Worcester Business Journal

wbjournal.com | January 10, 2022 | Worcester Business Journal 11 be seen be heard be remembered design • web • video • digital marketing We support nonprofit causes Does your company give to nonprofit causes? Giving Tuesday launches a season of charitable giving running through the December holidays, spurred both by the holidays themselves and the culmination of a calendar tax year. When polled online, nearly 9 out of 10 WBJ readers said their companies give money to nonprofit organizations. F L AS H P O L L roactively support the Worcester Remote Learning Hub Collaborative. "e pandemic has really taken a lot away from kids, and I think the summer program, where we teamed up with the United Way and other Youth Connect partners, really helped them have a summer that felt a little bit more normal," said Liz Hamilton, executive director of the Boys & Girls Club of Worcester. Aer that first $1 million was allo- cated, spending the Scott donation has, for the United Way, been an exercise in identifying and supporting three core beliefs: the importance of diversity, equity and inclusion; the importance of early education not only for children but for parents and a functioning econo- my; and providing for basic needs and eradicating poverty. All of these ideas, from Garvin's vantage point, are about authentically engaging with the commu- nity United Way serves. Practically speaking, this has come in a variety of ways, including gis distribut- ed to organizations both through com- petitive and non-competitive processes. On the competitive side of things, United Way announced in November it was distributing more than $1 million from the Scott donation to 14 different local nonprofits, selected aer each pitched their programming through a 90-second video, and then again, before a panel of judges. Applicants' organization- al work was required to fall under one of the three major spending categories United Way had decided to prioritize. Garvin and his team used this mech- anism to connect with groups who may not be as well-known in the area. "We wanted to make sure we were reaching out to people who had never been part of the United Way system before," he said. On the noncompetitive side, United Way decided at its annual meeting to announce $250,000 would go toward groups the nonprofit thought were mak- ing a difference in the community. ose selected were not asked to apply. Among recipients was Rock of Salvation church, which runs a food kitchen in Worcester's Main South neighborhood. "e need is so great," said Head Pas- tor Jose Perez. "People are hungry. e price of food is just astronomical, and it just keeps going up; and unfortunately people's salaries don't go up as fast." e funding from United Way went toward helping Perez and his team de- liver hot meals, in large part to the city's undocumented population, an effort begun when COVID first hit. ey serve between 120 and 150 meals per week. "It's impossible for me not to say that the results were extraordinary," Garvin said of the funding round, which also supported groups like Entrepreneurship for All, Worcester Green Corps, and 2Gether We Eat. So far, through these funding ini- tiatives and several other community donations, United Way has distributed roughly $2.5 million of Scott's gi, and right now, the nonprofit is taking what Garvin called a chance to catch their collective breath, as a new year begins. And what a year, for his team, it's been, providing them an unprecedented opportunity to expand their support for partner organizations, as well as build relationships with new groups they hadn't worked with before. "ese could have impacts that last forever," Garvin said. "Nonprofits connect people with a passion to a mission to drive change in a community. I'm so glad to see so many yes responses here." - Kelly Johnson "Most nonprofits are wolves in sheep's clothing." Yes. 86% No. 14% COMMENTS: Worcester Remote Learning Hub Collaborative $500,000 Recreation Worcester $125,000 Vaccine Corps, Worcester $107,000 College Corps, Worcester $100,000 Afghan Refugee Fund, Worcester $100,000 Summer Literacy Initiative, Worcester $75,000 Boys & Girls Club of Worcester $50,000 Friendly House, Worcester $50,000 YWCA Central Massachusetts $50,000 YMCA of Central Massachusetts $50,000 Entrepreneurship for All, Worcester and Lowell $50,000 Rock of Salvation church, Worcester $25,000 Worcester Green Corps $25,000 2Gether We Eat, Worcester $25,000 United Way Women's Initiative, including Stepping Up for Girls event in Worcester $10,000 Worcester Challenge to Create Community Change (spread across 14 groups) $1,010,000 Organization Amount received How United Way is spending MacKenzie Scott's money Source: United Way of Central Massachusetts The United Way of Central Massachusetts has distributed about half of the $5 million it received from philanthropist MacKenzie Scott at the end of 2020. Here are the organizations who have received those dispersements from United Way. W

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