Centre County United Way’s Pacesetter Campaign is underway again this summer, but this year the organization is taking a different approach.
“We’ve noticed things have been stagnant,” says Megan Evans, a spokesperson for the CCUW. “The companies are so used to running their campaigns that we needed some kind of change — something to make it more exciting.”
The nonprofit organization raises funds each year for local agencies that provide health and human services throughout the county, according to the CCUW website.
Before the general campaign, which starts on Aug. 17, the CCUW runs the Pacesetter Campaign where designated companies that support the United Way hold internal employee fundraising campaigns.
The organization has decided against hosting the annual Pacesetter Kick Off Campaign this year, an event which Evans described as having a pep rally atmosphere where the 35 partner agencies and pacesetter companies meet to announce any new participating companies and to give the companies their campaign materials.
The process this year is much more personal. CCUW asked partner agency representatives to serve as campaign stewards who will guide the pacesetter companies through their internal campaigns.
Mostly throughout July, the agencies will meet with company representatives and employees to personally deliver the campaign materials, and share the stories of the agency’s clients who have benefited from the funded programs.
“The companies will hear from the horse’s mouth how the money is affecting the community,” Evans says.
By giving agencies the opportunity to explain how their programs benefit the community, Evans says it might change negative views that some employees may have developed when their bosses have asked for contributions and payroll deductions in the past.
“We thought that hearing stories and meeting the people who are doing the work might have an impact on giving,” Evans says in an email.
Denise McCann, who is the division director at the Centre County Youth Service Bureau, a CCUW partner agency, thinks the new process is much more efficient.
The CCYSB was paired with two pacesetter companies: Restek Corporation and its auditor Baker Tilly.
“Baker Tilly is our auditor so they already know the programs that we have,” McCann says. “But now we can talk about the stories behind our numbers.”
The money raised through the Pacesetter Campaign will help fund programs of the partnered agencies, which in addition to the CCYSB also include the American Red Cross, Housing Transitions, CentrePeace, Centre County’s Women Resource Center and Park Forest Preschool.
The majority of these funds come from employee payroll deductions, Evans says. Although, some employees choose to send CCUW a check or donate through its website.
Some companies also host events to add to the money raised through their employee contributions.
The Pacesetter Campaign, which Evans compared to the pace car that sets the tempo for the rest of the cars during a stock-car race, generally raises about $500,000.
“Starting off the general campaign with that much money already pledged is vital to our success. It makes our goal of two million or more less daunting and energizes our volunteers,” says Tammy Gentzel, the CCUW Executive Director in a June news release.
The CCUW will announce the amount raised through this year’s Pacesetter Campaign on Aug. 17 at the General Campaign Kick Off. The main campaign runs through Jan. 31. That’s when non-pacesetter companies run their campaigns.
Companies that are interested in raising money for CCUW should contact the organization for more information on the process. Individuals can also make contributions through the CCUW website or a variety of other methods, which are listed on this website.
But Evans also says, “If financial support isn’t an option, we always need volunteers.”
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