IU United Way approaches goal

Serving as the largest of 220 organizations involved in the annual Monroe County United Way campaign, IU provides over 40 percent of all community donations. \n"If you take away that 40 percent, I can't imagine what would go unfunded in this community," IU UW liaison Matthew Pontius said. \nThis year, for the first time in three years, IU is $31,000 short of making its $600,000 goal.\nCapitalizing on strong leadership from co-chair Dan Dalton, dean of the Kelley School of Business, and the Lilly Endowment's procedure of matching funds, IU's campaign has proven to be particularly successful this year. \nThe Lilly Endowment agreed to match money donated by every new vanguard giver, a person who donates $1,000 or more. It will also match money donated by a prior vanguard giver who increases his donation by 25 percent. \n"Dean Dalton almost single-handedly contacted potential vanguards in the middle of running the business school," Pontius said. "He has put in a lot of effort."\nUW works to combat the continuing crisis of community neglect by coordinating efforts with 24 member agencies. UW campaign coordinator Heather Allen demonstrates the importance of distributing resources according to community need through a unique problem solving drill.\nShe takes 30 sheets of paper, with a different community concern written on each, and spreads them across a table. Allen then asks everyone in the room to put a sticker on the most important issues. The result of her little exercise is that many important problems remain abandoned. \n"So many issues have a need," Pontius said. "When people focus on one issue or another, so many agencies are underfunded. Focusing on one agency leaves some out in the dark." \nIn addition to supporting a network of services, UW offers payroll deductions. The payroll deduction program takes a pre-determined amount of money out of donors paychecks. \n"We're one of the only companies that allow payroll deductions," Allen said. "It may be easier than writing a $50 check."\n"A dollar may not seem like a lot, but spread it across a campus," Pontius said.\nUnited Way capitalizes upon Pontius' dollar philosophy in its informational pamphlets by explaining the various gifts $1 per week can provide, from four nights of shelter to six hours of home repair for an elderly person. \nBloomington is in one of its worst economic states in decades, Pontius said. \n"Unemployment and giving community-wide is down and the need for services is very high," he said.\nIn order to combat this problem, the IU campaign led a rigorous fight against community poverty. The IU campaign was divided into 16 teams, which were subdivided into units. \n"Another big thing they (the IU campaign coordinators) did was really try to engage the student population," Allen said. "Student contribution to charities has grown astronomically, but to UW it has decreased."\nBut senior Erin Ransford, one of five captains for the sole student team on campus, voiced her concern in student involvement. Ransford, president of the National Residence Hall Honorary, led a residence hall-wide Penny War which only raised $54.\n"It is frustrating as a Student Campaign Co-Chair to be the only one of the five co-chairs that has ever been to a meeting, especially because the student organization which I represent is relatively small," she said.\nPontius said it's not too late for student organizations to have a Lilly match for philanthropic events scheduled before Jan. 1. \nPontius was drawn to an ad he saw on campus seeking a graduate student interested in working for a non-for-profit campaign. Now entangled in a nest of volunteers and a wealth of community support for UW, he cannot stop thanking donors for their generosity. He also points out to anyone who is interested in donating that it's not too late. \n"With tax time drawing near, a lot of people are looking for deductions," Pontius said. "And any money given to UW is tax deductible"