thank you

LIVE UNITED TODAY SPRI

NG 2

014INSIDE THIS ISSUE: VOLUNTEER SELECT, BUILDING A STRONGER COMMUNITY, DONOR THANK YOUS

On March 14, United Way of North Central Florida staff mem-bers and about 150 of our closest friends from workplace campaigns gathered at the Best Western Plus Gateway Grand

Hotel to celebrate the close of a successful United Way campaign effort. The workplace campaign is a cornerstone in our fundraising efforts. Eighty percent of the total donations received by United Way each year is from workplace campaigns.

The workplace campaign has evolved into a spirited, employee- centric event complete with parties, contests and lots of fun. Employee Campaign Coordinators, (ECCs), invest their own personal time attending training, planning events and collecting pledge cards to help make the annual campaign a success, while striving to raise more money, have more fun, and engage more employees than the year prior.

Workplace campaigns typically run in the fall each year and can last a few days or up to a few weeks, depending on the workplace. United Way provides a staff member to every workplace to offer

assistance, support and to be a personal cheerleader for the fundraising team when needed.

A SPECIAL THANK YOU TO UNITED WAY’S WORKPLACE CAMPAIGNS

MOST CREATIVE CAMPAIGNS•RTISurgical:

DestinationHope

•Nordstrom,Inc.:HairShavingChallenge

TOP 10 CAMPAIGNS – MOST DOLLARS RAISED IN 2013 •Publix

•UFHealth

•Nationwide

•RTISurgical

•AvMed

•GRU

•WellsFargo

•EnterpriseHoldings

•CityofGainesville

•AlachuaCountyPublicSchools

CAMPAIGN SPIRIT AWARD – BEST OVERALL CAMPAIGN

Publix(raised$579,156)

BEST EVER CAMPAIGNS – MOST DOLLARS RAISED IN THEIR WORKPLACE CAMPAIGN HISTORY •Publix

•Nationwide

•EnterpriseHoldings

•Nordstrom,Inc.

•O2BKids!

•Belk

•CAPT

•MasseyServices

TOP 5 CAMPAIGNS – HIGHEST DONOR PARTICIPATION IN 2013•Nordstrom,Inc.:

100%

•KossOlingerFinancialGroup:94%

•EnterpriseHoldings:95%

•AlachuaCountyTaxCollector:86%

•UPS:76%

BEST NEW WORK-PLACE CAMPAIGNBearArchery

COMMUNITY BUILDER AWARDTheUniversityofFlorida

2013 CAMPAIGN

FINALE AWARDS

During the 2013 campaign season our workplace campaigns raised more than $2.3 million. These generous contributions are hard at work making real progress in improving school readiness and early literacy rates, lowering the number of students who drop out of high school, improving dental health of students and the daily nutrition of seniors and increasing family financial stability. Thank YOU for this successful campaign year!

Alachua County Public Schools was one of our top ten campaigns with the most money raised.

Publix won the Campaign Spirit Award for Best Overall Campaign. We can’t thank you enough!

United Way staff cheers on their wonderful workplace campaigns!

for this SUCCESSFUL CAMPAIGN YEAR!

thank you

UPCOMING EVENTS

JUNE27|7:30–9a.m.

CEO/COMMUNITY LEADER BREAKFAST Join fellow CEOs and community leaders at the2014 CEO/ Community Leader Breakfast hosted by United Way of North Central Florida.

Thankstooursponsors: Bosshardt Realty Services, Florida Food Service, Gateway Bank, James Moore & Co., and North Florida Regional Medical Center.

Location: Gainesville Country Club, 7300 SW 35th Way, Gainesville, FL 32608

R.S.V.P.byvisiting: www.CEOCommunityLeaderBreakfast.eventbrite.com

JULY24| 8:30–11a.m.

EMPLOYEE CAMPAIGN COORDINATOR APPRECIATION BREAKFAST Nationwide employees invite you to imagine, inspire and invest in a better community. Please join us for the 2014 ECC Appreciation Breakfast.

At the breakfast, you will:

• Receive the tools you need to run a successful United Way campaign.

• Hear how your team has the inspiration to change lives.

• Enjoy a delicious breakfast, have fun and get energized about this year’s campaign!

Thankstoourhostandsponsor, Nationwide.

