Frequently Asked Questions About the Campaign

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United Way contributions come from individuals like you and from companies throughout Williams County.

United Way of Williams County raised $328,665 in last year's campaign (Campaign 2009). This represented 99.6% of our $330,000 goal.

Your gift to United Way of Williams County stays in Williams County, unless you designate it elsewhere. United Way of Williams County is the largest non-governmental funder of local community programs and services in Williams County. United Way dollars are targeted to meet critical community needs in the county not funded by other sources and invest in long-term solutions to top social problems. Currently, United Way funds programs at 32 different agencies.

Volunteers. Individuals like you, who represent a broad spectrum of the Williams County area serving on the United Way board. The United Way of Williams County is a local autonomous organization making local decisions on how monies are raised and how monies are spent. We are not governed by a national organization, or do we follow mandated policies and procedures.

Each year, all services and programs currently funded by United Way are reviewed by volunteers, who are trained in analyzing budgets, program efficiency and effectiveness. Organizations seeking funding present written proposals to United Way and its volunteer teams. Funding decisions are based on dollars available, community need and on the ability of the applicant to meet that need.

More than 75 cents of every dollar donated to United Way of Williams County supports local services and programs that meet basic needs, improve community conditions and help get to the root causes of some our most pressing problem. United Way of Williams County’s overhead cost of just 24.2 cents per dollar raised is below the standard of 35 cents recommended for charities by the Better Business Bureau.

Charitable giving is a personal and voluntary decision and the United Way of Williams County encourages you to do what is most comfortable to you. A gift to United Way of Williams County is an investment that benefits the entire community, not just one program, issue, or population.

There are many valuable non-profit organizations in the area you may care about. United Way provides an opportunity for your one gift to support a variety of local needs. If everyone designated their gifts to their favorite agency, many services to those in need would not be available to the community. Through one gift to United Way, you can accomplish so much good!

You can also be assured that your gift to United Way of Williams County goes directly to fund programs that help people most in need. United Way conducts periodic needs assessments to ensure donor dollars are addressing the most pressing community needs. We also monitor funded programs and initiatives annually to make sure they are efficiently and effectively improving people's lives and making a positive impact. United Way of Williams County volunteers ensure that contributions are doing the most good in the community.

Finally, contributing through United Way guarantees agencies funds they can rely on every month rather than depending on sporadic contributions.

Though you have the opportunity to designate to any of the funded agencies of United Way of Williams County, and other United Ways across the country, please consider giving to the United Way Community Care Fund, which supports all of the agencies.

United Way of Williams County believes that charitable giving is a personal and voluntary decision. We encourage each spouse/partner to participate in his/her employer's United Way workplace campaign. The combined total of both gifts may qualify you for leadership giving recognition.

YES! Giving to United Way is strictly voluntary. United Way does not use or approve of coercion. Education about how United Way agencies help people is the best way to encourage contribution.

Not every agency appeals to every donor, but all agencies have met the meticulous standards of our United Way and the programs we fund meet needs within our community. If you like, you can designate to any one agency that fits your charitable goals.

About 99 cents of every dollar raised stays in Williams County.

Chances are, you or someone you know will use a United Way member agency service or program in your lifetime. When you consider the tremendous range of services provided by United Way funded programs, you or a family member will probably use one of the services at some point in time. Perhaps your son will become a Boy Scout or your daughter a Girl Scout. Or perhaps a family will need other services our agencies provide. Whatever the occasion, United Way funded programs meet the needs of thousands of people in our service area, assuring all of us a better place to live, work, and play.

Payroll deduction is by far the most convenient method of contribution. A small amount is taken from your paycheck per payday, allowing you to make a small contribution each week that can make a big difference in the course of a year.

One of the benefits of contributing to the United Way is that you know where your money goes. The volunteers serving on the United Way's Community Investment Committees monitor "where the money goes" from a budgetary standpoint, as well as programs and services. you have specific concerns, please call the United Way office at 419-636-8603 to answer your questions.

Your tax dollars do support many social services in the community. Unfortunately, we have seen dramatic reductions in Federal and State support of social services over the past 10 years and we expect that trend to continue. Local services are perceived to be the responsibility of the local community. That is why we need your help to continue these important services.

If you live in another town or city, remember that you can direct gifts to United Ways serving your own community through the United Way's donor choice program.

Yes. In order to maintain the integrity of the United Way Community Investment process and to make sure that the safety net of services is available, United Way retains a fee of 15% of agency designations. This fee goes to the General Fund which benefits all agencies. United Way pays agencies based on the amount raised, not the amount collected, which allows them to receive more dollars.

Designations to other United Ways are charged a minimal fee (usually 7.5%). Many United Ways all across our region have agreed to this fee, including Defiance, Fulton and Henry Counties. Based on United Way Worldwide guidelines, we can charge up to our full overhead costs. We have chosen to charge this lower rate in the spirit of cooperation with others. United Ways that have not agreed to the lower fee charge much higher rates to us when sending donor designated funds to our community.

Yes. Designated funds are not taken into consideration when volunteers make their annual funding decisions. For example, if an agency receives $1,000 through the funds distribution process and designations totaling $1,000, the agency will receive a total of $2,000.

Your gift is tax deductible to the full extent of the law, as long as you itemize deductions.

It depends on the amount of your gift and how it was made. If you made your gift through payroll deductions, a receipt is not necessary. (And in fact, because your gift goes through your employer, who then makes monthly or bi-monthly payments to United Way, we would be unable to provide a receipt because those payments are not broken down by individual donor amounts.) Should you need a receipt for itemized tax purposes, you can use your December 31 paystub or your W-2 if your employer shows that information.

For gifts of $250 or greater paid in cash or individual payments, receipts are mailed at the end of January. Per tax law, this receipt also confirms that the donor did not receive any goods or services in exchange for their gift. Gifts less than $250 do not, by tax law, require a receipt from the charity that receives it.

If you used a three-part pledge card, please keep the pink copy for your records.

By giving a small amount each pay period through payroll deduction, most working people can afford to contribute. Even a small contribution will help someone who might not otherwise receive help. For example, if every working individual donated just $1 each week, that would equal $1 million for our community needs.