Rochester, NY (WHAM) – Help was announced Friday for dozens of local nonprofits that recently learned they were being cut off from critical funding from United Way.
United Way of Greater Rochester and the Finger Lakes are extending interim assistance to help affected organizations.
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“We feel the pain, we feel what’s happening, and we feel it deeply,” said Jaime Saunders, United Way president and CEO. “Any transition is hard, but when we as United Way play such a critical role thanks to our generous community, every change is significant. That’s why we’re extending our bridge grant to two years, offering up to $7 million, and accelerating the delivery of new grants.”
Saunders said the affected nonprofits would receive 75% of their current funding in 2025 and 50% in 2026.
“We’re pulling that from our reserves, from our generous Mackenzie Scott donation, and we’re also activating our foundation,” Saunders said. “We’re going to be making more grants so there are more opportunities and organizations can receive more than one grant from United Way.”
United Way attributed the funding cuts to the ongoing impact of the pandemic and a decline in donations.
Saunders said United Way has been telling local organizations in recent years that changes are coming.
“We also found that with the multi-year grants, there’s only half the money left in that pot,” Saunders said. “So we found that in all the meetings and all the materials, there’s only half the money that was there before.”
During the interview, I asked Saunders, “People are pretty critical of the United Way’s internal handling of the issue. Public online records show seven salaries equal to $1 million. And I guess people are wondering how that affects the administration. Does that affect jobs? Salaries?”
“I think it would be wonderful if a pay cut could fill an $11 million gap in the community, so no,” Saunders responded. “Our organization is highly monitored and regulated, we have a century of excellence and we have financial savvy,” she continued. “The United Way organization is 75 people, plus 30 more program staff who do incredible work on the street.”
United Way is convening nonprofit partners of the Community Impact Fund next week to discuss these changes and next steps.
