The views and opinions expressed into the points are those of the host of the program and its guests.

They do not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of public media.

As philanthropy evolves across this country, community organizations are being challenged to rethink how they create, impact, mobilize resources, and respond to changing needs in northwest Ohio.

United Way of Greater Toledo is embracing that challenge and charting a new course for the future.

Today, on to the point.

We're joined by Wendy Drew, CEO of United Way of Greater Toledo.

Wendy will discuss why United Way is transforming its role in the community, what's driving this new direction, and how the organization is adapting to better serve residents and nonprofit partners.

We'll explore what these changes mean for the future of community investment, collaboration and support across our region.

I'm Danny Miller.

Let's get to the point.

Connect with us on our social media pages.

But you know that you also know that you can email me at donnie_miller@te.org.

And for this episode and other additional extras, please go to WG t.org.

To the point.

It is my pleasure to have Wendy Peachtree with us today.

Wendy is the CEO of United Way of Toledo, and there's lots going on at United Way.

We wanted to make sure that we shared that with you.

United way, it's been a long standing pillar in this community, especially when it comes to the support of our social services.

Lots going on, though, right?

So for decades, you've been seen primarily as a fund raising grantmaking organization.

But things have apparently changed in the philanthropic sector of not just this town, but all around the country.

What's what's going on that's causing this change?

Well, Donna, it's it's interesting.

I'm not lifetime United Way.

And when I came to this organization eight years ago, I spent some time with our board minutes, and it's 108 years old.

Wow.

Toledo area.

Wow.

And if you look back on that at the end of the First World War, some of the things that I was involved with was finding homes for French orphans after the First World War.

They were funding things like the Boy Scouts and Home for Old Ladies, a personal favorite of mine.

But, you know, it's always been a funder.

It was the community Chest.

It raised money and took in that philanthropy.

And it's interesting to see what people did with their philanthropy.

Dent.

Even during World War two, when people would pay off other folks pledges.

I mean, the board notes are an interesting walk through the history of Toledo and philanthropy and what mattered to people here.

And so, you know, absorbing that was really important to me in the role.

And I think that that role is funder when it's your foundation is so critical.

But we're seeing a lot of changes.

We're seeing the dynamic of philanthropy in our community change.

One of the things that's funny when you are the CEO of United Way, depending on who you walk in to talk to.

Some people are very mad.

They're mad at the organization.

They are mad at their boss who told them you have to give to United Way or else.

And that's not a great way to to really represent a philanthropy.

In a sense, you want to be the philanthropy of choice, not the one vote for folks are forced.

Absolutely.

So I wanted to make a difference.

And for our organization to be seen a little differently, because one of the things I've done 108 years, you have been sitting in a lot of rooms, you have funded a lot of projects.

One of the things we've been very focused on in the last eight years is absorbing a lot of data around that and really examining community, examining the nonprofit sector, what people need.

We brought back to one one which we can get to in just a second.

But Hibben outsourced to Cleveland, which seems silly in its own right.

If you have two one, one text call or chat 211 if you need help with, you know, maybe rental assistance or food security, all sorts of things.

It seems silly you're talking to somebody in Cleveland versus a community resource advisor here.

So we brought it back.

But taking all this data, bringing two, one, one back, we realized there are some things we could do a little differently.

And providing more infrastructure as opposed to just being a funder.

So our United Way is taking a very big turn towards a very different sort of value proposition for community and what we can do for the people we've been serving for 108 years, but be much more impactful and more front line oriented.

So what can we expect to see?

Will we see difference in the way you choose organizations, or will we see topics that become your your signature topics.

What, what what should we be looking.

So the thing I think that the biggest shift for us will be and is it has to do with Alice.

Alice stands for we love our acronyms nonprofit.

Everybody loves the acronym.

So asset limited, income constrained.

Employed.

We have a huge data set around this.

Now think about asset limited.

We've all been there right.

Maybe early in career or you lost your job for a while.

We know what it's like to maybe not have a retirement, not have savings, not be able to own a home.

I mean, that's what asset limitation looks like.

Income constrained.

