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Fundraising campaign “on-track”
By Jim Strine
Fort Collins Coloradoan

Despite this year’s hurricane season and its effort to wear out local donors’ checkbooks, the United Way of Larimer County’s annual fundraising campaign is expected to finish strong as it enters the home stretch.

United Way of Larimer County’s Executive Director Gordan Thibedeau could not offer an exact dollar amount raised since the campaign started on Sept. 1 but said, “so far he feels “encouraged” that the organization will meet its goal of $4.5 million by Jan. 15.

Stephanie Giard, United Way of Larimer County’s Marketing Director, wrote in an email to the Coloradoan that so far 4,856 donors – 43% of the 11,354 donor goal – have contributed. But directors at the United Way believe they’ll pull it out in the end.

“We expect the number to jump over the next several weeks as some of our largest campaigns wrap up”, Giard wrote.

Through various programs and initiatives (from Meals on Wheels to the specialty help it provides to disabled children), the United Way of Larimer County is estimated to help one out of every three Larimer County residents.

Thibedeau added that the 30 days leading up to the holidays is usually the time of year most feel included to give and this year should be no different.

But for many donors, their wallets were tapped out earlier this year. When hurricanes ravaged the Gulf Coast in August and September, many charities watched donations typically sent to them redirected to Louisiana and Mississippi.

Thibedeau said that Larimer County Residents gave a little more that $2 million to hurricane relief efforts this fall through the combined efforts of United Way, the Bohemian Foundation and the Community Foundation.

Hurricane Katrina relief efforts totaled about $2.7 billion from private donors in just 11 weeks after the August 29 disaster, the Red Cross and Indiana University’s’ Center on Philanthropy reported in USA Today.

By comparison, donations following the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks raised a record $2.8 billion.

Experts still expect the Katrina relief effort to surpass that mark.

Thibedeau added that he believes that donor fatigue is not enough to wear out Larimer County donors.

“We very much encouraged people to support (hurricane relief funds)”, he said. “There are a lot of recovery efforts in the Gulf Coast area, but we have a lot of people in Larimer County in need”

Though a few donations are still trickling in for hurricane relief, now is the time most donors focus on the local community.

“We want the people to know that their gift is still need” Thibedeau said. The campaign winds down in mid-January.

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