Back to News

Larimer charities exploring merger
United Way could research possibilities
Fort Collins Coloradoan
September 13, 2002
United Way in the News

Larimer county’s two United Way agencies are considering merging in an effort to get bigger bangs for their donated bucks.

The boards of the Fort Collins Office and the United Way of Loveland are expected to vote later this month to move forward on a six-month research project examining the details of a merger, said Gordan Thibedeau, Fort Collins Office executive director.

The Loveland board will meet Sept. 23, and the Fort Collins board is set to meet Sept. 25.

The merger is a move supported by Thibedeau and Bob Hix, executive director of the Loveland Office.

Larimer County might be the last county in the country being served by two United Way agencies, Hix said.

By working together, the agencies would be able to work more efficiently and effectively, he said.

"We would be stronger together than we are separate," Hix said.

The agencies already fund most of the same organizations and have been working together with joint allocations for about seven years, Hix said.

"The idea is to become more effective so we can do more for people and help save more lives," he said.

In June, the agencies announced they would work together during this fall’s fund raising in an effort to prevent area businesses from being approached by both organizations.

As the cities have grown, there are more interactions between the communities, Thibedeau said.

Some of the region’s biggest employers such as Hewlett Packard Co. and Woodward Governor have offices in both cities with many employees or their spouses living in one community but working in another, Thibedeau said.

The merger would trim duplication of administrative services such as accounting, but would not result in any staff reductions, he said.

"The efficiencies achieved would not be because we reduced the number of people," he said. "Instead, we’ll be able to put more people out into the campaign rather than in duplicating services."

Under the current $5.5 million campaign, the United Way are asking donors to declare if they want their funds to support northern or southern Larimer County.

Last year, the United Way raised about $4.3 million and divided their funds between 40 Loveland, Berthoud and Estes Park agencies and 30 Fort Collins agencies. All but seven of the Loveland agencies also received funds from the Fort Collins Office, while the Loveland agency supported all but three of the Fort Collins projects, Hix said.

Preliminary surveys show that donors, employees and the United Way beneficiaries strongly support the idea of a merger, Hix said.

But there is a risk to changing an organization’s identity while maintaining the identities of the programs it serves, he said.

"We are aware of the needs of the small local agencies," Hix said. "We know that Estes Park is not Loveland and that Loveland is not Fort Collins and the issues where they live (may be different)."
-By Sally Bridges

Back to News