In 2006 United Way of Lawton undertook to establish a solid partnership with the community to deal with our homeless population’s needs. Following our Needs Assessment in 2005 the City of Lawton Housing and Community Development and United Way joined forces to find a suitable partner to manage the Continuum of Care and the Homeless Management Information System network. Lawton Housing Authority became our partner.

Funded in part by monies from United Way and the US government this work continues today to address the homeless population’s needs.

Homeless Management Information System (HMIS)

The Homeless Management Information System (HMIS)is a web based program that provides a comprehensive approach to assessing individual needs, providing referrals and tracking the success of those referrals to help individuals become self sufficient. Within the system information about individual in need is stored. The HMIS system, under Jervis Jackson’s tutelage continues to gain partners willing to use this system to keep their records of service. This structure is required by the Federal Government to continue accessing funding to reduce the number of homeless individuals in the country by 2010.

The Continuum of Care

The Continuum of Care (COC) was established to put partners together to discuss the needs of our homeless population and find ways to resolve gaps in care. The local Continuum of Care meets monthly on the 3rd Thursday of each month as part of the United Way Agency Council meeting.

Lawton faces a housing shortage of affordable homes. Each year many individuals become homeless because they are unable to pay their rent and utility bills. Bringing the best of the public and private sectors together to substantially impact individuals who will become homeless United Way of Lawton-Fort Sill, the City of Lawton and Lawton Housing Authority invite the real estate and financial community to join us for a discussion on the 10 year plan to end homelessness.

The Federal Government has made monies available to acquire or build more transitional homes and build or acquire affordable housing for our community as part of our 10 year plan. We must qualify by having the necessary matching monies and community support for our comprehensive plan. Join us for a discussion surrounding these issues and discover how your organization can partner with the community on this issue.

Be Incorporated, Not-For-Profit and I.R.S. Tax Exempt

Explanation: Agencies receiving United Way dollars must be not-for-profit organizations that have been declared tax exempt by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) or have a 501 (c) 3 purpose. The United Way has the responsibility to verify that the recipient organization has been ruled tax exempt by the Internal Revenue Service. Evidence of compliance with state charitable regulations should be provided, where applicable. A copy of the agency’s bylaws should also be provided to the United Way.

Offer Human Service Programs

Explanation: The agency shall conduct a recognized program of social welfare activity in or for this community, and must show evidence to the satisfaction of the United Way that it is effectively meeting a major need with no avoidable duplication of the work of other sound organizations.

As determined by United Way board action the purpose of any new grants will be to address Health and Human service needs and fund emerging needs or stimulate innovative approaches to existing problems. Preference will be given to programs that:

1. Support new and creative approaches to addressing longstanding and emerging community needs
2. Promote efficient agency and project administration
3. Leverage other resources to maximize the benefits of United Way resources

Provide Community Service Based On Document Need(s)

Explanation: The agency’s program should address itself to an identifiable current need, demand, or problem in the community. Services which are supported by voluntary dollars should be clearly defined and their impact documented by the organization.

Must be Nondiscriminatory

Explanation: Discrimination by race, creed, color, sex, age, or religion should be prohibited in programs, services, staffing and volunteer areas. Provide a copy of your written affirmative action plan for employment of staff that reinforces compliance with the Equal Employment Opportunity Act of 1972.

Must Have An Active, Rotating Volunteer Leadership That Represents The Diverse Elements of The Community

Explanation: The agency’s board of directors or governing body should consist of volunteers who participate in the policy-making processes, represent the diverse elements of the community, and periodically rotate off the board and meet, at least, quarterly. Members of the volunteer structure should not receive financial remunerations from the program(s) or services (s) they oversee.

Have Sound Financial And Program Management

Explanation: Demonstrated ability to manage the finances of the programs/services in accordance with generally accepted accounting procedures e.g. American Institute of Certified Public Accountants Guide (AICPA). The organization should provide a copy of its annual audit using an independent certified accountant or accounting firm, where feasible. A determination should be made as to the convincing likelihood that the organization can or will meet its stated program objectives.

