Vero Beach, FL — United Way of Indian River County is putting $1.46 million into local nonprofit programs this year, funding 46 programs run by 34 agencies working to help residents who are struggling to keep up with the cost of living.
The money comes through United Way's annual Community Investment Process, which directs donor dollars to organizations serving what the agency calls the ALICE population — Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed.
"Those are our community members who are working hard, but struggling to make ends meet," said Deana Shatley, Director of Community Impact at United Way of Indian River County.
"Programs can meet the needs of the entire population, but we do kind of hone in on that particular population when we're looking at allocating dollars."
United Way runs its grant process on a two-year cycle. This year's funding round focused on health and financial stability programs, while education programs continued receiving support through the second year of their existing grants.
"We do run a two-year grant process," Shatley said. "So this year we did focus on our health and financial stability programs, but we still are allocating for education, because they are getting their second year grant funding."
On the health side, funded programs include nutrition efforts such as the Meals on Wheels program through the Senior Resource Association and the Treasure Coast Food Bank, along with substance abuse treatment through Thrive and mental health services through the Mental Health Association and the Mental Health Collaborative.
"Health really runs the gamut of physical health, mental health, emotional health, just across the board with our health programs," Shatley said.
Financial stability funding supports shelter and housing programs, including Hope for Families, Samaritan Center, Camp Haven and Habitat for Humanity's Neighborhood Revitalization Program, as well as workforce development through the STEP program at United Against Poverty.
Shatley said the nonprofit landscape is shifting as agencies contend with funding cuts at the national and local levels, even as demand for services grows.
"There is a high impact of different funding cuts, nationally some different funding cuts, some local funding changes as far as like how some of our funders are allocating dollars," she said. "So with the increase of needs in services, the dollars that organizations are going to need to be able to deliver those programs or to deliver those direct services is going to increase."
All of the money United Way distributes comes from donors in the community, Shatley said, including workplace giving campaigns and individual contributions. Publix Super Markets is the organization's leading donor.
"We have workplaces, individuals who are giving a little bit of their paychecks, every paycheck to United Way to go towards these programs, as well as independent donors as well," Shatley said. "We just have such a generous community that really is focused on helping others, helping their neighbors."
Residents interested in supporting United Way's work have several options, Shatley said. Employees can ask their employer about starting a workplace giving campaign with payroll deduction, or individuals can give monthly through the organization's Waymakers program.
Donations can also be made directly through the United Way of Indian River County website, unitedwayirc.org, or by calling the office to speak with a member of the fund development committee.