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UWP will be issuing a statewide release on Monday April 16th detailing the results of our gubernational candidate survey.
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UWP releasing gubernatorial candidate survey results on Monday, April 16
UWP will issue a statewide media release on Monday announcing the availability of information we collected from a survey of candidates for the office of Governor. The survey is offered to help educate voters in an impartial and nonpartisan manner. Although there are many factors voters should use to evaluate candidates, United Way believes that among these should be the key elements of a vibrant community with opportunity for all - education, health, financial stability and the viability of the nonprofit sector.
Three out of four candidates for governor responded to the survey. Results are currently posted and publicly available on our web site at
www.uwp.org under the Advocacy tab where there is a menu item called "2018 Gubernatorial Candidates on the Issues".
After the UWP release on Monday, we encourage local United Ways to help inform their communities that these survey results are available. You may do this by sharing the release and also sharing/ retweeting messages from UWP's Facebook and Twitter, as well as LinkedIn. The survey questions asked candidates to weigh in on issues such as access to high quality pre-k and child care, access to health care, the state budget and avoiding future budget impasses, and partnership with 2-1-1 for health and human services information and referral.
As a 501(c)(3), UWP's sole purpose in conducting this survey is to educate and inform voters. We will not be endorsing a candidate, nor will we be comparing and contrasting the candidates' positions on the issues with our organizational position.
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UWP is making it easy for all UWs to advocate at home for state priorities in conjunction with Hill Day on April 17!
Couldn't make it to Harrisburg for Hill Day because of other scheduling conflicts or lack of staff capacity to send to our event? Please consider supporting from home in the following ways:
* Use these social media messages available
here or on our Members Only section of the website to amplify our asks and the many valid reasons legislators should support our priority issues. If you choose to tweet at your legislators, you will find their twitter handles on their individual web sites.
* Write to your legislators about our priorities using the form email provided through UWP's legislative engagement platform called CQEngage. You can find that opportunity on our website under Take Action! or click
here.
* Consider sharing the CQEngage link with board members, other volunteers, or donors who would be interested in affiliating with United Way's advocacy work.
* Consider placing a phone call to your legislators' offices to talk about these issues using the messaging we provided through the talking points document
here. Even if they are not able to speak with you during the session day, it is a great opportunity to request a time to talk with them over the next few weeks.
* Various one-pagers and fact sheets to support our advocacy on 2-1-1 and Pre-K can be downloaded
here.
Whether you are advocating with us at the Capitol next week, or making contacts from the district, we ask you to report back to UWP and let us know how any of your conversations with legislators went so we can followup and understand how legislators are responding to their constituents on our issues. We have an electronic report-back form which is available
here.
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Sailing Into the Future conference spotlight: early bird registration, keynote speaker, and more!
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Are you planning on joining UWP for the 2018 Statewide Conference? If you haven't registered yet - the early bird deadline is approaching! After April 30th - the price will be $350 for a full registration.
Our conference this year has many exciting sessions and engaging speakers.
UWP is pleased to announce that Beth Zimmer, co-founder and managing director of the Innovation Collaborative, will be joining us for the Membership dinner as our Keynote Speaker on Wednesday evening.
The Innovation Collaborative is an organization built by countless members of the Erie community who recognize that entrepreneurship is vital to the region's present and future economic success. Beth is a strong advocate for businesses in Erie and is active in the Erie community. She will be discussing her innovation and leadership experience with our members. Her keynote address will be an excellent way to kick off our 2018 conference!
You may also want to attend the "Building Small Business & Entrepreneur Engagement" breakout session on Thursday June 21st at 2:15pm. This session will be presented by Melanie Shildt from United Way of Blair County.
The session will focus on the role small businesses play in maintaining a healthy local economy and their importance to meeting the needs of their communities. There are 1 million small businesses in PA and they employ 46% of PA employees.
Melanie will lead a group discussion during the session about how to engage and develop working partnerships with small businesses based on her experiences in Blair County. We would also like to hear from other United Ways who have successfully partnered with small business - please email amanda@uwp.org if that's you!
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Federal Farm Bill action could occur soon - take action!
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As Congress returns this week, we expect action on the Farm Bill to heat up. The House Agricultural Committee may release the Farm Bill to go to Committee for markup. Before the Spring Recess, negotiations between Republicans and Democrats broke down and at this point, we are expecting a partisan bill to emerge. There are concerns that the House bill will propose dramatic cuts to SNAP in the realm of curbing eligibility and limiting state flexibility. The Senate Agriculture Committee will also likely release their Farm Bill later this month, We are less concerned about SNAP changes here as the bill is being crafted in a bipartisan manner. We need to keep support for SNAP strong to prevent erosions to the program and ensure SNAP is in the best position when the House and Senate bills are conferenced together.
