Worcester Business Journal

16 Worcester Business Journal | March 15, 2021 | wbjournal.com F O C U S B U S I N E S S L E A D E R S O F T H E Y E A R A lot of people and busi- nesses needed help, and agencies were eager to re- act. Plenty of donors were willing to pitch in. Bringing the two together wasn't so easy in the early days of the coronavirus pandemic, but the leaders whose efforts eventually became the Worcester To- gether fund quickly had to match needs with giving during a time when a health Worcester Together came to the rescue Nonprofit Business Leaders of the Year Worcester Together fund Organizations collaborating: The United Way of Central Massachusetts and the Greater Worcester Community Foundation Leaders: United Way President & CEO Tim Garvin and GWCF President & CEO Barbara Fields Total amount raised: $10.6 million Sample list of organizations benefiting from the fund: Abby's House, Boys & Girls Club of Worcester, Community Healthlink, Open Sky Community Services, the YMCA of Central Massachusetts, and YOU Inc. BY GRANT WELKER Worcester Business Journal News Editor crisis was moving so fast that little time could be wasted. From late winter 2020 through July, the fund had undoubtedly succeeded expectations, with more than $10 mil- lion raised, much of it going to dozens of organizations in and around Worcester, for both the most immediate needs such as food and housing, to more intermedi- ate needs and planning agencies would need as the pandemic went on. "Never in my wildest dreams did I think we'd get to $10 million," said Tim Garvin, the president and CEO of the United Way of Central Massachusetts. "But it's always been like this: Central Massachusetts and Worcester have always stepped up in ways that we can't imagine, yet if we look back, it always does." e United Way was one of two agen- cies leading the initiative, along with an- other group with close and longstanding ties to area organizations: the Greater Worcester Community Foundation. Almost a year ago, both groups sepa- rately began fundraising efforts when it became apparent the pandemic would lead to significant needs, from youth programs and senior care to badly need- ed technology help for students and hot food for those who were homebound. At GWCF, President and CEO Bar- bara Fields reached out to her executive committee on a Sunday in the middle of last March with a request: could the foundation make an exception to its usual guideline of spending no more than it took in through donations and investments? at typical way of doing business would mean the foundation could spend about 4% of its funds each year, but Fields wanted to bump that to 5% while needs were so great. Continued on Page 18 PHOTO/MATT WRIGHT PHOTO/BRAD KANE

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