September 25, 2019
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:
Nour Habib, Marketing Specialist, nour@muw.org, 603.352.4209 x 30
MUW announces 2020 investments
Keene, NH – Monadnock United Way today announces a total investment in the community of $1.5 million in 2020. This announcement comes after the completion of a Request for Proposals process that resulted in 26 new awards to programs and initiatives focused on the financial stability and basic needs of the Monadnock region, as well as programs still applying under MUW’s transition group.
“Thanks to the generosity of this community, we are thrilled to announce that we are funding 33 programs and collective initiatives in the Monadnock region that are working to solve three of our region’s most pressing needs,” said Liz LaRose, MUW President. “These organizations do tremendous work, from providing mentors to children and instilling positive parenting practices, to providing housing stabilization services and financial literacy programs to those who are in need.”
These investments represent the second wave of changes to MUW’s funding strategy since its shift to focusing on three areas of impact: children, education, and financial stability and basic needs. MUW focuses on these areas because of a few stark facts: Our region has the third highest rate of child abuse and neglect in the state; children in this region score lower than the rest of the state in English and math; and wages in this region are very low and force families to hold many jobs to stay afloat.
The 26 new awards account for $543,000 of the total $1.5 million investment for 2020. This latest round of funding includes three new and innovative collective initiatives, including the Monadnock Food Pantries Collective, a collaboration of seven food pantries that will increase the smaller pantries’ access to fresh produce and give the participating programs better buying power at the wholesale level.
“We are excited to be supporting three more collective initiatives in our region,” LaRose said. “Collectives bring together the power of multiple programs to address a common problem as a whole. By working even more closely together, collectives can also reach more people in need, deliver services more efficiently and have the flexibility to explore innovative solutions.”
Other collectives MUW is supporting are the Cheshire County Emergency Housing Collaborative, the Senior Engagement Collective, the Monadnock Home Visiting Alliance, the Monadnock Parent Education Collective and the Monadnock Region Afterschool Collective.
Award recommendations were made by 26 highly trained volunteers from the community who each spent an average of 75 hours reviewing applications, making site visits to organizations that applied and allocating available funding.
LaRose said: “In the true spirit of the Monadnock Region, we are able to make investments like this due to hundreds of hand-raisers and game-changers who care about their neighbors and about strengthening our community. We are grateful to our Investment Team members for their time and expertise in fulfilling this important role. They are joined by teams of dedicated volunteers who help us raise funds, advocate for change and accomplish specialized projects. We thank them all.”
Most of the new awards – or $477,000 – were made to programs focused on solving financial stability and basic needs problems facing our community. These programs, which applied through a Request for Proposals issued by MUW earlier this year, will receive funding for a two-year cycle. The remaining $66,000 were awarded to nonprofits still applying through our transition funding process. These organizations were given a one-year award.
In addition to the new awards, MUW is also investing $387,000 in seven initiatives focused on programming that will impact children. Those programs were notified of their awards last year as part of a previous two-year funding cycle. Other investments for 2020 include a contribution to 2-1-1, United Way’s social services hotline; direct designations from donors to specific agencies; and direct strategic investments in initiatives that support our focus areas. A complete list of 2020 investments can be found at muw.org/2020-investments.
The next RFP to be released will fund programs addressing education. This next phase will mark the final step of MUW transitioning to its new funding model.
For more information about our investments or our transition, contact MUW President Liz LaRose at 603-352-4209 ex. 26.
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About Monadnock United Way
Monadnock United Way is a nonprofit that funds and provides professional support to local programs and initiatives working to support children, improve educational outcomes and help individuals facing financial challenges. Recent research has shown some of the Monadnock region’s most pressing problems are around child neglect, low academic performance and low wages. MUW brings together the organizations already working to solve these problems to best serve people in our region.