United Way Drive Marked by New Sense of Stability

The United Way of Ventura County kicked off its pledge drive for county employees Tuesday, amid vows that the agency has pulled itself out of a troubled recent past and is on track to meet its goals in its 1999 campaign.

Officials say the organization, which began its drive last month, should reach its goal of nearly $5.435 million by Dec. 16--slightly less than the $5.5-million goal the agency narrowly missed last year. It has already surpassed the amount earned at the same point last year, according to Sheryl Wiley Solomon, the organization’s president.

The renewed sense of stability is a hopeful sign to many organizations dependent on the United Way that have seen their funds slashed as the organization dealt with its financial problems over the last year and a half.

At Tuesday’s celebration at the Government Center in Ventura, which focused on county workers, Supervisor Kathy Long exhorted those present to dig deep in helping the local United Way, which assists 55 local organizations.

“Five million dollars is a very reachable goal for Ventura County,” Long said. “This is a giving community.”

The agency hopes to raise about $275,000 from county employees, according to Bronwyn Bruton, who is handling that campaign.

A mounting deficit and a $500,000 shortfall in donations left the United Way $973,655 in the red for the 1996-97 fiscal year. But a combination of belt tightening, cuts and better financial planning helped put the organization back on sure footing much earlier than expected, Wiley Solomon said.

This year’s campaign--as was last year’s--lasts only 90 days. Such a condensed period should help the organization sustain its intensity and, perhaps more importantly, ensure that it knows exactly how much money it has before it budgets donations to charities, officials said.

Wiley Solomon declined to say how much money the organization has raised at this point, but she said it was well beyond last year’s total to date. It will announce the amount raised in the first month on Oct. 21, she said.

Some of those funds come from companies that began their pledge drives before the official start of the campaign for various reasons. Those firms had raised about $380,000 when the pledge drive began, Wiley Solomon said.

The United Way’s goal is complicated by a loss of about $200,000 in funds to companies that have moved out of the county and another $392,000 in county grants it no longer receives.

As a result, the agency is focusing its attention on cultivating new pledge drive participants, small to mid-size businesses that traditionally fall through the cracks, and donors offering more than $1,000. Ventura County’s average gift, just over $5, is far lower than the $15 per person raised in similar counties, Wiley Solomon said.

“This is a lot of new work for us,” she said. “We’re still very short-staffed. As we’re able to grow the campaign, maybe we’ll be able to grow the staff.”

The United Way helps a variety of local and national groups, including the Boys & Girls Clubs of Oxnard and Port Hueneme, the Salvation Army, and the American Red Cross.

The Camarillo Hospice found its funding cut by more than a third after the disastrous 1996-97 campaign, and although its executive director doesn’t expect to see any more money soon, she’s glad to see that the future looks brighter.

“I know they’ve been struggling for the past couple years,” Edy Santangelo said. “But [Wiley Solomon] knows what she needs to do, and she’s trying to do it. It’s up to the community to put their faith behind her.”

At the Red Cross, which would have had to slash its programs without United Way assistance, officials saw a promising future, but knew it wouldn’t come without work.

“We’re certainly in a much better place,” said Ann Sobel, the organization’s executive director. “Now we have to build on the strengths of the community to keep it strong.”

*

Times Community News reporter Pamela J. Johnson contributed to this report.