LIVE UNITED TODAYINSIDE THIS ISSUE: A DAY OF ACTION, A DECADE OF RESULTS, SMALL BUSINESS SPOTLIGHT, WLC EVENTS

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A DAY OFACTION

This year’s annual Day of Action was a success! United Way of North Central Florida brought more than 150 volunteers from all over Alachua County together on a

Friday morning to beautify local schools. Our volunteers came from Alachua County Fire Rescue, Alachua County Library District, Alachua County Administration, Enterprise Holdings, Infinite Energy, Institute for Workforce Innovation (IWI), Nationwide, Nordstrom, more than 15 Publix stores, RTI Surgical and TD Bank. They were assisted by members of the Alachua County Public Schools Facilities Office and custodians from the schools, who reported for duty on their day off! (cont. on next page)

Volunteers from Infinite Energy gathered at Glen Springs Elementary School on Day of Action 2015

The volunteers were divided among eight Alachua County schools: Alachua Elementary, A.L. Mebane Middle, Glen Springs Elementary, Howard W. Bishop Middle, Idylwild Elementary, Newberry Elementary, W.W. Irby Elementary and Sidney Lanier Center. Volunteer groups also worked on projects with our partners Boys & Girls Club and Girls Place. Some of the projects included repainting aged playground equipment, weeding, mulching, planting bushes, making flowerbeds and clearing the campuses of overgrowth.

The event began with a standing-room only kickoff at Sidney Lanier Center with breakfast and words of encouragement from Alachua County Public Schools Vice Superintendent Paul White.

United Way of North Central Florida appreciates all the support from our volunteers and partners. The event showed how much you are invested in our communities. A special thank you to our sponsors Florida Food Service, Pepsi and Alachua County Public Schools for their support with this awesome event.

Top Left Board Member, Lisa Patton improving the parking lot with a team from Publix at Newberry Elementary Top Right A Publix volunteer painting at Howard Bishop Middle Middle Top Volunteers from Nationwide stand proudly by the new flowerbeds they built for Idylwild Elementary Middle Bottom Volunteers from Alachua County Library, Nordstrom and Alachua County Public Schools at Mebane Middle School Bottom Left Volunteers from IWI, and the County Manager’s Office pose proudly in front of the playground they repainted at Sidney Lanier Center Bottom Right Three volunteers from RTI Surgical pose at Alachua Elementary

UPCOMING EVENTS

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 18, 2016 11:30 a.m.– 1 p.m.

HEARTS UNITE: AN EVENT TO ADVANCE THE COMMON GOODWe invite you to open your heart and lend a hand. More information coming soon.

Location: Trinity United Methodist Church, 4000 NW 53rd Ave

RSVP: Mary Broadfoot at 352-331-2800 or mbroadfoot@unitedwayncfl.org

THURSDAY, MARCH 17, 2016 11:30 a.m.– 1:00 p.m.

CAMPAIGN FINALEJoin us as we thank our workplace campaigns for all they do and present special appreciation awards.

Location: Best Western Gateway Grand, 4200 NW 97th Blvd

RSVP: www.UWChangeLivesHere.EventBrite.com (registration opens February 1st)

THURSDAY, APRIL 14, 2015 5:30 –7:00 p.m.

VOLUNTEER APPRECIATION NIGHTSave the date for the first annual event to thank our amazing volunteers for all that they do year-round! More information coming soon.

Steven Camps Sr., President of Pro-Care Janitorial Services

David Greenberg of David Greenberg Communications

TO READ FULL INTERVIEWS VISIT: www.unitedwayncfl.org/smallbusinessspotlight

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Chris (Boris) Marhefka and Carlee Daylor, Founders and Owners of Eat the 80

“ United Way is the avenue that lets me keep my city great, while also helping it to constantly improve.”

A DAY OF ACTION CONT’D

“ Tough times don’t last, but tough people do. Life isn’t about waiting for the storm to pass... it’s about learning to dance in the rain.”

SMALL BUSINESS SPOTLIGHT

Small businesses play a critical role in maintaining a thriving local economy. They are no less important

to the success of United Way, as we endeavor to improve lives through our work in education, income and health. Our Small Business Partners are an important, growing family of donors who are vital to helping us meet the needs of our community.

To read the full interviews with Steven Camps, Sr., Carlee Daylor, and David Greenberg, please visit www.united-wayncfl.org/smallbusinessspotlight. To sign up for our e-newsletter, please visit www.unitedwayncfl.org. To become a Small Business Partner, please contact Chris Wells at cwells@unitedwayncfl.org.

“ Our business philosophy is to do the best job everyday for each of our clients.”

2 / LIVE UNITED LIVE UNITED / 3

As with the passing of each year, and the ushering in of a new season, this is the time for reflection, re-tooling and re-invigorating prior commitments. It is the season

for us to re-visit promises made, to evaluate progress gained along the way and to make adjustments that will help us stay the course toward a goal originally set back when all we had was hope and passion. For us at United Way of North Central Florida, it is the season to remember why we got into impact work in the first place, and to take a long, hard look at our road ahead if we are going to keep the commitment we made nearly 10 years ago to “Turning the Curve” on our community’s most important issues.

