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LBFC Hotline Study Passed House Health Committee
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PA 211 is been working with the House caucus on a resolution that would study state-run hotlines and the cost to the commonwealth for maintaining those hotlines. HR 507, the resolution introduced by Rep. Hahn (R-Northampton), has unanimously passed the House Health Committee! The resolution will now move to the full House for approval. There was one change to the original language, which was amended to allow the state agencies 30-days to submit the requested information to the Legislative Budget and Finance Committee. Further, Rep. Pam DeLissio (D-Philadelphia) was interested in also including language that would encourage the study to also include what the value is to Pennsylvanians when contacting the various hotlines, which would include whether they are receiving the correct information for their issue, how quickly calls are answered, etc. UWP will be working with LBFC and Rep. Hahn to determine the best approach for including that information in the study.
UWP's goal for this study is to better understand what state hotlines may duplicate efforts already taken on by PA 211 and how PA 211 can better position themselves to show the value of the one-stop-shop model. It will also serve as a way to identify exactly how many hotlines the Commonwealth runs and where contracts with PA 211, or another provider, may make more sense fiscally for the state.
We will keep members apprised of any new updates as they become available. If you have any questions, please contact Maggie.
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Pritzker Initiative update
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United Way of Pennsylvania is supporting work on the
Pritzker Children's Initiative Prenatal-to-Age-Three state planning grant, with a full policy agenda expected by the end of the year. This effort is being led by PA Partnerships for Children.
Currently the agenda is comprehensive and ranges in topic from child care to prenatal/maternal health, and from home visiting to children's health, including lead exposure, nutrition, insurance coverage, and infant and toddler mental health.
Keep an eye out in the next few weeks, as subgroups will continue meeting to finalize the agenda and the full table of advocates and state partners will meet again in person in November. In the meantime, PPC is partnering with the United Way of Pennsylvania to conduct a series of community engagement events throughout the state to gather parent and provider input. Events are confirmed for Johnstown, Somerset, York, Erie and Sunbury. An event was held in Reading in September.
At the conclusion of the planning grant, PPC will be eligible to apply for an implementation grant to execute the policy agenda currently being developed. Of the ten states in the planning process, up to five will be selected for this phase of the work. We will keep you posted on our progress as we move closer to early 2020!
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VITA Voter Registration Opportunity
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The 2020 election will be an important time for our democracy. VITA sites can play a critical role in helping people get registered to vote and make their voice heard. Research has found that VITA sites can double voter registration rates without slowing the tax filing process.
UWW announced that the Brookings Institute has created a
Filer-Voter program to help VITA sites offer voter registration to their clients. For filing season 2020, they are hoping to reach 50,000 VITA clients across the country. For participating VITA sites, there will be free training and support as well as financial stipends available to support site coordinators or intake specialists who lead the program at their sites.
If you are interested in joining this program, please contact
[email protected] with the following information:
- Organization Name
- City
- Number of returns filed last year
For more information, contact Lindsay Torrico.
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| Employer Resource Network (ERN) model coming to PA |
The Pocono Mountains United Way has teamed up with ERN-USA to bring an exciting and innovative program to their community.
The Employer Resource Network (ERN) model is an innovative approach to workforce development that was initiated in West Michigan in 2008. Since then, ERNs have grown to 27 Area Networks and 11 Lead Organizations in Michigan, New York, Wisconsin, Ohio and Indiana.
ERNs pull together job retention services, work supports, education and training. While the focus is on entry-level and low wage employees, the services are available to all who work for ERN member companies.
ERNs work with leaders and apply the principles of disruptive innovation to create lasting change. Employer Resource Networks are employer-based, with the Employer as an investor, not just a customer. Networks usually include six to ten small-to mid-sized companies interested in forming a network to create economies of scale in accessing resources that benefit employees and by extension their own bottom lines.
Because the target employees may be receiving or eligible for public assistance, ERNs also include strong partnerships with community service providers such as social service agencies, workforce development groups, chambers of commerce and economic development groups and community and technical colleges or other training institutions.
United Way of Pennsylvania is considering whether this program would be suitable to be scaled statewide. If you are interested in learning how to bring ERN to your community, please fill out this survey.
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Part Two: #GivingTuesday Tips
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In the last edition of the UWP Update,we published some tips for #Giving Tuesday. This is the second and final installment in this series, but UW members can catch an on-demand webinar from UWP on the topic as well.