Now for some of us, maybe if we were asset limited, you know, maybe when you finish school or whatever, you knew that your income might grow.

But for some folks, that's a lot harder to do than others based on education, which is very expensive to pursue now.

Or if you're caring for a senior, caring for children, that sort of thing.

It's not like you can work that many more hours or advance your career, so you're sort of in a box and how much you can make.

Exactly.

And then the point of it is all these folks, these asset limited, income constrained folks that we're focusing on now are employed.

That makes up about 24% of the population in our region at the bottom of like the 12% that live at poverty level.

We're always very familiar with that terminology.

And you've been hearing it for years, but there is a whole layer of 24% of the population.

They're working, but they can't make ends meet.

And so United Way is shifting to really focus on food, transportation, housing, security and child care because these are the top four calls to 211.

These are the top four budget line items.

And I invite anybody to come look at this Alice data.

We have the repository available on our website.

It's broken out county by county in Ohio.

Some people feel like the Alice budgets that are developed are even a little conservative compared to what other organizations have done, but this is based on the day to day living and data that makes a lot more sense than some things that we've lived with historically.

So our United Way is really focused on this population and how do we invest?

So the organizations we invest in, the assets that we create, how is all of this going to be really driven to these employed folks?

They're not eligible for a lot of government benefits.

They are working hard, but they still have a tough, tough time getting by every month.

You know, those are extraordinarily important areas to focus on and really tough ones to get your arms around.

How will you know if you're being successful with this new approach to those specific areas?

Now, one of the things, you know, we have 211 is great and it's kind of episodic.

Some people call it a lot more often than others.

And we, you know, you try to address the need.

And I have to remind folks right now, 211 is wonderful.

It's a great asset.

But if the resources aren't ther the other side, and we've talked a lot about this, Don, and we know that the way funding cuts are happening and that sort of thing, there are far fewer resources available to folks, which makes two on one even more critical because they let's tell people what two, one one is.

Absolutely.

So yeah, it's a resource and referral line.

And we always say it's a lot easier than googling 211.

You can call, text or chat because if you Google food near me, you'll end up with every Taco Bell in a nine mile radius.

And it's kind of hard, right?

And what food in your me means to some folks is where is there a food pantry or someplace that I can go get some things for my family?

So 211 connects folks to those kinds of resources.

I also want to remind folks 211 is great resume writing.

Or if you're thinking about continuing your education, it's a nice one.

Stop shopping with community resource advisors who are trained to walk through all sorts of different databases and really get you connected.

And the other thing they do, and I love community resource advisors for this.

Most of all, they ask the second question because when you're dealing with the crisis right in front of you, there may be some other things you're not thinking about, you're not aware of, and they know what those things look like.

They work with families all day, every day.

And, you know, we have a story.

Once, years ago, there was a woman calling and she was looking for furniture.

Well, when they started asking her the second question, they realized she was in a very abusive relationship and a dangerous home and much more than she needed furniture.

She needed a safe place to go.

And so walking her through what she needed in the way of legal representation, a safe place to go, an assessment of where her family lived and what it would take to get there, to get away from this dangerous person.

It became about something completely different.

And that's what these community resource advisors are able to help folks with.

Yeah, and people need to know that it really is as simple as dialing two on one on the phone.

Yes, it is really just that simple.

And we're full of stories.

Another favorite of mine during the pandemic is 211.

We opened up our 211 locally a month before the pandemic started.

Oh my.

Okay.

So I you know, the schools were closing and the first thing we were thin about was getting kids fed.

And so it was the school district.

For example, in Toledo, they had about 8 or 9 sites open, but we were like and many more than that.

And so we opened up another 20 sites, you know, and used two, one, one to get people there physically distance people could do it on foot, you know, because some kids don't, you know, kids are getting their own food.

That's right.

And so we were working through that.

And then we realized two, one, one is such a great tool for a lot of other kinds of things.

So we registered folks for the Covid shot and especially seniors.

And I still have a note from a 93 year old woman who used 211.

She called, she got registered for a shot, she got registered for free tax prep, and we provided a ride for her to get all these things taken care of.

And in the note, she said she was glad she didn't have to call somebody to use a computer.