Let me take you back to the early 2000’s when United Way Worldwide—based in Virginia—began to look into alternative ways of increasing its efficiency and maximizing its impact as a leading nonprofit agency. It was 2006 when UWW launched the “Impact Model”—a brand-new, if not controversial at the time, transformation of the agency’s pure fundraising model to an impact-based version, where effectiveness would no longer be evaluated and measured in dollars raised alone, but by the output and effectiveness of funded programs in the community as a whole. This major shift happened at the dawn of the Great Recession so it further catalyzed the movement by many non-profits toward overhauling their fundraising strategies to focus on how they could glean measurable outcomes from funded initiatives and discover their competitive advantage. This new way of doing business, while difficult for many initially to adjust to, had the ability to prove a program’s propensity to create lasting change.

The UWNCFL was among the first to hitch itself to this new way of fundraising, and by 2009, had completely transformed

its funding model to reflect an outcomes-based framework. To date, only 16% of United Ways nationwide have made this switch. By 2011, we employed a framework that was anchored on Results-Based Accountability (RBA) to help achieve our Collective Impact mission. This mission was the product of a community-wide visioning process, led by the UWNCFL, to collaborate with partner agencies and other regional organizations including the University of Florida, local government and law enforcement, nonprofits, and others in

order to identify key areas of need across the region. Those needs were determined to be education, financial stability, health and immediate needs and became the founda-tion for our funding strategy. It was a “new day” for UWNCFL and its partners.

In total, we funded 26 programs across 19 agencies within our six-county footprint, each related to our focus areas. We committed three years of funding to them—amongst the longest in the state of Florida. Earlier this year, we called the partners back to get their feedback on how things were going. We learned a lot from

that process. We learned that we could improve what kind of data we were requesting so that in our next funding cycle, which begins July 2016, we will have better systems in place to compare apples-to-apples and to eliminate any duplications of data. This refinement will help us to meet our most pressing community needs.

So, as we prepare for our new funding cycle in 2016, we reflect on what we’ve learned these past 10 years: Real change is collaborative, flexible and responsive. And, that our real impact is measured only by our commitment to Live United.

Deborah V. Bowie, CCE, IOM President & CEO United Way of North Central Florida

United Way of North Central Florida has added a new member to our dynamic team! Please help us to welcome Nailah Summers as our new Communications

Specialist. In an effort to get to know Nailah better, we gave her a short quiz. Check out her answers!

1. WHERE ARE YOU FROM? That always feels like a complicated question! I was born in Washington, D.C., was raised on Miami Beach. My mother is Cuban American and my father is African American. That covers all my bases, right?

2. HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN IN GAINESVILLE? I came to live in Gainesville in 2011 to attend the University of Florida and have been here since.

3. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE ICE CREAM FLAVOR? Mint Chocolate Chip. Always.

4. WHAT IS SOMETHING SURPRISING THAT MOST PEOPLE DON’T KNOW ABOUT YOU? When I was a teenager I wanted to own a chain of hair salons that catered to hair like mine. I still enjoy doing my friends’ hair.

5. WHY ARE YOU EXCITED TO LIVE UNITED? There’s not much that’s more important to me than people and helping them be empowered. There are so many people that UWNCFL helps locally every year from our education initiatives like ReadingPals and Check and Connect to 2-1-1, who provide connections to resources that can help someone going through a hard time. What UWNCFL does with its Community Investment Fund is something anyone can be proud of.

TOYS FOR TOTS ENSURES A HAPPY HOLIDAY SEASON FOR MORE CHILDREN THIS YEAR.

Once again this holiday season, United Way of North Central Florida has been running the Toys for Tots program. More than 750 children will receive toys

through United Way and the U.S. Marine Corps program this year. The total number of children served is a 68% increase from last year. We are pleased that we are able to serve so many more children to ensure they have a very happy holiday season.

Nailah Summers, Communications Specialist

A DECADE OF RESULTS

WELCOME, NAILAH!

The UWNCFL was among the first to hitch itself to this new way of fundraising and by 2009, had completely transformed its funding model to reflect an outcomes-based framework.

This year, Toys for Tots is set to serve more than 750 children in Alachua County.

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HOLIDAY

On Wednesday, November 18, we held our Fifth Annual Women’s Leadership Council Holiday

Fundraising Luncheon. Thank you to everyone who attended. All ticket sales and 20 percent of vendors’ proceeds raised more than $5,000 for ReadingPals! A special thank you to our event sponsors FrontStreet Commercial Real Estate Group, Best Western Gateway Grand and Belk.

More than 20 local vendors, including Kitchen and Spice, Stella and Dot, Alternatives Global Marketplace, and Scentsy, participated in the annual holiday shopping mall, available exclusively to luncheon attendees, located in the hotel lobby and promenade. After an hour of shopping, lunch was served from 12 to 1 p.m., with time allotted for more shopping after lunch.

