United Way and the City of West Des Moines

The City is currently in the middle of its combined charities campaign for the United Way and Iowa Shares. This year, West Des Moines was selected as a United Way Pacesetter, which means we are conducting our campaign along with seven other agencies before the start of the mass United Way campaign that takes place each fall. Our goal as a Pacesetter is to raise 15% more than last year and to set an example as an organization that cares.

The City's role in the campaign is largely to help inform our employees about United Way and the services it provides to the greater metro community. We invite agency speakers to discuss their programs and give employees the option of automatic payroll deduction for donations. This year, our goal is to raise $10,000 through our generous employees. As it stands less than two weeks into our campaign, we have raised over $8700. I think we are well on our way to meeting our goal.

The City has close ties to two United Way funded agencies...our own Human Services Department, and the Police Department's Youth Justice Initiative. Because, among other qualities, they measure and track their work and results, both receive support from the United Way. To me, this is an important consideration when deciding where to give. I'm thankful for all the partner agencies that work to improve the lives of individuals, especially youth, in our community. I also appreciate the fact that 89 cents of every dollar given to the United Way stays in our community and actually goes to the supported programs. The United Way's ability to coordinate local agencies in an effort to achieve systemic results is well worth this small administrative cost.