The year 2019 marks 50 years of service in Cranbrook for the United Way East Kootenay, which originally formed in 1969 as the United Way of Cranbrook. However, although they have been supporting the city’s numerous agency for five decades, executive director Donna Brady Fields says that donation levels have dropped off, particularly over the last four to five years.
“Our donation level in our community has always been low, not sure what the reason is for that, but I feel that a lot of people don’t fully understand what it is the United Way does in the community,” Fields said.
The United Way raises funds for the community and invests into priority areas, as determined by the people of Cranbrook. Their second main role is to bring people together in a collective manner so that all the voices can be heard and issues may be presented, and then solutions can be identified to alleviate or eliminate those issues.
“So United Way plays a role,” Fields said, “because all of the agencies are focused on their area and may all be touched by a number of the issues that are identified, but they’re not looking at how all of the agencies in all of the community are connected, and in order to find solutions that really work, we need to have a combined effort in order to find funds successfully.”
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Fields added that due to that role, she thinks that many people in the community think that United Way gets government funding, or funding from the United Way Canada, which isn’t the case.
“What we raise in our community is what we have to address these issues in our community.”
The Canadian donation average, for communities of a similar size to Cranbrook, is about eight per cent of households, but in Cranbrook we are sitting at under four per cent of households that donate annually to the United Way.
Because of these lower funds that they have available, United Way funds about 16 to 20 agencies in the community.
“Now every year that falls,” Fields said. “Last year it was our lowest in the last three years, we fell to 16. Where were were able to make a financial contribution towards programs and services that they provide in the community.”
They fund organizations like Bellies to Babies, the Cranbrook Boys and Girls Club, the Daybreak Program for seniors and the F.W. Green Clinic, which has been receiving United Way funding since the United Way was founded in 1969.
“The funding that we provide funds things like seniors activities, for handy crafts — that type of funding is not available from any other funder and United Way fills that gap,” Fields explained. “And even though we aren’t able to fund a lot of the programs fully for the amount that they’re asking for, it always fills a gap for them.”
Fields said that they are always hopeful that they become able to more adequately fund some of these programs. For example, the Women’s Resource centre has periods throughout the year where they are forced to cut back on, or eliminate services altogether because the funding is not there to keep it going.
Because 2019 is their fiftieth anniversary, Fields said that their plan is for a stronger approach to community connection and awareness. This will include forming several new committees, for which they will need people to sit.
“We’re looking at maybe some type of neighbourhood initiative programs or some other fundraising type of initiatives that has a goal of really connecting with the community and getting the community involved.”
“So it’s always a dilemma as to how we’re going to increase our capacity with the limited funds that we have. And also how to invest more strongly in our communities.”
Fields also highlighted that though they need to strengthen their capacity, volunteers are not as easily come by as they were in years past.
Currently, Fields said that she knows they are probably about $40,000 short from where they were in last year’s campaign, though that figure will change as they still have campaigns that have not yet reported nationally, and the 2018 campaign locally is actually kept open until the end of February.
Anyone who would like to make a contribution for 2018 can still do so and receive a 2018 charitable receipt.
For more information visit ourunitedway.ca