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The group came up about $108,000 short of its $2.7 million goal in last fall's fundraising campaign. The relocation will save about $20,000 a year in rent, said Clarece Walker, the group's president. The office is about a third the size of the previous location.
United Way, in an effort to shave about $90,000 from its budget, also has eliminated one full-time and two part-time positions.
While painful for those involved, this cost-cutting recognizes the covenant United Way has with the community that supports it. People give so generously because they trust that United Way offers an efficient, effective way to help those in need. They trust that their money will make a difference in people's lives.
The bottom-line mission is to provide services, and that's where the focus rightly is. In addition to the money saved, the new office in the Bridge Center just off Hilton Head Island provides a more central location to serve Bluffton and Hilton Head residents. Quite frankly, it raises the question of why the move didn't happen sooner.
United Way raised more than $2.6 million in its 2008 campaign. That's phenomenal when you consider the deep recession we're in, and when you consider that in 2005, probably the peak of the recent real estate boom, the group raised $2.5 million.
But the goal this year was raised to $2.7 million because of the increased need for services provided by United Way's 39 agencies. Walker points out that this year some of the people asking for help are the same people who in years past were United Way contributors.
"We're lean and getting leaner and looking at every advantage to get every dollar we can get back out to the community," Walker said. "We want every dollar we can get back out there for services because people are hurting more than ever in this economy."
That sums up well what United Way should be working toward. The group's efforts to cut its budget without hampering the vital work its member agencies do will serve it well this year and in the future.
