At UWGT, we are always seeking ways to be more efficient and effective in how we work and how we can be the best stewards of your donor dollars.
This year that meant evaluating our Community Impact volunteer structure as part of our strategic planning process. We needed to ensure we were making the most effective and impactful use of both volunteer and staff time.
For the past decade, each of our impact areas (Early Education, On-Grade Achievement, Financial Stability, and Health) had its own Impact Council—a group of volunteers consisting of both subject matter experts and others who are passionate about that particular piece of our work. They met monthly under the guidance of our Community Impact team. The job of the Impact Councils has been to provide strategic guidance to UWGT staff in each area and to review the progress of our grant partners.
The impact councils are overseen by and report to our Community Impact Committee. This Committee consists of the Impact Council chairs, board members, and other key volunteers. This committee provides additional strategic guidance and direction to all of our impact work and makes recommendations to our Board of Directors about that work.
As we reviewed this structure, we determined this would be an ideal time to eliminate duplication of work between the councils and the Community Impact Committee. Streamlining our committee structure also reduces administrative work for our extremely busy Community Impact staff.
In September our Impact Councils will dissolve, leaving the heavy lifting to the larger Community Impact Committee. All members of our Impact Councils have been invited to join the Community Impact Committee if they wish. As new impact issues arise, we may also call on those former Impact Council volunteers to join informal and temporary subject-matter working groups.
This week marked the final Impact Council meetings, and we made sure to let each Council know how much we valued their time and hard work over the past decade. Volunteer leadership is serious business at United Way, and we know our community is stronger because of these diligent impact council members! THANK YOU to all our past and present Impact Council volunteers!