She didn't want to call her grandson or something.

I said I didn't need tech support.

I just called 219.

I know how she feels.

So I want to remind folks 211 if you see somebody that you're worried about, an employee, maybe your son's friend at school or somebody you can call yourself and get ideas from the community resource advisors.

We see that a lot with mental health or folks, again, who are having a tough time making ends meet.

And sometimes there's too much pride or they're not sure, or maybe they're not even aware of 211.

Go ahead and take advantage.

Right?

You know, teachers use it all the time.

We have them call constantly.

That's right.

And you brought it back to town.

As you said.

It was outsourced for a while.

It makes a lot more sense when they have it locally.

Yeah.

Yes.

Now we love the resource.

And so it is from that call volume that we've taken over the last several years, a lot of information and figured out how to make some things I think work more effectively in our community.

But it is also the thing that told us we need the infrastructure to go next level.

Now, I have to remind folks, two on one is not a public utility.

It is paid for by United Way, a United Way philanthropy.

So in some states, I mean like 48 states, the state actually funds it.

Ohio is one of the two that doesn't.

So if you're interested in advocacy and we love our advocacy at United Way, advocating for two, one, one to have more support from the state level government is something to consider and be a part of, because I think it's a tool for everybody.

It's not a political issue.

It's not.

I don't think it's controversial in any way, and I think it creates more affordability for two, one, one to be available to folks if we can all work together that way.

One other thing.

Our 211 has expanded to a 16 county footprint.

We were originally three counties Lucas, Wood and Ottawa that our United Way served, but over the pandemic, we started working with some other counties to help them through the pandemic.

And subsequently they have been contracting with us and we've expanded the model.

So please look at 211 as a resource, and we are going to try to make it better every day.

Yeah.

And available for everyone, I might add.

We're going to go to break.

But when we come back, I'd like to talk about the trends that you're seeing in philanthropy that actually underlie this, this movement in a new direction for you.

All right.

Stay with me.

Promise.

All righty.

We will be right back.

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And again, if you want to see this amazing episode with Wendy P Stroh again or any others, go to E to the point.

Wendy, we were talking about two on one, which is an amazing service here in town.

Everybody needs to know about it because it's open to absolutely everyone to use.

But I also like to talk about the what you're seeing in terms of the trends in philanthropy that are making this this whole shifting of your purpose.

Okay.

Necessary.

And Donnie.

I'm going to be really candid about this.

I'm a Texan.

I didn't get Midwestern polite nailed down very well.

So sometimes I might say things.

And admittedly, I don't get me wrong, I love I love our cultural assets.

I think they're invaluable and they're wonderful, and I get it.

But right now, you know, when you're investing philanthropy, I always say there's consequences, consequence, philanthropy and cultural philanthropy.

And I get it.

People like giving you the cultural opportunities and the things that make you feel good and make you happy.

And I think especially now when there's a lot of turmoil.

Sure.

But th consequence philanthropy, which we're seeing, you know, in social services especially, it is badly all kinds of funding has been diminished at the federal and state level.

And then that's happening in the philanthropic circles as well.

We have a lot of corporate partners for United Way, for example, and that old school give to United Way or else corporate environment that is gone.

I mean, so many businesses have either reduced workforce here or they have moved their global offices, that sort of thing in the few that are here.

They're great.

We're wonderful.

We're so appreciative.

But it just isn't what it used to be.

Not to mention, you know, our philanthropy was really dependent on a workforce that might be able to give 5 or $10 a month.

It wasn't big, huge gifts.

Well, you can imagine those folks need those five and $10 with the way inflation is impacting their their budgets.

So that being said, our philanthropy has really taken a hit.

So we need to look at United Way.

Not only, you know, we've been funding many organizations with dollars that have been diminished over the years, but is it the right direction where we might look at our investment model a little differently, maybe even investing in fewer organizations, but larger dollars and really looking at how these organizations are helping with our Alice population, our workforce stabilization depends on Alice getting stronger and better.

So who are the organizations who support that best?

And going back to those culture assets, like I said, I love them.

But I always say if we don't take care of this Alice workforce, if we don't help stabilize them, well, it's a little like, you know, having a house that you're redecorating and doing all these things.