Thankstoourothergreatsponsors, Florida Food Service and North Florida Regional Medical Center.

Location: Nationwide Café Conference Room, 3300 SW Williston Rd., Gainesville, FL 32608

R.S.V.Pbyvisiting www.UWECCBreakfast.eventbrite.com

United Way of North Central Florida, in partnership with the Gainesville Area Chamber of Commerce’s Leadership Gainesville, is taking board member recruitment to the

next level in support of our nonprofit community.

Leadership Gainesville members and alumni members, as well as the general public who are interested in nonprofit board participation will participate in free quarterly board member preparation classes, beginning in May, that cover the legal and fiduciary roles of serving on a board.

“Non-profit organizations in the Gainesville region play a variety of critical roles for our community and it is very important to place engaged and dedicated individuals to lead these organizations,” said Deborah V. Bowie, Vice President of Chamber Development for the Gainesville Chamber. “We are pleased to partner our Leadership Gaines-ville effort with the United Way to spread the word and co-host events designed to bring attention to these available board positions and provide the opportunity for individuals to make a significant, positive impact on our community.”

“Strengthening nonprofits through these ongoing trainings and volunteer placement has been a primary part of our mission in building a stronger community for many years,” said Debbie Mason, United Way President and CEO. “We’re pleased to partner with the Gainesville Chamber of Com-merce and Leadership Gainesville as a natural expansion of our work.”

Volunteer Select is a volunteer matching database system that provides a two-way match where volunteers can post their interest areas, and nonprofit organizations post their volunteer needs.

Additionally, area nonprofits can post their need for board members (e.g. finance, marketing, diversity, etc.) on United Way’s Volunteer Select site at www.volunteerselect.org. Available board member positions can be found under the tab “Board Member Positions.”

As with all volunteer postings on Volunteer Select, nonprofits who post board member needs will receive responses to their designated email address, as well as their Volunteer Select account.

Lauren Martin, United Way VISTA and Volunteer Select Manager, is available for Volunteer Select agency support, trainings and walk-throughs. She can be reached at lmartin@unitedwayncfl.org and (352) 333-0862.

UNITED WAY RE-LAUNCHES VOLUNTEER SELECT NEW BOARD MEMBER OPPORTUNITIES & TRAINING

NORTH FLORIDA REGIONAL MEDICAL CENTER FOR YOUR IN-KIND DONATION OF GENTLY USED SCRUBS!

2 / LIVE UNITED

and Verizon. Spence prides himself on having a unique ability to present critical business ideas in an engaging, easily understandable manner so that attendees leave his workshops able to apply the practices they have learned. All proceeds went towards United Way of North Central Florida.

A BIG thank you to John Spence for kindly donating his expertise and for offering to spend the day with us again next year. Thank you to our sponsors:

Best Western Plus Gateway Grand, Bosshardt Realty Services, Florida Food Service, Gainesville Regional Airport and North Florida Regional Medical Center.

United Way of North Central Florida held its second annual Spend the day with John Spence fund raiser on April 25 at the Best Western Plus Gateway Grand.

During this fast-paced and informative session, guests learned about brand new national results of a proprietary leadership research study John Spence conducted with more than 8,000 high-potential employees at top companies around the World. The findings of this study clearly show that what people look for in a leader has shifted dramati-cally in the last several years. John addressed some of the biggest issues that businesses and leaders are facing right now and how to effectively deal with them.

“We are fortunate enough to have John Spence, one of the top 500 leadership development experts in the world, who happens to be a Gainesville native, graciously donate his knowledge,” said Debbie Mason, United Way of North Central Florida President and CEO.

Spence is considered a trusted advisor, strategist, consul-tant, speaker and author, whose formula for business success is research, plus real life experience, plus passion, equals return on investment. He is also a talented author, most recently releasing his third and fourth books Letters to the CEO and Strategies for Success: The Keys to Success in College, Career and Life in February 2014. He has provided custom training workshops and delivered his formula to more than 300 organizations worldwide, such as Microsoft, GE, IBM, AT&T, Merrill Lynch, Abbott Labs, Qualcomm, NCR

A FUNDRAISER FOR UNITED WAY

SPEND THE DAY WITH JOHN SPENCE

CONGRATULATIONS TO PUBLIX FOR WINNING THE CORPORATE CITIZENSHIP WORK OF HEART AWARD! Board Chair Matt Fajack accepts a check from Publix District Manager Rob Chapman for the Publix associates campaign. Matched by the corporate office, the Publix gift exceeded $550,000 this year, once again making it the largest contributor to UWNCFL. Fajack presented Chapman with the Work of Heart Corporation of the Year Award, from the recent community reception recognizing Publix for its support of United Way, among many others. Publix associates participate in our annual Day of Action by collecting books in all the stores to support summer reading for the ReadingPals program and much more.

