Assessment of Community Needs Team

What do you think our community's most important needs are? E-Mail us and let us know! United Way's Assessment of Community Needs Team is the Advisory Board's team that is responsible for determining Kern County's priority needs. How? Through Needs Assessments and by talking to corporations and donors. Imagine spending your money without ever knowing anything about the products you are buying. Sometimes you'd stumble across a great deal, but most often you would end up with something that just didn't deliver. It's important that you find out all the information you can about a product before you spend your hard-earned money. The same holds true for making a charitable contribution. There are lots of organizations out there certified to take your money, but it is essential that you take the time to check out who you're giving to and what they plan to do with your money. Regardless of whether you plan to give to United Way or not, remember that, as a donor, you have the right and the obligation to make sure your donation is being put to the best use possible.

Needs Assessment

With all the needs out there, how do you, as an ordinary citizen, begin to understand which issues our community faces are the most important? You alone can't be expected to. But together, as a community, you can have a voice in determining which issues are important to you. United Way captures this information every two years by conducting a comprehensive, community-wide Needs Assessment. By asking you, clients of agencies, donors, agency staff, and people who just happen to be at the local mall or grocery store, United Way can determine which issues are important to our community. Then United Way can direct its funding to meet these needs.

In fact, last year the United Way set aside 30% of its total funding for programs designed to meet the needs as identified in the 2000 Needs Assessment document. Child abuse, services for seniors, teen pregnancy and HIV/AIDS are just some of the issues that capture our community's interest. United Way will help coordinate this type of assessment every two years as a way of finding out what is important to you.

Assessing the Needs of Donors and Organizations

As a business owner or manager of an organization, what do you want from your United Way? As a donor, shouldn't you have the right to have a say in how your money is being used? United Way of Kern County's primary goal is to be responsive to the needs and desires of our community. That means finding out what organizations and donors want to accomplish with their charitable giving, and then responding to their needs by funding the most effective and efficient services in Kern County that help them accomplish their giving objectives.

And to do this, United Way will begin to meet more regularly with organizations and donor groups to find out why they support (or don't support) their local United Way of Kern County. This information will help us be more responsive to the needs of our community.

Members:

2004/2005 Assessment of Community Needs Team:
 

TO BE ANNOUNCED

Assessment of Community Needs Team
Resource Development Team
Community Impact Team
Marketing Results Team