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Larimer County’s United Way join for fund-raising muscle
Northern Colorado Business Report
September 6-19, 2002
United Way in the News

Larimer County’s two United Way organizations plan to run a joint fundraising campaign this fall, with a goal to increase collections for each agency by one-third over 2001.

The ambitious target - a combined $5.5 million - has been set despite the miserly environment of a sluggish economy. The secret lies in the two-pronged effort, said Gerard Nalezny, one of three co-chairs in the campaign.

"If we want to go from $4 million to $5.5 million, we’re not going to do that by doing what we’ve done historically," said Nalezny, president of Community First National Bank in Larimer County. "This is a case of trying to work harder and smarter."

The two groups - the Fort Collins Office and the United Way of Loveland-Berthoud-Estes Park - previously conducted separate campaigns. Fort Collins raised $3 million in 2001, while Loveland-Berthoud-Estes Park brought in $1 million - both characterized as "flat" by Nalezny.

If the $5.5 million goal is achieved, it would represent the largest one-year percentage growth for the United Way in its history in Larimer County.

It’s also the biggest campaign program ever conducted. Approximately 150 volunteers - tripling past numbers - have signed up for the campaign.

Setting the bar higher is a function of expanding social needs, particularly in light of the economic times. The extra $1.5 million reflects the financial requests from nonprofit agencies that the two United Way couldn’t answer in 2001, Nalezny said.

"Rather than set goals based on what we’ve done historically, we’ve set goals based on a rough idea of what those needs in the community are," he said.

United Way donations are used by service agencies ranging from low-income housing assistance to the Food Bank of Larimer County. In all, 29 agencies in the county receive United Way funds from both the Fort Collins and Loveland-Berthoud-Estes Park groups. The Fort Collins organization contributes to three additional programs; Loveland-Berthoud-Estes Park supports nine additional programs.

Double-teaming the campaign has the advantage of gathering financial forces within an individual company.

For instance, Nalezny said many area banks have branches in both Loveland and Fort Collins. In that case, the fundraising appeal could be more effective if bank employees from both cities were involved.

"We can be more efficient and more effective that way," he said.

Kickoff event on Sept. 26

This year’s formal campaign will kick off on Sept. 26 with a speech by Herman Boone. Boone, a former high school football coach, was made famous in the movie "Remember the Titans." He will appear alongside Colorado State University coach Sonny Lubick. The popular CSU coach is the honorary chair for the 2002 campaign, which concludes at the end of the year.

Currently, a group of companies in Fort Collins and Loveland are operating a "pace setter" campaign with the goal of raising 10 percent of the overall $5.5 million.

As planned, the money raised in the joint campaign will be distributed in the community of origin.

"What’s raised in Fort Collins will stay there (and) what’s raised in Loveland will stay there," Nalezny said. "But our objective is simple: We want to raise more money in both communities."

Nalezny is sharing the chairmanship with Jim Disney, a former Larimer County Commissioner and Loveland resident, and Tim O’Neil, director of the Foothills Gateway center.

"As a county commissioner, I saw first hand that this really is a community up here (in Northern Colorado)," Disney said, explaining the value of a joint campaign. "The artificial boundaries we put around things oftentimes don’t make a lot of sense when it comes to doing things for people.

Weld County campaign ready to roll

Meanwhile, the United Way of Weld County unveils its 2002 campaign on Sept.12, when it holds an annual kickoff luncheon in Greeley. The event, which typically draws up to 500 people, is scheduled for the Island Grove Park events center.

"The campaign goal will be announced at that time," said Karen Height, director of marketing and communications for the United Way of Weld County.

"It’s tradition to announce it at the luncheon," Height said.

Last year the campaign collected $2.74 million from about 15,000 contributors. The money was distributed to about 80 recipients, including social-service agencies and internal programs.

"Typically, over the past several years, there has been an increase in the amount raised," Height said.

The challenge in Weld County is to pick up the slack from the state budget cuts, which eliminated about $1 million from county social-service programs, Height said.

"Some of our partner agencies were affected by that," she said. "In turn, those folks are trying to be a little more resourceful. It’s hard to say where that will be made up."

Following is a list of upcoming United Way events in Northern Colorado:

Fort Collins
Sept. 12 - 5:30 p.m. Anheuser-Busch Chamber After Hours and Silent Auction.
Sept. 17 - 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Alumni Reunion. The Group, 2803 E. Harmony Road.

Loveland
Sept. 19 - 5:30 p.m. Foote Lagoon Carnival Event.
Sept. 24 - 5:30 p.m. McWhinney Enterprises Chamber After Hours and Silent Auction.

Greeley
Sept. 12 - Noon to 1:30 p.m. Island Grove Events Center. Kickoff luncheon.
Sept. 20 - 6:30 to 9:30 a.m. Breakfast with the Bears, Golden Corral, 3035 23rd Ave.

-By Robert Baun

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