COLUMBIA, S.C., December 14, 2006 – The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation is investing $1 million in the United Way of the Midlands (UWM) to help the organization develop a campaign to attract young donors and build a reserve fund to respond to urgent needs.

One-quarter of the grant will help create new strategies to attract young donors in the 25-45 age bracket.  In support of UWM’s board decision to build a reserve fund to respond to catastrophic events and unusual needs, the remaining $750,000 will be for United Way of the Midlands’ Unrestricted Reserve Fund.

“We are awarding these funds to jumpstart the organization’s rebuilding efforts and ensure its civic leadership position in the Columbia area,” said Susan Patterson, Knight Foundation’s program director for Columbia.  

United Way of the Midlands is in an aggressive rebuilding mode, under the leadership of Mac Bennett, who became president and CEO of the organization less than two years ago. Since 2004, United Way of the Midlands has embraced new funding strategies that focus on program outcomes and community priorities.  Some highlights include: 

• Securing national accreditation of the 2-1-1 Call Center, a service that provides information and referral for people who want to give or get help.  This is the only such agency in South Carolina and one of fewer than ten 2-1-1 centers in the Southeast to be accredited by the Alliance of Informational & Referral Systems (AIRS).
• Receiving National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) accreditation for all three child development centers operated by Vital Connections of the Midlands, an organization created by United Way of the Midlands.  That makes all child development centers receiving funding from United Way of the Midlands nationally accredited. Only 4 percent of childcare centers nationwide are NAEYC accredited.
• Providing leadership in community-wide collaboration by service providers, government agencies, volunteers and concerned citizens to address homelessness in the Midlands.
• Piloting the Richland Reading Consortium, a volunteer initiative targeting kindergarten through second grade students that focuses on increasing language development and reading proficiency.

United Way of the Midlands will use the young donor grant in several ways. Much of that grant – $200,000 – is tied to a dollar-for-dollar matching donor program, ultimately helping to secure a goal of $200,000 in new contributions that will help make lasting change in the Midlands.

Part of the funds are to develop a new marketing plan that takes into consideration the expectations and attitudes of this population.  Web site enhancements to improve cataloguing of volunteer skills and projects are also planned.   

“Research indicates that younger donors are more likely to become financial supporters if they are first engaged as volunteers, so United Way of the Midlands will use its new Volunteer Center as a key component to influence these Midlands residents,” said President Mac Bennett. “With this generous grant from Knight Foundation, we are poised to not only cultivate new long term volunteers and contributors but also serve as a model for other charitable organizations desiring to develop giving strategies for this important donor group.”

The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation promotes journalism excellence worldwide and invests in the vitality of U.S. communities where the Knight brothers owned newspapers. For more, visit www.knightfdn.org.

United Way of the Midlands is the most organized, efficient and accountable system for investing in the community.  With over 75 certified partner agencies, United Way works to identify and respond to the critical human service needs of Calhoun, Fairfield, Lexington, Newberry, Orangeburg and Richland counties. Funds are raised through workplace campaigns, grant writing and individual donations. For more information, please visit www.uway.org.