Agree to Support and Cooperate With The United Way In The Following Areas

1. Fundraising
2. Planning
3. Communications
4. Allocations

Explanation: United Ways’ relationships with agencies should be one of partnership rather than one of ownership. This relationship evolves around four primary areas: Raising voluntary contributions, Planning for the needs of the total community, Communicating their services to the public and Allocating the funds through an equitable and effective citizen review process.

Agree To Provide Timely Financial And Program Information

Explanation: Agencies share the responsibility of being accountable to the community for the expenditure of voluntary dollars. Periodic reporting of financial and program data to the United Way on operating costs and income, helps document agency expenditures and substantiates their validity.

Agree To Inform and Seek Approval From The United Way For All Significant Program/Staff Expansion or Education

Explanation: The United Way should not be expected to assume financial responsibility for any expansion or discontinuation of the agency’s operations or facilities without prior approval and discussion of how this action will affect the agency’s allocations, if at all.

Agree To Obtain Prior Approval From The United Way Before Engaging In Any Supplemental Fundraising Effort

Explanation: Agencies must obtain prior approval from the United Way regarding their capital and supplemental fundraising needs. Efforts by agencies to develop sources of income should be carried out in such a manner as to assure that:

• The United Way giving base in the community will not be adversely affected
• Agency financing efforts are consistent with mutually agreed upon policies between the United Way and the agency
• The United Way is fully informed and supports, in advance, special financing efforts undertaken by the agency

To approve funding of an agency requires a 2/3 vote of the members of the Funds Distribution Executive Committee and approval of the United Way Board of Directors.

Agencies wishing to participate in the application process must notify the United Way office prior to November 30 of the current year, be approved for application inclusion and attend the mandatory Request for Proposal meeting which will be scheduled for January or February of the New Year and held at the United Way office.

While the emphasis of your campaign should be placed on traditional fund-raising solicitation, many companies incorporate extra fund-raising events following the payroll deduction campaign. To encourage greater participation, we recommend the costs to participants be minimal.

• Sell chances for a raffle at $1 each
• Sell casual day coupons
• Bake sale
• Garage sale
• Obtain a life size cut out of a celebrity – sell picture taking opportunities for $1 each
• Candy-grams sent by employees for 25 cents each
• Popcorn sale
• Car Wash
• Management dunking booth

Did you know that by giving your fair share to United Way, you are saving ten times that amount in tax payer dollars? Prevention is proven to work; do the math….multiply one hour’s pay by ten….do the math; now that is what you can call your real Net Worth!!!

American Red Cross
Following a disaster like a fire or flooding the average family of four needs about $1,500 to meet their immediate emergency needs. $50 can provide for food and groceries for one person for one week, $150 allows for clothing and shoes for one person, $450 can provide rent for one month for a family whose home was destroyed.

Armed Services YMCA
A $3,000 annual gift will provide a whole year worth of fuel to transport young military wives to doctor appointments. A $1,500 annual gift will provide part time child care for the school year allowing a soldier’s wife to attend college. A $50 a month gift will supply a family of four with food for the weekend. A $10 gift twice a month will provide four military moms a Mom’s Day Out free from the worry of childcare.

C. Carter Crane Emergency Homeless Shelter
C. Carter Crane Emergency Homeless Shelter can cover the cost for water, gas, and electric utilities for one month for a gift of $950. A monthly gift of $100 will provide necessary gas and maintenance for the Shelter’s vehicle used to assist clients with some of their transportation needs, pick up supplies and donations, and provide transportation for staff to attend required meetings or trainings. A one time gift of $50 can provide the shelter with 278 pounds of food and/or supplies purchased from the Regional Food Bank. A monthly gift of $75 can provide a client with 60 LATS bus tickets to use for job searches and attend medical appointments. Senior Citizens/Disabled-$60=100 rides, School Kids per semester-$75=100 rides. A one-time gift of $45 could provide a client with a food box and new housing items such as, laundry soap, bathroom supplies and hygiene products.

Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City, INC
With the annual gift of $1,500, Catholic Charities can help 12 families avoid utility cutoff. With a gift of $120 will provide 25 families with emergency diapers. With a $45 Catholic Charities can assist an abandoned woman and child with a bus ticket return to their home. A $200 annual gift will support one individual to attend an 8 week Anger Management class for domestic violence.

Center for Creative Living
An annual gift of $300 or $25 per month will provide 75 senior citizens access to health promotion and educational programs. A gift of $95 will provide glasses for one low income senior citizens. A gift of $34 per month will provide one senior citizen access to the center’s activities for one year. A gift of $425 would provide sponsorship of the mailing cost for the Creative Living Newsletter to 3335 persons.

Christian Family Counseling Center
A gift of $100 will provide four counseling sessions for a mom struggling with parental issues. A $250 gift will provide 8 counseling sessions at Reduced Fees for someone fighting depression. A gift of $500 will provide 20 No Fee counseling sessions for someone who has experienced abuse or rape. A $200 gift will provide 8 counseling sessions to a child dealing with peer pressure and relocation.

Girl Scouts- Western Oklahoma, INC.
$250 provides a full year membership to scouting and special opportunities. Your gift of $1,000 can impact the lives of 10 at risk youth in our community. $125 provides a scholarship to camp; A gift of just $60 covers membership and uniform expenses for an at risk child.

Goodwill Industries of Southwest Oklahoma & North Texas
A gift of $2500 provides a teen with disabilities the opportunity to attend a summer camp for 12 weeks during the summer.

Hearts That Care Volunteer Health Clinic, Inc.
A gift of $100 can provide utilities for one month for the clinic. A gift of $120 can help an individual without insurance get their medications without charge for one year.

Hospice of Southwest Oklahoma
A weekly gift of $45 can provide one uninsured patient with a hospital bed for seven days. A yearly gift of $3,800 can provide one uninsured patient 30 days of care. A gift of $115 can provide 4 uninsured patients with one case of nutritional supplements like Boost or Ensure. A gift of $65 can provide one patient with a case of absorbent blue pads and latex gloves.

J. Roy Dunning Children’s Shelter
A gift of $30 will feed 10 abused, neglected, or abandoned children meals and snacks for one day. A gift of $30 will provide a physical for child. A gift of $25 will provide hygiene items for 12 children. A gift of $20 will provide school supplies. A gift of $100 will provide five winter coats. A gift of $17.50 per week will help provide an incentive bonus for one of our Emergency Foster Care homes for a year.

Lawton Food Bank
Food purchased for the Lawton Food Bank is bought by the pound from the regional food bank in Oklahoma City. For every dollar donated, the Lawton Food Bank is able to provide 7 meals to hungry senior citizens on fixed incomes, or to the disabled or to our working poor families with children. $150 can buy 5000 lbs. of groceries. With $50 donated, the Lawton Food Bank is able to purchase identification cards so that 5 individuals are able to get employment and begin on their road to self-sufficiency. A gift of $500 can help provide 30 families a traditional holiday meal.

Lawton Support Services
A gift of $120 helps provide the matching money used for community interventions for the homeless. A gift of $200 will connect an agency with the national data base Homeless Management Information System. A gift of $3,000 will help defray the expenses of the Point In Time survey completed annually to capture information on our growing homeless needs.

Legal Aid Services of Oklahoma, Inc.
A gift of $26 per year (50 cents per week) will provide legal advice to a victim of domestic violence on how to protect herself by using the law. A gift of $52 per year ($1 per week) will fund helping a senior citizen complete an Advanced Medical directive and a Durable Power of Attorney. A gift of $260 per year ($5 per week) will provide resources to provide legal advice and brief services for up to five families. A gift of $400 per year will enable the victim of a consumer scam go to court to protect their rights.

Marie Detty Youth & Family Services, Inc.
A gift of $25 will provide a parenting class to a parent so that they may learn how to avoid child abuse and its triggers. Only $3.50 per week will provide counseling to begin the emotional healing for a child who is suffering from physical abuse or neglect.
A gift of $35 per month will provide shelter and care for a mother and her 2 children who are seeking safety from a violent husband. A gift of $12 will provide a group home resident with an opportunity to go on an outing as a reward for earning positive behavior points.

