Community Investment
Berkshire United Way is committed to becoming a true leader in the community effort to solve the most pressing problems; to bring together resources and focus them on the issues most important to Berkshire County residents; to take the lead in building collaborations with partners in the community, identifying issues needing attention, working towards solutions and investing for true measurable results. Berkshire United Way (BUW) believes that to truly realize community impact, focus must be aimed at the root causes of community problems rather than offering quick-fix, temporary solutions.
As such, this focus on root causes and measurable community outcomes represents a shift from the traditional federated fund raiser which has been Berkshire United Way’s operating model for the past 75 years to a Community Impact model that invests in sustainable, positive change. Through the Community Impact process, Berkshire United Way seeks to work in partnership with community resources to engage all stakeholders and to support effective, sustainable, results oriented programming that will meet specific goals and anticipated outcomes.
BUW’s Community Impact Investment Plan
The BUW mission is to improve people’s lives by leading, collaborating and mobilizing resources to address community needs and priorities.
During 2008, Berkshire United Way implemented an enhanced method for assessing community needs, tracking progress and communicating results. BUW sought broad based community input to develop an aspiration for the county and identify community needs and priorities to be considered for BUW investments. The aspiration, “Making Berkshire County a community of hope and opportunity, where every individual and family can live, work and thrive” is both inspirational and achievable. With strong community guidance as well as leveraging resources with the quality work completed by the Berkshire Compact for Higher Education and the Berkshire Blueprint, BUW believes that the best way to support this aspiration is to invest in the following priorities and outcomes:
Helping Children and Families Succeed, supported by efforts to Advance Health and Wellness: All children will arrive at kindergarten ready to learn and all young adults will successfully transition to work, higher education or training.
Promoting Financial Stability and Independence: All individuals are empowered to define and achieve their goals for financial independence and career success.
Meeting Basic Needs: Individuals move from a crisis situation, where their basic needs are met by the “safety net” of service providers, to independently meeting their own needs and, individuals demonstrate an increased ability to manage family resources to meet basic needs (food, shelter, and healthcare) and/or plan to address other financial priorities.
VOLUNTEER TO MAKE AN IMPACT IN YOUR COMMUNITY!
Community Impact and Investment Volunteers assist in the community engagement and investment process by helping to evaluate proposals and allocate resources to programs that are in alignment with the community goals and can demonstrate effectiveness through measurable outcomes. BUW seeks members who have a passion for building a strong community, have an ability to function as part of a team, actively participate in the process,and, have the time needed to ensure an effective process and outcome. Community Impact Volunteers also help define community goals and priorities through engagement with diverse community representatives facilitated by Berkshire United Way. Community Investment Volunteers:
- Review applications and make funding recommendations to BUW.
- Recommend opportunities for innovation, coordination, and collaboration.
- Encourage utilization of all resources (volunteers, grants, community resources, advocacy, etc.) to achieve the anticipated outcomes.
- Review and evaluate outcome performance.
The anticipated time commitment requires up to two hours at the start of the proposal review process for orientation and training. In addition, approximately 15 hours are required during April and May to review, evaluate and recommend proposals for funding. Community engagement meetings and events are scheduled periodically throughout the year.
Anyone interested in volunteering or learning more may contact Nancy Stoll, Director of Community Engagement and Evaluation at BUW, 413-442-4710, ext. 108, or at nstoll@berkshireunitedway.org.
Community Aspiration
"Making Berkshire County a community of hope and opportunity, where every individual and family lives, works and thrives!"
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