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Governor Wolf meets with fellow supporters of high quality early childhood education
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On Tuesday, October 8, Governor Wolf spent an hour meeting with parents, providers, business leaders, and advocates from the Start Strong, Pre-K for PA and Childhood Begins at Home campaigns to talk about the importance of public investments and multi-sector partnerships to improve access to high quality services for PA children from birth to age 5.
United Way was represented at the roundtable discussion by UWP President Kristen Rotz. Anne Druck from United Way of York County also attended the event. Rotz highlighted data from the United Way of Pennsylvania ALICE Report, explaining that 23% of York County households earn an income above the federal poverty level but less than the ALICE survival threshold. For those households, the average price of licensed child care represents 24% of the survival budget, and the average price of high quality child care would equate to 31% of the survival budget.
ReadyNation and the Governor's Early Learning Investment Commission representatives highlighted economic impact data from a recent study showing that the lack of child care in Pennsylvania impacts infants and toddlers, working parents, employers and taxpayers - with an annual economic cost of $2.5 billion in lost earnings, productivity and revenue. Families lose an average of nearly $3,500 per working parent, due to lost earnings, lost productivity, and diminished career prospects. This adds up to $1.5 billion statewide every year. Businesses lose more than $1,400 per working parent, due to greater hiring costs and reduced revenue. This adds up to $600 million lost among PA businesses each year. Taxpayers lose an average of $860 per working parent because of lower income tax and sales tax revenue, which totals $400 million per year.
Participants highlighted the need for multi-sector partnerships between business, government and the nonprofit sector, but also advocated for increased state investments in high quality infant and toddler, home visiting, Pre-K and Head Start. Accessible, affordable high quality care is inextricably linked to health of business and Pennsylvania's overall economy.
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Collaborating for Change: Announcing UWP's 2020 conference keynote speaker!
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United Ways across Pennsylvania are uniquely placed to collaborate with each other and their communities to create substantial, sustainable change that improves the lives of every Pennsylvanian. The 2020 Conference will focus on the unique role United Way plays as a community convener and how to make the most of our unique strengths! That is why we're pleased to welcome our Keynote Speaker,
Eric McElvenny.
Eric is an amputee endurance athlete living in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He earned a mechanical engineering degree from the United States Naval Academy in 2006 while preparing for his service as a Marine Corps Infantry Officer. Eric deployed three times as a Marine and on his final tour, an incredible experience in Afghanistan, was wounded after stepping on an IED. Eric suffered the amputation of his right leg below the knee, a life-changing opportunity that began his next journey.
Faced with a physical challenge and an uncertain future, Eric made a promise to himself to run an Ironman Triathlon. On his journey from the hospital bed in southern California to the finish line in Kona Hawaii, he realized that the challenge and adversity he was up against and the techniques he used to reach the finish line could be used against the challenges we all entertain. When not training, racing and delivering inspiration, Eric can be found with his wife Rachel and three children in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Check out our
2020 Conference Page to see the latest updates! We are currently looking for speaker ideas, so if you've got something you want to hear about,
let us know!
If you want to help plan the conference, consider joining the Member Services Committee. Contact
Amanda McNaughton for details!
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#GivingTuesday trends for PA LUWs - lessons from 2018
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Have you started planning your #GivingTuesday campaign for this year? To help you along in your planning, we took a look at what PA LUWs did last year, and what strategies got the most donations. Some LUWs brought in over
$5,000, so it could be well worth your while! Following is the first installment of a series of articles with tips from LUW experiences in 2018.
Top performers in 2018 posted an even split of Twitter and Facebook posts. It would be good to retool each post you make: for Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. This saves you time, and gives you the broadest reach possible. Videos, especially "homemade" cell phone videos, had a very real effect on donations. Consider posting videos on your Youtube channel, and sharing these on your Facebook and Twitter pages. All LUWs with the most donations started #GivingTuesday posts at least one week before the date of the event, and the best performer started three weeks early. Try ramping up post frequency as December 3rd approaches.
The LUWs with the best results made lots of varied posts over time, ranging from outlining the partner organizations that will receive the donations and the impact that they have on the community, telling people to save the date/mark your calendars/look out for/commit to give on #GivingTuesday, emphasizing the Facebook match that was in place last year, setting a fundraising goal, and thanking people who had already donated halfway through the day on #GivingTuesday and asking more people to join in. The tone of the best performers' posts was happy, upbeat, and excited.
Stay tuned for upcoming tips on using videos and images in your Giving Tuesday campaign. Or, i
f you're interested in more insights now, please feel free to check out last year's
End of Year Fundraising Webinar
on demand!
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PA 211 Leadership Staff Participate in Call Center Manager Training and Certification
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For any call center, effective and efficient operations are key to achieving successful outcomes for customers. This is especially true for PA 211, whose call center specialists work daily with individuals who are in need of critical resources. In an effort to continually enhance and improve the quality of our call center operations to best meet these needs, 211 staff frequently take advantage of training opportunities which emphasize skill building, resource management, and quality assurance.
In early October, leadership staff from all of Pennsylvania's six regional call centers participated in a two-day training program facilitated by Resource Center for Customer Service Professionals (RCCSP). This training was paid for with state funding. Participants included Toni Gainer and Patricia Espinoza-Varga from the Lancaster region, Kelly Gollick from the Southcentral, Michele Breisinger and Katie Holler from the Pittsburgh, Northwest, and Philadelphia regions, and Tom Foley and Aimee Voelker from the Northeast region of the state.
