United Way of Northeastern Minnesota’s (UWNEMN) Board of Directors recently voted to make some changes to the organization’s 2019-2020 funding process.
“There are many changes in our world, and there are more on the horizon,” said UWNEMN Executive Director Shelley Valentini. “Revenue streams for funding our programs and agencies have been reduced due to many of our area companies taking on a more global corporate focus. As a result, our ability to support and fund our local agency partners in the important work that they do has been severely limited.”
In the past eight years, there have been 60 percent fewer funds available for the fund distribution process, Valentini noted, and the UWNEMN Board is forced to “do more with less” by funding agencies who are specifically addressing targeted issues outlined in UWNEMN’s Investment Plan, therefore creating a greater, deeper community impact.
In order to accomplish this, the application for funding process is changing.
Those interested in applying for funding must complete a pre-application by September 15th. The pre-application asks agencies to outline how their program fits within one of UWNEMN’s three focus areas – Helping Children Succeed, Empowering Healthy Lives, and Stabilizing Families and Individuals – and to detail how the program will address one of UWNEMN’s Targeted Issues.
The UWNEMN Board of Directors will review all pre-applications submitted and will determine which agencies will be invited to submit a full application by October 15th. UWNEMN cannot accept funding applications to benefit individuals directly; all applications must come from 501(c)(3) nonprofits or those entities with a nonprofit fiscal sponsor.
“Though we have less funding available for our agencies, we want to do the most good and have the most impact with the dollars we have,” UWNEMN Board President Paul Janssen said. “We believe in the work of our agencies, and we also feel strongly about addressing the Targeted Issues in our Investment Plan.”
Information on the pre-application process can be found on UWNEMN’s website. Questions can be directed to Valentini at 218-254-3329.