The United Way of Concho Valley is an organization that promotes the common good by creating opportunities that help residents of Concho Valley live a more decent life. The organization has three areas of focus: education, health, and income. By delving into the root cause of challenges that hinder progress, the United Way of Concho Valley can make significant and long-lasting impacts on the communities across Concho Valley. The organization also allocates funds to local organizations to alleviate people’s lives through education, health, and income.
Since the United Way of Concho Valley is mainly involved in funding programs that support its mission, it makes sense that we begin our discussion by addressing how the organization receives funding and how they use it. The organization tries it’s best to raise finances for all its programs, even if it means campaigning for donations in as many counties as possible. Recently, the United Way of Concho Valley raised close to $800,000 worth of donations in a single year. This amount may seem like a huge sum of money, but when you take into consideration that the organization was supporting 17 programs at the time, it seems like negligible funds. The donations that the United Way of Concho Valley receives go a long way, but raising more funds for the programs is necessary.
The United Way of Concho Valley doesn’t finance agencies but rather channels its finances towards particular programs within agencies. An excellent example of this concept is the case of the Salvation Army. In this case, the United Way of Concho Valley finances the activities of the Emergency Assistance program but doesn’t finance the Salvation Army directly. Financing specific programs within an agency is more efficient in terms of resource allocation since there is only a limited amount of funds that the United Way of Concho Valley has at a particular point in time. Therefore, it makes sense for the United Way of Concho Valley to direct these funds towards the best channels for its mission. Funding specific programs within an agency ensure that the United Way of Concho Valley only participates in activities that are in line with the organization’s core objectives. The United Way’s funds are not limited to programs in the San Angelo Community but are rather meant to benefit all communities across Concho Valley. The organization has flyers designed for all the 14 counties, with the specific programs that the United Way of Concho Valley funds based on the needs of a particular county.
The majority of programs financed by the United Way of Concho Valley are geared towards the youth. Some of these include the Learn project, which is part of Menard’s Boys and Girls Club, and the Safe & Sound, which is an emergency shelter program for children. All these programs require resources to function effectively. The United Way of Concho valley also finances programs for adults. Examples include the Adult Treatment program, where Concho Valley’s Alcohol & Drug Abuse Council helps people overcome addiction through counseling. The English as a Second Language program by the Adult Literacy Council allows adults to boost their language skills. The United Way of Concho Valley also finances programs for vets such as the Veteran Outreach through the West Texas Counseling and Guidance.