The two-day program, entitled "Call Center Manager Training and Certification" focused on Strategy and Assessment, Metrics and Key Performance Indicators, Call Center Technology, Forecasting and Scheduling, Coaching and Communication, and Quality Monitoring. This was a robust and engaging time, allowing the leadership of each region to assess their current operations and develop strategies for improving service delivery. Outcomes included plans to update standard operating procedures, implement a statewide coaching program, and strategize for call handling efficiencies. At the conclusion of the program, attendees were provided information and instruction for sitting for Call Center Manager certification, an industry recognized credential.
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| New US DOL Overtime Rule which affects nonprofits to take effect January 1, 2020 |
The US Department of Labor issued a final rule which will take effect on January 1, 2020.
The rule updates the Fair Labor Standards Act salary basis test for determining whether a worker is exempt from overtime, and also updates the exemptions for executive, administrative and professional workers. The new rule does not alter the tests for these classifications, which must also be satisfied before an employee would be considered exempt from overtime pay.
The salary threshold for workers who qualify for any of the Executive, Administrative or professional worker exemptions will increase from a rate of $455 per week, or $23,660 annually to a rate of at least $684 per week, or $35,568 annually. While this is substantially lower than the $913 per week proposed in 2016 under the Obama administration, there are nonprofit executives in Pennsylvania currently earning less than $35,568 annually, so boards and executives should review their organization's circumstances.
UWP recommends reviewing the following sources for additional information:
UWP also has sound personnel policy language on the overtime issue, which we are willing to share with United Way members. It establishes that overtime work must be authorized by the employee's supervisor, and failure to obtain permission to work overtime is a disciplinary issue. It is also important to maintain time sheet tracking for employees who are not exempt from overtime. Please check out our members only web site resources, or contact Kristen Rotz if you have questions.
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Governor Releases Ready to Start Task Force Report
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Governor Wolf has released his report on the
Ready to Start Task Force: A Four-Year Framework to Support Pennsylvania's Infants and Toddlers. This report builds upon the key themes and initial findings the Ready to Start Task Force identified through the regional stakeholder conversations and public feedback to better identify strategies that can be deployed to improve health outcomes, strengthen the home environment, and prepare for future schooling for infants, toddlers, and their families.
The report identifies seven priorities based on the initial findings found in this report that will guide the future of this work. The seven priorities include:
- Increase availability of high-quality child care and home visiting service slots.
- Improve early intervention quality and streamlining to enhance availability, alignment, integration, and coordination of services.
- Increase recruitment, retention, development, support and training of early childhood education professionals.
- Better utilize Medicaid, CHIP, and state regulatory powers to address the risks to infants and toddlers posed by harmful environmental contaminants, including lead.
- Promote education, engagement and support of parents and families as children's first teachers.
- Improve information, outreach, and access to services.
- Promote sustainable systems of care to support the health and well-being of all children and women of child bearing age.
These priorities will be used by a to-be-formed Ready to Start Workgroup to establish measurable goals and ensure progress on the priorities and recommendations. The Workgroup will include representatives from state agencies and external stakeholders. The immediate work will include developing an implementation plan by the end of the year that identifies actions and resources necessary to meet the goals of the priorities.
UWP will be monitoring this progress through our work in early learning and will keep members apprised of any updates or areas where we may be able to engage.
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United Way introduces ALICE to Senator Bob Casey
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UWP staff, along with Tim Fatzinger, CEO of United Way of the Capital Region, and Gary Drapek, CEO/President of United Way of Lackawanna and Wayne Counties, met with Senator Bob Casey and his State Director, Teresa Dennis, this past week. The purpose of the meeting was to introduce Sen. Casey to the ALICE Report and the work United Ways are doing across the state to address the ALICE population.
The conversation was well received, and the Senator was very supportive of the Report and initiatives we are pursuing at both a federal, state, and local level. The Senator also mentioned some of the policies he is supporting that impact the ALICE population, which align well with our legislative focus areas.
UWP will continue to keep the Senator and his staff apprised of relevant ALICE information and partner on initiatives that connect with the work we are doing in the state.
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Upcoming training opportunities for PA United Ways
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ALICE Learning Community: Employer Resource Networks
October 21 1:30PM
Register Here
This webinar is exclusively for our ALICE Committed United Ways! Join the ALICE Learning Community to learn about Employer Resource Network ® .
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.
Join Pocono Mountain United Way's Sarah Jacobi and James Vander Hulst from ERN USA to learn about their journey bringing the ERN model to their community!
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.
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!
ALICE Learning Community: ALICE Enrichment Fund
December 9 1:00PM
United Way of Western Connecticut will join United Way of Pennsylvania to present their ALICE Enrichment Fund. The ALICE Enrichment Fund provides families who fall within the ALICE income category financial subsidies for their children to participate in extracurricular activities. The goal is to help close the gap between children from families who currently do not have access to extracurricular activities (including, but not limited to sports, arts, field trips, clubs) and those who do.
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Keystone Spirit of the United Way Award Nominations Due October 31, 2019
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United Way of PA is now accepting nominations for our fourth annual Keystone Spirit of the United Way Award. We are asking Local United Ways to use the form, found at this link, to submit a member of the Tocqueville Society who meets the criteria. Each local United Way can nominate one individual or couple for the award.
Award nominees must have an exceptional and sustained personal involvement with United Way in the form of giving, advocating, and volunteering in his or her community and beyond its borders.
The Keystone Spirit of United Way Award will be presented by United Way of Pennsylvania during an event chosen by the United Way who nominated the honoree. All nominations are due by October 31st and the selection committee will make the final decision for the award winner.
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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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