Capital Area United Way saw a $200,000 increase in contributions in 2010 compared to the year previous, which United Way President/CEO Karen Profita says will help support new efforts focused on education. Profita and other United Way officials have been meeting with leaders in the business community to generate support for a number of “collaborative efforts to address early childhood development” that will begin to be announced this summer, she says. Contributions in 2010 totaled a little more than $10 million, up from $9.8 million in 2009 but down about $1.2 million from 2008. At a ceremony Wednesday evening to announce the total, Capital Area United Way Chairman Jay O’Brien noted United Way campaigns across the country were off an average of 5% to 7% in 2010.
The local increase was due to a rise in workplace contributions and grants, as well as increased revenue from a number of special events. Capital Area United Way will invest $7.5 million into the community in the coming year, with $6.2 directly dispersed to roughly 125 service organizations and programs, Profita says. —Steve Sanoski