We need to continue to raise awareness about the need, value and efficiency of SNAP in its current form. With an upcoming Recess April 28-May 6, its time to advocate and show the importance of SNAP in your communities.
If you haven't already signed onto our CQ Engage letter, sign on now
! This is a great way to let your legislators in D.C know how important it is to keep SNAP in the Farm Bill.
To learn more about SNAP in the Farm Bill and how we can work on protecting SNAP, plan to attend United Way Worldwide's webinar
SNAP in the Farm Bill
next
Wednesday, April 18th, at 4pm. Learn what's at stake, what's happening in Congress, and how you can take part in saving SNAP in the Farm Bill.
SNAP in the Farm Bill Wednesday, April 18th
Dial: 866-351-2452; passcode:7386895452
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United Way Day of Action: What are your plans?
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United Ways across the globe are teaming up to organize thousands of people in their communities to volunteer and make their community a better place through Day of Action to advance community solutions. Last year 418 United Ways in 21 countries participated.
United Way Worldwide is focusing on Summer Learning and Nutrition. Boosting summer learning - and working with schools, summer programs, employers and other nonprofits - is part of United Way's strategy to help kids succeed in school, work and life.
Not all Day of Action projects must focus on this target, however.
If you are planning to organize a Day of Action event, United Way Worldwide is working to coordinate resources and target communications with local United Ways. They are asking you to register your Day of Action event online
here to be included in press and the Day of Action report.
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Reminder: Register now for regional ALICE meetings!
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UWP is hosting four regional meetings throughout the state in May. The purpose of these meetings is to preview the United Way ALICE report the UWP board has committed to bringing to Pennsylvania, and to begin to plan how local United Ways can use ALICE in their communities. This project will publicly launch in May or June of 2019.
Pennsylvania is set to become the 18th state to have an ALICE report, which will include local data sets as well. The report will use data to determine county-specific household survival budgets which quantify what an individual or family must earn to meet all of their basic needs. It will also quantify how many people in each county do not earn enough to meet all of their basic needs. The report also provides a sustainability budget, which allows for improvements in living conditions, a slightly more expensive food budget, and a small amount for savings.
Please register for one of the meetings based on your availability. This meeting is open to all organizations who are eligible to be members of United Way of Pennsylvania. Staff participation is encouraged, and if you have a volunteer leader from your Board who would like to bring, they are welcome to attend as well. Lunch will be provided.
Review the meeting dates and register here.
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Welcome Maria Garlick, new ED of United Way of Clinton County
The United Way of Clinton County has a new executive director as of April 2nd who came to the organization with a long history of working with housing and homelessness agencies.
Maria Garlick has an undergraduate degree in criminal justice from Penn State. She says she moved to California after college to try to make a difference, and ended up working to address gang issues in Los Angeles. However, she missed the area and returned to Pennsylvania. Throughout the rest of her career leading up to her appointment at United Way, she worked in the mental health field for about six years and then began her homelessness work, having served in various roles.
Maria says what attracted her to United Way was the opportunity to work with a very engaged board of directors. First up on her list of goals is re-vamping the relationship with their agencies in order to draw out more benefit for the community.
Please welcome Maria to United Way! She looks forward to meeting some colleagues at the ALICE meeting in State College.
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UWP awarded PHARE grant for coordinated entry partnership with Eastern Region COC
United Way of Pennsylvania has been awarded $50,000 through the Pennsylvania Housing Affordability and Rehabilitation Enhancement Fund. These dollars will support Coordinated Entry System Operations in the Eastern region Continuum of Care.
A total of $26.6 million was available in this funding round, and awards were given to 137 housing and community development initiatives across the state.
The full list of projects that were funded is available
here.
Congratulations to United Way of Monroe County which also received funding to provide case management and rental assistance to people with low incomes in a housing cost-burdened community.
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Small and Mighty Fundraising for Impact Summit
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For the first time, United Way Worldwide is pleased to announce that they will be hosting a Fundraising for Impact Summit (FFIS) tailored exclusively to the needs of small and mid-sized United Ways. The conference will take place May 9-10th and can be accessed from your office without any travel necessary.
Session topics include leveraging volunteers, the global results framework, strengthening Tocqueville giving, and embracing a cross-market approach. The schedule for the event is online and can be found
here.
There is no special equipment needed to attend the conference, but United Way Worldwide is recommending a system check done prior to the event for all attendees. You can perform the check on your computer by clicking
here.
The cost of the event is $245 per person and United Ways can choose to pay with flex credits. Multiple attendees from United Ways are welcome, but each attendee must be registered. You can register online for the event
here.
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