Roadback Inc.
A gift of $10 a month would pay for materials such as a copy of the book, Alcoholics Anonymous and a recovery workbook for a person in any of the Roadback, Inc. programs. A gift of $50 annually would pay for 13 days of housing, meals, and treatment for a woman recovering from a drug or alcohol addiction at the Helen Holiday Foundation Home, a halfway house for women. A gift of $1,000 annually would sponsor two weeks of housing, meals, and treatment for a man recovering from a drug or alcohol addiction at the Miller Manor Halfway House for men. A gift of $3,000 annually would assist with eleven days of residential treatment for a woman at the Pathways Residential Substance Abuse Treatment Program.

Salvation Army
A gift of $1,000 will provide lodging for 90 people in The Salvation Army’s homeless shelter. A gift of $50 per month will provide 32 hot meals to those in need. A gift of $20 per month will provide yearly membership for 12 children in the Boys and Girls Club. A gift of $5,000 would keep the heat on for 25 Lawton families this winter.

Teen Court
An annual gift of $600 will allow one defendant the opportunity to have their case heard and sentenced before a jury of their peers while at the same time teaching them accountability and good citizenship. A gift of $35 will educate one defendant on how to make better choices aiding in the deterrence of crime. An annual gift of $100 will print 100 manuals of juvenile crime and Oklahoma juvenile law. A one time gift of $200 will pay a supervisor for 20 hours of community clean up.

Wichita Mountains Prevention Network
Giving $3,000 annually to United Way will provide six youth leaders with state-of–the-art leadership training to help train them to impact the lives of other children as a role model. With your gift 300 local kids will have a great role model to look up to and learn from. A gift of $1,500 annually will sponsor 200 5th grade girls in Girl Power the award wining program for pre-teens. You can help a youth avoid peer pressure with our program Too Much to Lose underage drinking initiative with a gift of $50.

YMCA
A gift of $25 will provide a child the opportunity to participate in Mid night Basketball. A gift of $30 will allow a young lady to participate in YLADIES. A gift of $70 will provide summer camp for one child for a week.

Many of the ideas and incentives listed cost little or nothing. Tailor other ideas to meet your budget. Here are a few ideas to get you started:

• Kid poster contest – for employee’s children
• Guess the Baby Contest – Employees bring a baby picture of themselves; have everyone guess who is in the picture.
• Make a Community Quilt – Provide construction paper, markers, magazines and have employees make a collage related to United Way or your campaign theme. Tie all the squares together with yarn at a rally and hang in a prominent area.
• Host a simple campaign meeting – Serve coffee, donuts, and show the United Way campaign video.

Campaign activities, when accompanied by education, make the campaign a fun event — something to look forward to. Special events are your opportunity to add a little something extra to the campaign! Not only do they raise extra funding for United Way, but they can be instrumental in team development and great for company spirit! Use this as an opportunity to further educate your employees about United Way and most importantly, have FUN! And remember, not every special event has to be elaborate!

Senior Managers - serve as chefs at a kick-off barbecue; or let them serve a pancake breakfast, burger-fry, bake-off or ice cream social. Food is a great incentive to attend!

Use a Beach Bash theme for the campaign meeting. Decorate the cafeteria or break room with beach balls, etc. Serve hotdogs and fruit kabobs. Have everyone wear his or her favorite “Hawaiian shirt.” Award Prizes for the best outfits.

Hold a Fifties Funfest at the employee meeting. Serve pizza, hold a karaoke (or lip sync) contest, an Elvis look-alike contest, play rock and roll music.

Chili cookoffs are always popular. Have each department form a team and prepare their special “secret recipe” for chili. Use a Western or Mexican theme for decorations.

Fall is great for a football theme. Divide departments into teams with the campaign committee serving as “coaches.” The team with the highest participation or percentage over goal wins a prize.

Hold an afternoon of games (bean bag toss, three legged races, pie in the face, etc.)

Host a game show to highlight knowledge of United Way and its service providers. (Use a Jeopardy or Wheel of Fortune format.)