Thank you to John Spence for donating his time to this pop-ular event.

Nearly 200 people attended John Spence’s event in April 2014.

LIVE UNITED / 3

United Way recently received some outstanding news that the Check and Connect program is being

funded for another year. Originally funded by a two-year grant from AT&T, Check and Connect is one of our community’s best strategies for 9th grade students who are currently failing in school.

Interim Alachua County Public School Superintendent Hershel Lyons said, “This is the most successful program we have in our schools for breaking the generational cycle of families failing and kids dropping out.”

Theproblemisverylarge

This program addresses a huge problem in our society and our community as one out of four Floridians drops out of high school.

That translates into:

• 50,000 students a year in Florida don’t graduate

• 22% of Alachua County students don’t graduate – 361 students in 2011–2012

• The drop out rate of the high schools we serve is even higher

–GHS – 24% drop out rate

–Eastside – 24% drop out rate

–Hawthorne – 46% drop out rate

Outcome

We improved attendance, behavior, interest in school and confidence in their individual talents and abilities to shift the students’ “F” and “D” grades to “C,” “B” and even “A” grades!

With the help of our four caring and

CHECK AND CONNECT DOING GREAT WORK FOR AT-RISK HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS

dedicated employees working daily with the students and their parents, The program has assisted students in gaining confidence, good habits and trust in adults.

Successfactorsforourprogram

The strong partnership between United Way and the Alachua County Public Schools is unique and creates a platform for dialogue to better serve the students.

STATSOF 2013SUCCESS

Goal

60%

60%

60%

75%

75%

Actual

97%

82%

93%

76%

68%

ofparticipantswillbepromotedtothenextgradeontime

ofparticipantswillcompletetheircorecourses

ofparticipantswillincreasethecreditaccumulation

ofparticipantswillimprovetheirattendance

ofparticipantswillimprovetheirbehavior

FOR MORE INFORMATION OR TO GIVE TO THE

CHECK AND CONNECT PROGRAMcontactDebbieMasonat

dmason@unitedwayncfl.org.

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YOUNG LEADERS SOCIETY BOOT CAMP IS BACK!

Thursday,July17Lifecycle of a Board Member

Thursday,August14Agent of Change

Thursday,September18Networking

Thursday,October16Professionalism & Growth

All sessions are free to attend and are from 6–8 p.m. Each session will have multiple speakers from different occupational fields in Gainesville. Individuals who attend all four sessions will receive a certificate of completion.

Location

United Way of North Central Florida 6031 NW 1st Place, Gainesville, FL 32607

R.S.V.Pwww.ylsbootcamp.eventbrite.com

For more information, please contact Amy Stickel at 352-333-0854 or astickel@unitedwayncfl.org.

A big part of United Way’s responsi-bility and commitment as a funder and leader in the community is

capacity building of our 26 impact partner agencies and the nonprofit community in general. Data from donors shows that this is a significant component of the bond of trust donors have in United Way, and is one of the important ways that United Way goes beyond funding worthy programs of the impact partner agencies it vets.

Results Based Accountability (RBA) was introduced several years ago by UWNCFL as one of the ways United Way (and other funders) could measure the real impact of funded programs. By using a simple approach, programs are measured by how many services are provided and quantifying the question: “is anyone better off because of it?” Each funded program provides quarterly reports to United Way that are reviewed by the trained volunteers on the Community Impact Team (CIT). This team is the same group of dedicated volunteers that review applications, do site tours and determine the investment recom-mendations to the UWNCFL board for approval.

Thanks to a grant from a generous donor, United Way has been able to offer twice annual training sessions to impact partner agency CEOs, program staff and board members. Also, CIT

members have benefited from in-depth training on oversight and review of program reports. The result is a more simple way for agencies to report on programs and a much more clear perspective of where programs are delivering measured outcomes, making compliance overview much more objective.

