The final public event of United Way’s Centennial Year put the spotlight squarely on the future last week, with announcement of multiple grants designed to accelerate the pace of progress in achieving Bold Goals for Our Region.
“We’re capping off what has been an inspiring, invigorating and memorable Centennial anniversary year for United Way,” said Rob Reifsnyder, president, United Way of Greater Cincinnati. “I can’t think of a better way to do that than by celebrating some special donors, and some special recipients of the grants they are making possible.”
Rob Reifsnyder
The grants, totaling $1.8 million, were made for 2016 and beyond and are part of $50 million in investments to be announced later this month. Two grants are representative of the 24 new programs targeted to receive United Way funds through the annual call for investment process – Scholar House, a program at Brighton Center, Inc., and Per Scholas, a new United Way partner. The others are from a special Accelerator Fund donors were invited to support over and above any annual United Way gift. The fund was launched in 2014 to support critical strategies and initiatives in support of achieving the Bold Goals for Our Region. The grants focus resources on:
Building strong families through a multi-generational approach, providing integrated, easy-to-navigate services for children and their families;
Building strong communities through a place-based, community-driven approach, integrating easy-to-navigate services where people live, learn and work
Three evidence-based, scalable, Bold Plays United Way believes will help make greater progress, faster:
Providing universal quality preschool for every 3 and 4 year-old
Getting 15,000 more people into in-demand jobs
Supporting 3,000 more families supported through home visiting for children 0 – 3
Recipients are:
Norwood Ready Kids
Place Matters
Every Child Succeeds
Home Instruction for Parents of Preschool Youngsters (HIPPY), programs at Brighton Center, Inc. and YWCA of Greater Cincinnati
Coaching to Quality, a program of 4C for Children,
Every Child Capital, an innovative philanthropic model supporting expansion of kindergarten readiness and early grade reading strategies
Cincinnati Preschool Promise
Partners for a Competitive Workforce (PCW)
Child Poverty Taskforce
“At the very core of these grants is the knowledge that we all want the same things for our families and our community: We want to get our kids the best possible start in life, get a good education and start a rewarding career; we want to be sure they have the education and skills they need to get a good job and earn enough to take care of themselves and their families; and we all want to live long and healthy lives,” Reifsnyder said at the event.
Donors to the Accelerator Fund are:
P&G
Jacob G. Schmidlapp Trusts, Fifth Third Bank, Trustee
Convergys Corporation
AK Steel Corporation
The Greater Cincinnati Foundation
Shepherd Family
Farmer Family Foundation
Fifth Third Bank
Macy’s Inc.
Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center
The Thomas J. Emery Memorial Trust
PNC Bank
Western & Southern Financial Group
American Modern Insurance Group
Duke Energy
Ohio National Financial Services
School Outfitters
UC Health
Drees Company
University of Cincinnati
U.S. Bank
Ameritas
From United Way of Greater Cincinnati