A Few More Suggestions

• Events should be strategically scheduled throughout the campaign to be most successful
• Make it easy for employees to participate
• Secure the support of upper management
• Involve a team in the planning and implementation process
• Utilize these activities to raise awareness and morale
• Be creative
• Have fun!

Remember... when planning special events, please stress that the support of the activities is in addition to the individual campaign pledge.

NOTE: If you donate the proceeds to United Way, please remember to convert the pennies to cuurency or check!

Promote your campaign as a short, fun event that happens once a year. Inform employees of campaign dates and provide them with plenty of information using the following resources:

• Employee rallies! group presentations tool
• Agency speakers or agency fairs
• On-site agency visit/reverse tour (agency clients to tour your company)
• Brown bag lunches
• Letter from your CEO
• Posters or thermometer goal psoters from United Way
• Flyers
• E-mail and/or voice mail
• Employee testimonials
• Payroll inserts
• Screen savers
• Intranet
• Company newsletter articles/ads, or a special company campaign newsleffer
• Lunchroom table tents
• Personalized company campaign video
• United Way quiz or trivia contest
• United Way recognition day to spotlight employees’ volunteer involvement with United Way agencies
• Diamond Donors — Look for the “diamonds” in your company. Diamond donors are folks that have contributed to United Way for 25 years or more. The company and their employees will be publicly recognized and the “diamonds” will be invited to special events.

The following ideas can be used to develop understanding about United Way, increase volunteerism, build excitement and reward your campaign team. They make a great addition to, but do not replace, employee meetings and the ask.

Many companies use incentives to encourage attendance at meetings, campaign participation, and in educating employees about United Way. Use incentives as prizes for contests, raffle drawings, attendance at meetings, competitions between departments, turning in pledge cards on time, etc. Here are a few incentives other companies have used successfully:

Incentives:

• Extra personal day for leadership givers
• Tickets to movies, sporting events, theatre
• Gift certificates to local restaurants
• Fruit or food baskets
• Preferred parking spaces
• Casual day passes
• Lunch for the department with greatest participation
• Pizza Party
• A night on the town
• Lotto tickets
• Popcorn/soda/cookies at event to encourage attendance
• Company or United Way items (mugs, pens, sport-cups, T-shirts)

More Suggestions:

• Day off with pay
• Reserved parking
• United Way T-shirts and other merchandise
• Company merchandise or promotional items
• Casual dress days pr Jeans Days. Based on a specific level of donations, employees could wear jeans to work on days not designated as casual or each pay $1/$5 to enjoy the opportunity to wear jeans to the office for a day.
• Sleep-in late or extra lunch time
• Birthday vacation day
• Lunch in the boardroom with CEO
• Extra breaks! shortened work day! Friday afternoon off
• Gift certificates United Way recognition day to spotlight employees’ volunteer involvement with United Way agencies
• Discount Card for movie/theater passes
• Discount card from local vendors
• Food Coupons
• Free oil change
• Special Drawings like
• Airline tickets
• Dinners fortwo
• Tickets to sporting events
• Hotel stay giveaways

While you and your team are planning the fun part of your United Way campaign, don’t forget to incorporate the basics of promoting your campaign.

• Encourage the President or CEO of your company to write a letter - personally endorsing your United Way campaign. This sends a powerful message of support and is a great way to promote your campaign.
• Distribute flyers - about United Way in paychecks to announce tours, meetings, events, and to provide information about United Way funded programs.
• Educate your employees - about United Way funded programs and how they help.
• Invite a speaker - United Way has Agency and Volunteer speakers, or ask an employee who has received help from United Way funded programs to speak at your employee meeting.
• Include articles - in your newsletter about your campaign and upcoming events and put messages about your campaign on an interoffice memo, or electronic mail system.
• Brown Bag Lunches – Invite an Agency or Volunteer Speaker to give a lunch time workshop on a topic of interest. Contact the United Way office for a speaker at 355.0218.

Helpful Hint: Remember to say thanks to your contributors and your campaign team. United Way provides access to pins for all contributors. You may want to give other small gifts to your team, to contributors who turn in pledge cards on time, or to those who give according to the Suggested Guide for Giving.