“Having a board member at the training sessions is very important, as we want board members to understand how to measure their agency’s pro-grams, the right questions to ask and

to empower them to understand how effectiveness is measured by funders,” said Debbie Mason, president and CEO.

Jenna White, CIT chair and a United Way board member said, “We are already seeing great response and changes in our impact partner agencies in the way they think about and report program results – and the issues they have to overcome in their programs to deliver on their commit-ments.”

United Way board member Denny Gies added, “The real measure of this impact on our community will be seen a decade from now when many nonprofits begin to use this methodol-ogy and have stronger programs because of their learning and involve-ment with RBA. It will be exciting as we see how this creates positive changes for the clients served by programs.”

BUILDING A STRONGER COMMUNITY SEEDING NOW FOR THE NEXT DECADE OF SUCCESS

“TheRBAprocessisgreat.Itallowsustolookatout-comesinaverydifferentandmeaningfulway.Itallowsustomeasureoursuccessandtakecreditforthegreatworkthatwealldo.Inaddition,itgivesusatooltodemon-stratetoourboards,donorsandfriendsconcreteout-comes,thatinturnhelpthemtodescribethekindofworkthatwedoinawaythatisoutcomeandperfor-manceimprovementdriven.”

–AnthonyClarizio,ExecutiveDirectorofElderCareofAlachuaCounty

LIVE UNITED / 5

For 13 weeks this summer and fall, Loaned Executives will work with companies across north central Florida to plan and conduct United Way of North Central Florida work-

place campaigns.

All Loaned Executives are sponsored by generous companies and proudly represent that company and United Way in hundreds of employee forums. We hope your company will support the 2014 Loaned Executive Program!

Askyourselfthis:Would you like your company repre-sented alongside one of the most trusted charities in the community? Do you have a rising star in your company that you want to show off to the community? There’s no better way to show your company’s support of United Way than to be part of our Loaned Executive Program.

LEADERSHIP DONORS GATHERED FOR A NIGHT OF THANKS

CALLING ALL LOANED EXECUTIVES!

Doyouthinkyouhavetheidealcandidate?

Please send all candidate information to Dana Clayton, United Way of North Central Florida VP of Resource Develop-ment at dclayton@unitedwayncfl.org, or call 352-333-0846

ResponsibilitiesofaUnitedWayLoanedExecutive:

• Work with 40 –50 local businesses to develop and implement strategies to increase workplace fundraising campaigns

• Represent our community and United Way while cultivating positive relationships with CEOs, campaign coordinators, and other community stakeholders

• Work in a team-oriented atmosphere with campaign coordinators to organize and schedule campaign activities

• Present the United Way message to local employees and ensure the collection and safekeeping of funds contributed by donors

• Deliver campaign materials, maintain account files and arrange speaking engagements

Retiring board chair Matt Fajack

and wife Reggie Fajack.

Kay Ayers, incoming UW board chair, from AvMed and Ed Bonahue, executive committee member, from Santa Fe College.

Our generous hostess Heather Doughton, David

Guzick, Matt Fajack, Debra Staats, and Brad

Staats.

Scott Thomas of Infinite Energy and his wife, Dorothy. Starting in July, Scott will assume his posi-tion as a new United Way board member.

On May 15, United Way of North Central Florida held A Night of Thanks, hosted by Heather and

Jim Doughton at their beautiful home on Kanapaha Prairie. This annual reception recognizes leadership givers for their generous commitment to United Way.

This appreciation event also gives donors the opportunity to learn more about United Way’s initiatives by speak-ing directly with staff members one on one and networking with each other.

6 / LIVE UNITED

WE INVITE YOU TO… United Way of North Central

Florida’s Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program cele-

brated another successful year as tax season came to a close on April 15.

VITA is an IRS initiative designed to promote and support free tax prepara-tion service for the underserved. Since 2010, United Way has provided this free service where an individual or family could receive up to $5,800 in earned income tax credit.

This year there were several VITA sites in Gainesville, including one at the University of Florida’s Levin College of Law and Buchholz High School, where

ANOTHER GREAT VITA TAX SEASONstudents were the ones preparing and filing taxes. Buchholz students went through the same tax-prep certification process as did other volunteers in the program. This is the first high school in the area to have students in the program.

