution in what we're investing
in is education, income stability, and health, with a foundation centered on basic needs.
22:03—> 22:08 At United Way, our vision is clear, and our
purpose is understood. 22:09—> 22:15
And we want you, each and every one of you in this room, to feel fulfilled because of
your involvement with us. 22:16—> 22:32
We want you to continue your involvement with us, and we want you to help us find ways to
involve others in our necessary work, because we want life to be so good for all who live
in our community. 22:33—> 22:43
Finally, on a personal note, I want to share with you that a few weeks ago I lost a friend.
22:44—> 22:56 Mrs. Elsie Viles was a dear friend to me,
and a private philanthropist who died after a very full life at the age of 98.
22:57—> 23:11 She spent the last several decades of her
life giving, or as she would say, 'investing', millions of dollars in numerous organizations
across her home community in Augusta, Maine. 23:12—> 23:20
I remember distinctly her response to me when I told her that I had accepted the President's
position at United Way. 23:21—> 23:28
"Ah, United Way, community philanthropy. I'm so proud of you."
23:29—> 23:40 For so long, people had referred to her as
a philanthropist mainly because of who she was as a person, her generous spirit. But
also because of her generosity. 23:41—> 23:50
But what Elsie was so able to succinctly describe that day was what she felt in her heart every
day. 23:51—> 23:58
Philanthropy is about the inclination, the desire to increase well-being of human kind.
23:59—> 24:04 And she knew that it didn't matter if you
gave one hundred dollars or one hundred thousand dollars,
24:05—> 24:11 that with United Way, the desire to give,
the desire to give back, can be turned into action.
24:12—> 24:24 And collectively, that action has the ability
to increase the well-being of human kind for individuals and families in our community.
24:25—> 24:36 She was right, as she often was. We are, all
of us, community philanthropy in action. 24:27—> 24:52
I want to thank you for being with us today, and I would ask that you remember that underneath
everything that we are, underneath everything we do, we are all people, connected.
24:53—> 25:02 And United Way connects us all. Thank you
so much for being with us today, and enjoy the rest of your day.
25:03 -- 25:28 SHER exits stage
LIVE UNITED on screen 'Beautiful Day' by U2 plays in background