Keynote speaker, Dr. Nancy Hardt shared her passion for connecting science and GIS mapping toward devising poverty solutions. In 2008, Dr. Hardt worked with the Alachua County Sheriff’s Office to invent a new tool to zero in on poverty-stricken hotspots in the city. This allowed public health professionals to devise comprehensive treatments and preventive care measures that targeted the highest risk communities. For her efforts, Dr. Hardt won the 2013 Sapphire Award for Individual Excellence. Her address during the luncheon stressed the importance of early childhood learning and the importance of volunteer involvement to help underprivileged children in our areas.

In addition to Dr. Hardt, Senior Reverend Alan Struckmeyer spoke about his experiences as a ReadingPal for the past three years. He shared personal stories of how he and his ReadingPal, Matthew, have positively impacted each other’s lives.

FUNDRAISING LUNCHEON

In October, the United Way of North Central Florida Board of Directors gathered for an information session

and SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats) exercise. The Board also received an update on statewide efforts to assist the state’s working poor and middle class.

BOARD OF DIRECTORS TRAINING

The United Way of North Central Florida team celebrated being a part of the Gator Nation during the University of Florida’s Homecoming Parade on Friday, November 6.

UWNCFL was in the parade with a number of partners including Boys and Girls Club of Alachua County, Partnership for Strong Families and Catholic Charities.

UWNCFL IN THE GATOR NATION HOMECOMING PARADE

Left Board of Directors Chair, Kay Ayers with President & CEO Deborah Bowie

Right Board members and UWCNFL staff members participating in a fun icebreaker, lead by Dr. Jen Day Shaw.

United Way North Central Florida staff at the University of Florida’s Homecoming Parade.

UWNCFL staff excited to be part of the parade.

Giant Live United t-shirts representing our Community Impact Partners during the parade!

UWNCFL staff representing our Impact Partners during the parade.

On Tuesday, September 15, the Women’s Leadership Council hosted the Painting & Pinot at Do Art Studios. Nearly 50 ladies were in attendance.

These women enjoyed a colorful evening full of laughter, creativity and wine. All ticket sales and donations from the event went to support the ReadingPals initiative. Thank you to Do Art Studios for helping to host this fun event for a great cause!

WLC EVENTS

United Way Board Member Jennifer Hunt and Simone Harbert of Campus USA Credit Union with their paintings.

Ladies painting, eating and chatting during

Painting & Pinot.

WLC Steering Committee Member and ReadingPals mentor, Laura Gunter with Suzanne Friis.

From Top Ally Nygaard and Virginia MacKoul of FrontStreet, who sponsored the luncheon

The Enterprise Holdings team: (back row) Kim Slone, Andi Fullam, Sara Cafarelli, Natalie Harris and Patti Dugan. (front row) Andrea McClintic, Joey Goodman and Jenn Pohl.

(left to right) Lynn Hughes, Susan Berg, Genile Morris, Pascale Spears, Meredith LaPradd, Cat Ferris and Jaye Hamblet.

Deborah Bowie talks about ReadingPals and the importance of early literacy.

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YOUR UNITED WAY TEAM

Special thanks to our Academy Sponsors

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Staff/Executive TeamDeborah V. Bowie, President & CEO

Rhonda Johnson, Director of Operations

Mary Broadfoot, Executive Assistant

Community Impact TeamJennifer Stojkovic, Director of Community Impact

Norinda Rosario Yancey, Education and School-Based Initiatives Manager

Angela Hutchings, ReadingPals Coordinator

Barbara Brady, Check & Connect Specialist

Annetta McCloud, Check & Connect Specialist

Stephanie Burke, Check & Connect Specialist

Development TeamDana Clayton, VP Resource Development

Chris Wells, Director, Small Business Partners

Jessica Stephens, Development Manager, Individual Giving and Retirees

Britt Pearson, Development Associate, Affinity Groups

Sylvia Waldman, Director of Database Systems Dawn Adkins, Database Systes Jacquelyn Tartaglione, Campaign Associate

Communications & Marketing TeamAmy Azoulay, Senior Manager of Communications

Nailah Summers, Communications Specialist

Board of Directors Executive CommitteeKay Ayers, AvMed, Chair

Nick Banks, Front Street, Vice Chair

Carolyn Lukert, Dementia Education, Inc., Past Board Chair

Dr. Ed Bonahue, Santa Fe College, Member-At-Large

Kenneth Kurdziel, James Moore & Company, Member-At-Large

Melanie Ross, UF Health, Member-At-Large

Board MembersTracy Bachmann, Waymaker Communications

Bill Gair, University of Florida

Sam Goforth, Community Volunteer

Jennifer Hunt, CAMPUS USA Credit Union

Jackie Johnson, Alachua County Public Schools

John Jopling, Dell Graham

Shaney Livingston, Alachua County Library District

Greg Moraski, Nationwide

Lisa Patton, Publix

Brad Pollitt, UF Health & Shands Todd Powell, Plum Creek

Doug Ray, Gainesville Sun/Ocala Star Banner

Dr. Jen Day Shaw, University of Florida

Andy Sherrard, O2BKids!

Dr. Patricia Snyder, University of Florida

Adrian Taylor, Gainesville Chamber of Commerce

Scott Thomas, Infinite Energy

Jenna White, Enterprise Holdings, Inc.

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