Videos of community members explaining what #GivingTuesday is, what United Way does, and what partner organizations will make happen in the community with donations are an excellent idea (and free!) If you have strong supporters in the community, perhaps microinfluencers, or even someone from a partner agency, try asking them to do an impromptu video. Remember to mention your community's name a few times, mention partner agencies, and challenge people to give on #GivingTuesday on December 3rd.
As far as images go, all posts to all channels should include an image. The best performers in PA last year posted a variety of images, from photos of volunteers and partner agencies, to photos of kids and other project beneficiaries, to graphics including photos and text, to graphics without photos. It's best if you have actual photos from your community, but UWO and stock photos can be used, as well. Bright colors seemed to fare well.
You may want to consider doing a paid Facebook ad on #GivingTuesday, to expand your reach. You can focus your ad within a certain radius of your community, to reach people within your area of influence. You can also focus on a certain demographic, or interest group. Depending on how engaging your ad is for your target audience, you may be charged anywhere from $1-$5 or so per click.
LUWs with the least donations had no build-up or teasers in the weeks preceding #GivingTuesday. They also did not post videos, and gave folks a prompt to volunteer, advocate, or donate. It is possible that they received non-monetary engagement as a result of their #GivingTuesday posts, that was beneficial to their organization. It is important for your LUW to set goals for #GivingTuesday that will serve your broader organizational goals, because each LUW has different needs.
We encourage all of our LUWs to participate in #GivingTuesday this year, using the awesome resources that UWW provided. Even with minimal time investment, you could have great results! To save on time even more, you can prepare all of your posts ahead of time, and schedule them with a free tool like Hootsuite, Buffer, Tweetdeck, or Later. Remember to mention your #GivingTuesday campaign and social media handles on your website, newsletter, email blasts, in print materials, or at events in the month of November.
To recap: post early, post often, utilize different social platforms and varied post content and imagery, and make some homemade videos! We're excited to see what everyone comes up with this year, and what results you will reap! Happy posting!
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United Way of PA is hiring for PA 211 Executive Director, also seeking Advocacy Engagement Coordinator
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UWP is seeking a candidate with
strategic leadership experience, experience supporting a high-performing board of directors and strong project management experience for PA 211 Executive Director. It is also important that candidates excel at developing strong relationships with partners.
This is a wonderful growth opportunity for a professional who wants to make a difference statewide and enjoys working in a collaborative environment. Prior experience with 211 is not necessary. Any experience with information and referral or human services is a plus.
UWP is also going to begin advertising for a new Advocacy Engagement Coordinator position which will be filled pending final approval of a multi-year advocacy grant. This position will be responsible for increasing engagement in advocacy throughout our membership, as well as engaging donors, volunteers and others in the community to support UW's advocacy agenda. This position will also be responsible for communications strategies to support our advocacy agenda.
We are looking for one to two years of prior experience working in government relations, policy or advocacy or state government.
Both positions will be available at
www.uwp.org. Please share!
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PACOUNTS Social Media Resources Now Available in Spanish
The Census is a valuable tool for communities to get the federal funding they need for critical infrastructure and assistance programs, but certain populations are at risk of not being fully counted. Latinos are one of these "hard-to-count" populations and this seriously disadvantages Latino communities.
PA 211 has partnered with the Census Bureau to offer an SMS shortcode campaign educating the public on why the Census matters, and how it works. PACOUNTS texts are available in Spanish, so we designed social media resources in Spanish to encourage people to sign up for the texts. All of the resources available in English are now available in Spanish, both graphics and post copy. Everything is ready to post, so the image sizes and character count are tailored to various social media networks.
Help us spread the message about PACOUNTS and the Census, to all members of our communities! Please use the Google Drive
LUW Toolkit on your own social media accounts, and pass on the link to the
partner toolkit to your trusted community allies!
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Sign a Petition to Support Early Childhood Education
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The Pre-K for PA, Start Strong PA, and Childhood Begins at Home campaigns are circulating a petition that urges the Governor to support increased investments across the full birth-to five continuum in the 2020-2021FY state budget. The three campaigns recognize the value of early childhood education and how their work together comprise a continuum of services that helps Pennsylvania parents maximize the impact of the first five years of life, when 90 percent of brain development occurs.