But the foundation is correct right now.

This workforce is cracked.

It's it's and we see it every day.

That is where our 211 is so important.

And we hear the calls.

We see our agencies report things.

Right now, for example, we have a lot of folks presenting as homeless, but they have jobs and they get a gym membership.

They get cleaned up, they go to work.

You have no idea.

They're sleeping in their car and in their cars.

You walk by a car in a grocery store parking lot.

You see a lot of stuff in it, and you say that person should clean that car out.

You may not realize that is their home, but there's dignity that they want privacy around this issue.

We United Way want to help folks like this in particular, get back to where they have some stable housing, stable food, stable utilities.

And then, of course, childcare is a big one.

Attendance is everything, right?

Attendance at school, attendance at work.

You know, if you can get there and get going.

Everything is a lot better for you.

Absolutely.

And so this Alice population, the barriers to getting to work, the barriers to getting to school.

How can we invest in organizations, invest in ourselves and make sure folks get to school, get to work and get it done.

And that's where our focus is.

And I want to talk about Alice just a bit more, but I want to ask you this question as well.

So for people who think that this is just some willy nilly refocusing because donations are down, tell folks what happens if United Way isn't here?

What if there is no United Way?

And that's that is where you see the sort of collection of all these little things that sort of I was call it the free labor or, you know, people complain about overhead and I'm like, bring it.

Our overhead is the human beings on our team who get out there and make sure folks are fed, who make sure that the Cras are supported, community resource advisors, who, who, who makes your volunteers have places to go and do, you know, get it done for the agencies.

There's so much work that's done that I don't think people realize, like placing people in shelter.

United way helps with that.

Emergency food relief, emergency relief when it's freezing outside and helping organize, getting folks to safe places through our Ride United program, for example, we've got a program where folks getting prenatal care have rides to their appointments to make sure that baby is healthy.

It went so far as we had one mom call and she used it to go have her baby.

I mean, we got a lot of people are pretty isolated and United Way just kind of quietly does this.

And it's the sort of thing that if we weren't there, I think people would really start to realize that, that there's so many gaps that are filled, so many quiet gaps that you don't appreciate.

United way is taken care of.

And so I feel like because we have this position, we've been watching it for 108 years and we can see where the gaps are.

We can see where the strengths and weaknesses are.

We can tell you a story that no one else can.

That would be sorely missed in the assessment of those situations.

Imagine if 211 went away.

You know, it would be a nightmare for our community.

And you know what?

When I came here eight years ago, I didn't know that.

I didn't appreciate it at all.

It's taken this time.

And to watch all the rooms you're invited into and the way you put the story together for lawmakers, for donors, for these companies, but more importantly, for the families who day to day need some support.

Speaking of Alice and we've we've not we could spend all day talking about Alice but it's impact on the workplace.

So we're doing a fun not fun.

I think it's fun because I like to think of it as a solution, you know, and it's an exciting one.

We are the first United Way in Ohio to offer Alice at work.

And so it's been done in 13 other states.

There's some great data behind it and what it does.

And I think this is so important because we only in the United Way, we can do all these things down here to help people.

But if the story isn't told at that high level with employers, then then there's a gap right in the yeah, we like to be gap fillers.

So what we're offering it's it's a training and it actually has a Sherm certification attached to it.

It's 12 hours of training.

The first five sessions it's up in six sessions.

The first five are virtual and then one in person.

But this Alice that works certification shows employers how they can be more helpful to the workforce.

I want to remind folks this is not an indictment on wages.

We know that people can only pay what they can in a business.

It's not that at all.

It's like looking at shared, shared solutions within your workforce that might make an impact.

It could even be flex work hours, like, have you examined those and what that would mean to a family who's got drop off at school at one time, and the other people don't get to work on time or don't get to work at all because of some very little things.

It's what the data and information has told us.

Obviously getting really familiar with childcare subsidies, housing subsidies.

How can you as an employer, better understand your Alice folks and make things available to them and or just putting them in touch with the United Way?

And we have services and offerings that we can help support you as an employer.

