At United Way of Story County (UWSC), we believe that when we are United together, we can find solutions that make long-lasting, positive change in the lives of individuals and families, which is why our 2017 LIVE UNITED campaign theme is United Together. Finding Solutions, Changing Lives. We do this because every person in our community has a right to have a good quality of life.
Last week, we explained how the UWSC board of directors and human service providers came together to determine results they would like to see in the areas of education, income, and health based on the needs the agencies see on a daily basis. We do this because we want to ensure that we are investing dollars and volunteerism into programs that are impacting our community’s needs.
After these results were set, UWSC determined that it was important to engage the agencies in conversations about what would need to be measured to determine if the results were being achieved. Meetings were held for each result within the areas of education, income, and health with agencies that have programs within those categories.
During these conversations, human service providers shared what they were already doing to measure success. This information helped other agencies who offer similar services see how they could use those same measures for their programs to determine results. Engaging agencies in these conversations ensured the measures identified would also be feasible to report on.
Once the measures were established for each area of investment, UWSC provided a tool called Clear Impact Scorecard to the agencies. Scorecard allows agencies to input their data into a system that calculates their results and tracks trends over time. UWSC staff trained each agency on how to utilize the system and input their data.
This first year using this new system, gives us baseline information. Most agencies will report their data on an annual basis, so by next year we will begin to see how Scorecard will help us to see trends in the impact our investments are making and identify gaps in services provided.
UWSC is confident in the programs we support and we are committed to reporting back to our donors the impact their gifts are making. We believe your gifts are making a difference in the lives of individuals and families across Story County.
Scorecard will also be used in the ASSET report process. ASSET (Analysis of Social Services Evaluation Team) is a team of volunteers who review the individual budgets and outcomes of programs. It is made up of representatives from five major funders of human service programs. Both the City of Ames and Story County have joined UWSC in investing in Scorecard.
Next week, we will share how these reports are helping UWSC in Finding Solutions.
To learn more about the results of Clear Impact Scorecard and UWSC funding in local programs, visit www.uwstory.org or call (515) 268-5142.
United Way of Story County is a strategic leader in building countywide partnerships to identify needs and to develop, support and evaluate effective human services, especially in the areas of education, income and health, for our diverse community.