UWP, along with many of our United Way members, are circulating this petition to show Governor Wolf the broad-range of support for investments in early learning and services that provide vital support for our workforce and our most vulnerable Pennsylvanians.
We urge you to please consider signing on your United Way to this joint petition by visiting our petition page and completing the online form. Please also circulate this petition to your board, committees, and other local partners who realize the value of investing in early childhood education. Also feel free to include a link to this petition in your donor newsletter or other publications that reach a diverse group of Pennsylvanians.
Together we can send a strong message to Governor Wolf that Pennsylvania is united for early childhood education!
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Upcoming training opportunities for PA United Ways
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UWP VISTA Project Webinar
October 30 2:30PM
UWP is excited to offer United Ways the opportunity to partner with VISTA through UWP. UWP can aggregate VISTA sites to prepare a more viable VISTA project to CNCS funders. UWP is opening the opportunity for some local United Ways in different geographies to join the project. AmeriCorps VISTA members are volunteers who commit at least one year to work to fight poverty in local communities. They join to build capacity in the community by creating new programs or expanding already existing ones. Please join to learn more about the UWP VISTA Project and how to become involved.
ALICE Learning Community: Dasher's Team Member Prosperity and Success Model
November 6 1:00PM
Join Sharon Ryan, CEO of Dasher Inc, as we talk about the way Dasher shifted their culture to focus on helping economically fragile workers achieve success. Dasher is a for-profit business dedicated to supporting ALICE workers in all aspects of their lives while increasing productivity and reducing turnover. Sharon will share their model and how businesses can take small, operational steps to help ALICE while also addressing the shift in culture required to help ALICE meet their fullest potential.
Nonprofit Overtime Webinar
November 6 3:00PM
Register Here
The National Council of Nonprofits is hosting a national presentation to help all in the charitable community understand what the Overtime Final Rule means to nonprofit operations and missions, and what nonprofits should be doing now to prepare. We will be joined by officials from the U.S. Department of Labor and experts from groups representing workers and employers who will present their unique perspectives and answer questions from nonprofits.
UWW Department of Labor Overtime Rule Webinar
November 14 2:00PM
Register Here
The U.S. Department of Labor recently announced a final rule that most employees earning less than $35,568 per year will be entitled to overtime pay. The rule goes into effect January 1, 2020.
Based on the most recent Human Capital Study, approximately 12% of United Way staff earn less than this new threshold, and 50% of staff at United Ways raising less than $500,000 are below the threshold. This webinar will provide guidance on this new rule, on the Fair Labor Standards Act, as well as how to prepare for January 1, 2020, when the rule takes effect.
ALICE November Workgroups
November 19 2:00PM
November 21 9:30AM
This opportunity is for our ALICE Committed United Ways to come together to discuss ALICE initiatives across the state. For the time being, both ALICE Workgroups will be focused on both Community Impact and Resource Development/Marketing. The agenda for both Workgroups will be the same and notes from both Workgroups will be shared with all participants. The meeting will be held via Zoom with a conference call option. As the time draws closer, LUWs will be contacted with the opportunity to put specific items on the agenda.
2020 Census Resources and Planning for United Ways Webinar
November 21 1:00PM
UWP and PA 211 are partnering to encourage Pennsylvanians to fill out the Census. Starting in September, PA 211 began pushing SMS messages to individuals that have opted-in to our SMS alert system. This one-way messaging will continue throughout the year and 2020 with informative messages related to the Census. In addition to this partnership, UWP has put together a toolkit with templates, messaging, and informative pieces that will be of use to you throughout your Census outreach. We're also working on developing strategic partnerships and collaborating with organizations to make sure our population is counted accurately for the 2020 Census. Join us to learn more!
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AmeriCorps NCCC Looking for Project Applications
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AmeriCorps National Civilian Community Corps (NCCC) is accepting applications from organizations who are interested in hosting a team of 8-12 AmeriCorps members to work on a community based service learning project for 6-8 weeks. Projects should be focused in one of the following main service areas: natural and other disasters, energy conservation, environmental stewardship and conversation, infrastructure improvement, and urban and rural development. If you are interested, please check out
this flier or reach out to
Jeff Moeur.
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United Way of PA is moving!
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United Way of PA is excited to announce we will be moving to our new office location on November 15th, 2019. Effective that day, please use our new address:
United Way of Pennsylvania
20 Erford Road
Suite 215
Lemoyne, PA 17043
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