Over this community’s history, United Way of Greenville County has raised an amazing $270 million from caring citizens through our Community Campaign. We have established a proud giving tradition to improve lives and our county for 86 years, and to every one of our donors, we are truly grateful for your generosity and incredible giving spirit!
More than 40,000 people contributed to this year’s campaign. Additionally, over 700 companies contributed in 2008, many of which, in the face of cutbacks, layoffs and losses, put forth a valiant effort to reach or exceed their United Way campaign goals.
In the midst of these losses — some anticipated, some not — we saw outstanding success stories from many local companies and their employees. These include 3M Co., General Electric, Michelin North America, Greenville Hospital System, Sealed Air Customer Service Center, Carolina First Bank, Fluor Corp., Tire Exchange of the Carolinas, Ahold Information Services, US Foodservice, SunTrust, Smith Barney, Perrigo Co. of SC, the city of Fountain Inn, the city of Greenville, Global Performance, RMT, KPMG, and NuVox Communications, all of whom have had very successful company campaigns this year.
The money raised through our annual campaign has allowed United Way to move from simply a fundraising organization to having the ability to identify and respond to areas of community impact that, over time, will fundamentally and profoundly change our community for the better. Our scope enables us to change many lives by pulling together many resources.
This year, United Way of Greenville County’s Campaign Cabinet set an aggressive goal of $15 million for us to raise during our annual campaign. A stretch goal in any year, it was a particularly challenging goal given the economic crisis that has consumed this country over the past couple of months.
But campaign volunteers did not challenge us just to see if we could raise more money. Rather, they knew, as anyone who has opened a newspaper or turned on the television recently does, that it is during times like these that our community needs our support the most. Unemployment, rising food and energy costs and numerous other problems have stretched families who had been making ends meet to the point of suddenly having to make some stark choices.
From the beginning $82,000 campaign in 1922 to this year’s campaign, which raised $14,418,275, the Greenville community has always stepped up to lend a hand to those in need, especially in tough times. As the number of our neighbors in need grows, each one of our donors has answered our call to LIVE UNITED by giving generously, showing that together we can strengthen our community by reaching out a hand to those who need it most.
Even though we came up short of our stretch goal, given the economic climate we are in, the amount we did raise is a testament to a spirit of giving that is alive and well in this great community. We know all of our companies and their employees did everything possible this year to help us reach our goal. To illustrate, this year’s campaign generated more than $900,000 in new dollars. Unfortunately, due to cutbacks, downsizing and other economic factors, we had a number of campaigns with decreases that offset the new dollars raised.
So, rather than focusing on the amount we didn’t raise, I think it’s important that we focus on the significant amount we did raise and the difference it will make in our community. $14,418,275 is an incredible number that will help us continue the important work of making Greenville County a community where we nurture our young children and give youth the help they need to succeed; where families and neighborhoods are strong and people live healthier lives; and where our neighbors in crisis receive the care they need.
United Way’s new call to action is “Give. Advocate. Volunteer. LIVE UNITED.” By being part of this year’s campaign, each of our donors has shown his or her commitment to the first of these. I encourage everyone to stay involved and engaged with United Way throughout the coming year by taking advantage of the many opportunities provided by United Way to advocate and volunteer as well. Information on these opportunities can be found on our Web site at www.unitedwaygc.org.
On behalf of United Way volunteers, the community partner agencies that receive United Way funding, and the thousands of individuals and families who benefit from these programs, we thank you for continuing to support your United Way and the issues that are most important to our community. Together, United, we can inspire hope and create opportunities for a better tomorrow.