Make sure those employees feel more solid financially and get to work.

And I would say work without worry.

The child is in a good daycare.

You can get to work and take care of what you need to.

The data tells us you know, the financial stress.

You have, absenteeism.

You also have presenteeism.

When people are worried about their finances, they may not do as good a job at work that day because they're so distracted.

Right?

So how can we work together on financial wellness for these employees?

United way for years is funded and plans to expand our financial opportunity centers, and we want to work with employers to really focus on helping folks find those and then get towards a better credit rating, get to where they can purchase a home or a car, or just find more stability.

This is really an amazing resource for employers.

How do they connect with United Way to make this happen?

We're very excited.

So you can check out our website.

And I can, you know, if you go there.

We have started registering our first cohort of employers.

And we have what I love is we're looking at folks, especially in the financial services arena.

You know the thing too.

It's not just your employees you learn a little something about.

You'll also learn about your customers, you know, and the folks that you're trying to attract business from.

This is a great way for you as an organization to be sensitive to these employees, find resources for them, but also understand how you might be working with a group of folks on the other side, financial services folks, for example, for years we've been doing training in two, one one because, like bank tellers quite often are looking in the face of somebody who's having a pretty rough day.

Right.

And the 211 has been a great resource for them as an employee to reach out to or to offer that person in front of them some help.

So this is going next level.

We, you know, we say we can't do all this if the employers don't understand the dynamic.

They don't understand how to be a part of the solution.

So we think this is a great opportunity.

And so get in touch with our website.

We have a great trainer available.

We can meet with you and go over what the plan will look like.

And that's the thing.

There's customized planning, customized data, that sort of thing.

And you have an opportunity to be in this cohort with other employers, see what's working for them, see what's worked in other places, and really bring it all together.

And it'd be so nice to ultimately throughout the state of Ohio.

Yes.

Have everybody on the page.

Yeah.

And I've not heard of this before.

And I like to think that if I haven't heard of it, then, you know, there are lots of other people who haven't heard about it as well.

So are you.

How are you letting employers know that this is available?

Well, it made sense for us as United Way because we work with so many corporate partners and employers and not like the fact over the years we keep going to them.

Will you run a campaign for us, or will you sponsor something like being able to go and say, take our Alice at Work training?

This is something we can give you.

We have this data, we have these trainers.

We have two, one, one.

We're expanding our financial opportunity centers.

We want to do this for you.

All.

These employers have been great to us over the years.

And here's a nice way to sort of reciprocate some of the things they've done for us.

And ultimately, all we want and all they want is a workforce that is stable and happy turnover.

I mean, this is one major issue, right?

And it's one of the data points out of these other companies that have done it, reduction in turnover, which is billions of dollars in this country every year.

I mean, it makes a huge difference if we can work together on this.

It does.

So we've got two minutes left.

And when how does this transition happen or is it happening to the new United Way.

So the new United Way first are Alice at work really.

You know getting involved with those employers.

We are first cohort starts in January.

But we'll continue to register folks.

So if you're interested we can get in touch with you about a training and get, you know, look at the schedule and get going on that.

Our advocacy work, if you're interested we have a great newsletter.

We'd love for you to subscribe and understand from a very bipartisan perspective how social services look right now in our community.

The other thing always consider volunteering with the United Way.

We have a great platform.

So glad you raised, put you in touch with all these tremendous agencies that need support.

Sometimes it's episodic, like done in a day.

We even have more long term things where you can mentor children and read to children and be that that person in a young person's life, or they count on and look forward to and look up to.

So we have all kinds of but we have a great platform.

And what it does Donny it monetize is what volunteer hours mean in our community.

So we can say in Toledo, when all these people show up and do something on their time, what it means financially to all the agencies in the community in general.

It's a really good data point to share.

Thank you so much for being with us today.

This is amazing information, important information, and I hope you'll come back and just keep us abreast of what's going on at United Way.

Thanks one day.

And thank you all for joining us.

Have an amazing day and I'll see you next time.

On to the point.

The views and opinions expressed into the points are those of the host of the program and its guests.

They do not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of public media.

To the point is supported in part by viewers like you.

Thank you.