This also marks the second year that United Way of North Central Florida partnered with MyFreeTaxes. The MyFreeTaxes Partnership provides free state and federal tax preparation and filing assistance for qualified individu-als online. Powered by the Walmart Foundation in cooperation with Goodwill Industries International,

National Disability Institute and United Way — the MyFreeTaxes Partnership’s online and in-person tax preparation and filing services have helped millions of families claim nearly $8 billion in tax credits and refunds since 2009. Tax filing software is provided through MyFreeTaxes.com and powered by H&R Block. See you next year for another successful VITA tax season.

Mary Howell was the winner of our VITA Free Laptop Contest! She plans to give this Google HP Chromebook to her son who is a freshman at Gainesville High School. What an amazing woman!

• 1,998 tax returns completed

•$2,245,468 in refunds (MyFreeTaxes refunds are still being compiled)

• $364,015 tax prepared fees SAVED ($198 average basic return at H&R Block, $261 average advanced tax return from H&R Block)

TAX SEASON BY THE NUMBERS

VITA2014

Incoming board chair Kay Ayers presents outgoing chair Matt Fajack with a plaque and a special chair to commemorate his work as chair of the board. Fajack is leaving the area to accept a position at UNC Chapel Hill. He has been a dedicated supporter of United Way in several communities and he will be greatly missed.

thank youMATT FAJACK

LIVE UNITED / 7

YOUR UNITED WAY TEAM

SpecialthankstoourAcademySponsors

6031 NW 1st PlaceGainesville, FL 32607-2025(352) 331-2800www.unitedwayncfl.orgwww.facebook.com/unitedwayncflwww.twitter.com/UnitedWayncfl

NON-PROFIT ORG. US POSTAGE

PAID PERMIT # 133

GAINESVILLE, FL

Staff/LeadershipDebbie Mason, President & CEORhonda Johnson, Director of OperationsMary Broadfoot, Executive Assistant

CommunityImpactTeamKaren Slevin, VP Community ImpactJennifer Stojkovic, 2-1-1/Health & Income Impact ManagerAngela Hutchings, ReadingPals CoordinatorNorinda Rosario Yancey, Education and School-based Initiatives ManagerBarbara Brady, Check & Connect SpecialistAnnetta McCloud, Check & Connect SpecialistPatrick Wright, Check & Connect Specialist

DevelopmentTeamDana Clayton, VP Resource DevelopmentChris Wells, Development Director of Residential & Individual GivingSylvia Waldman, Donor Database Manager

Communications&MarketingTeamAmy Stickel, Communications Manager

BoardofDirectorsExecutiveCommitteeKay Ayers, AvMed, ChairNick Banks, Front Street Realty, Vice ChairCarolyn Lukert, Dementia Education, Inc., Past Board ChairEd Bonahue, Santa Fe College, Member-At-LargeDennis Gies, Community Volunteer, Member-At-LargeKenneth Kurdziel, James Moore & Company, Finance ChairMelanie Ross, UF & Shands, Communications Chair

BoardMembersHarbin Bolton, Cox CommunicationsRob Chapman, PublixMatt Fajack, University of FloridaBill Gair, University of Florida, Campaign ChairSam Goforth, Wells FargoJosh Greenberg, GroovesharkTony Jones, Gainesville Police DepartmentJames Larsen, Allied/Harleysville InsuranceShaney Livingston, Alachua County Library DistrictHershel Lyons, Alachua County Public SchoolsKen McGurn, McGurn InvestmentsEd Poppell, UF Development CorporationAndy Sherrard, O2BKids!Dr. Patricia Snyder, University of FloridaAdrian Taylor, Springhill Missionary Baptist Church, Public Policy ChairLynda Tealer, University Athletic Association, Inc.Brad White, SunTrust, N.A.Jenna White, Enterprise Holdings, Inc., CIT Chair

2014–2015CampaignCabinetBrad Pollitt, Chair, UFHealth ShandsRory Causseau, Causseau, Hewett and WalpoleRobert Deese, SuntrustBill Gair, University of FloridaMonica McMillen, Law Offices of Stephen MillerJohn Power, Alachua County Tax CollectorJason Shank, Enterprise Rent-A-CarJeff Shorb, Enterprise HoldingsJay St. Pierre, North Florida Regional Medical Center