Giving Money is the Hardest Job

A United Way board member gets more than she bargains for… personally

By Lisa Kincel Johnson

When I was first asked to be on the board of directors for the United Way of Kootenai County, I didn’t feel I fit the profile. After all, I was a busy mom of three kids working a more than full-time job at Kootenai Medical Center. All I knew about the United Way was the commercials during football games. What did I have to contribute?

Contribute is a word that fits perfectly. This year, our United Way has changed the way it distributes the contributions from the community. In the past, it worked on a “pre-allocation” plan, where the agencies knew what their funding was before the end of the fund-raising campaign. Understandably, that could have some hiccups, especially if natural disasters or other attentions kept the contributions lower than expected. It’s the equivalent of spending your money before you knew what your paycheck was going to be. So things changed this year, with a move to a “post-allocation” process, where the campaign funds were totaled first and distributed after the campaign.

How does the money get to the 26 different United Way agencies? The allocation process is where the true meaning of the community’s safety net – the United Way – shines.

Community Involvement

Being new to the process, I volunteered to be on one of many allocation committees – called Citizen Review Panels – comprised of people from all walks of life. On my committee alone, we had two bankers, a realtor, an accountant, a construction supervisor, and a marketing director. Others included volunteer coordinators, newspaper editors, financial advocates and more. We were each given a list of 6-8 agencies that we would visit and subsequently interview at a presentation in a few weeks.

One of the agencies we visited was St. Vincent’s Art on the Edge program. Located near the transitional housing center, this free program is an open art studio designed for kids throughout the community, including the underserved children in the county. Since one of my own kids is definitely more left-brained than I am, I learned that even she would benefit from the free expression the program offers – we’re talking more than just macaroni on picture frames here! It was great to see how the program worked with developmentally disabled kids. They also host a free summer art camp open to all. If you’ve ever priced art supplies, you know that is a huge feat all its own.

After the site visits, it’s on to the presentations, where each panel reviews the grant applications of each of our assigned agencies. Here’s the hard part: After the presentations are done, each panel is tasked with the arduous job of assigning high and low recommendations that each program should receive. We found ourselves asking, over and over, why can’t we just give them everything they ask for? Unfortunately, the pot does not overfloweth, so we are left with making our best recommendations and hope for the best.

The panel chairpeople met one more time and the final allocations are made to the agencies, which are truly based on the community’s recommendations. For 2006, we spent more than $300,000, just a portion of what was truly needed for our community.

Helping the Most People

While I may be finishing my first year as a board member, I will say that I have learned more about the true meaning of the United Way through my participation on the Citizen Review Panels than I have throughout the rest of the year.

To meet the people who are making a difference in the community, to see the improvements they are making…that’s why people should contribute what they can to the United Way. Contribute what you can—your time, talent or treasure. The United Way of Kootenai County is truly “the best way to help the most people.”

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