Heart of Illinois United Way
Community Impact
Success by Six | PACES | Help for Hard Times | Community Assessment
Counties We Represent
Money raised by the Heart of Illinois United Way stays in the community by funding programs and services in Marshall, Peoria, Putnam, Stark, Tazewell and Woodford Counties.
Community Care Fund
How the Dollars are Used
Through the United Way’s Community Care Fund, you don’t have to choose between helping children or seniors, or between providing a warm meal or a safe home.
That’s because more than 80 volunteers from diverse segments of the community evaluate programs to ensure your contribution is making the greatest impact possible.
These volunteers monitor financial and program information, meet with agencies to discuss results, and visit agencies to see programs firsthand.
Heart of Illinois United Way Competitive Grant Process
The primary tool the Heart of Illinois United Way uses to drive community change is our competitive grant process. More than 80 volunteers from diverse segments of the community evaluate programs requesting funding.
- In 2009-2010, the Heart of Illinois United Way is funding 104 programs focusing on these key issues:
- Children and Youth Programs providing social, emotional and life skills education resulting in school readiness and academic achievement.
- Family Programs providing counseling, crisis services, parenting skills and legal support.
- Self-Reliance Programs providing housing, job training and preparedness, independent living and life skills education.
- Health and Rehabilitation Programs providing health education and prevention along with treatment and health care services.
- The goal of the grant review panels is to prioritize and determine funding programs that can demonstrate:
- benefits and changes clients have obtained during or after participation in the program
- impact on critical community needs identified by the Heart of Illinois United Way
In line with Vision: 2012, the Heart of Illinois United Way’s strategic plan, funding decisions are based on how well the program’s outcomes address economic and neighborhood conditions, educational and healthcare systems, and how well the program relates to critical needs identified in our 2008 Peoria Area Community Assessment.
For the Heart of Illinois United Way to be viewed as the leader in providing solutions for our community’s health and human service needs, it is essential that our organization prioritize outcomes and ensure they are being met by the programs we fund.
- The following criteria are used by the grant reviewers to score funding requests:
- Is the program well-managed? Does the grant clearly identify what services the program provides to the community, how long the program has been operating, identify the target audience and area served, and list major components of service? How does the client benefit from the program?
- Does the agency seek out opportunities to collaborate with other organizations to provide effective solutions? Is it a good community investment?
- Does the program not only focus on immediate needs, but also on prevention? Does the program make logistical sense both in the short term and long term?
- Is there critical need for the program and does it serve at-risk populations?
- Has the program demonstrated success, or if a new program, does it demonstrate the capacity to be implemented successfully? This includes a review of program goals, strengths and challenges facing the program, and staff competency.
- Is the program fiscally sound and does it seek out diversity in funding sources?
(Funding is prioritized by the average scores given by the grant reviewers. Any previous funding the program may have received from the Heart of Illinois United Way is not a factor in determining future funding. )
In 2009, there were 47 partner agencies eligible to receive funding through the competitive grant process. Heart of Illinois United Way partner agencies must provide a copy of their organization’s annual external audit, avoid fundraising that is in competition with the United Way campaign and display evidence of partnership status.
Heart of Illinois United Way Allocation Panels
2009 Allocation Panels
Peoria Area Community Assessment
The 2008 Community Assessment of the six-county Peoria region highlights critical community needs. Conducted by the Center for Business and Economic Research at Bradley University, several key areas of social concern were identified including income, poverty, education, health and safety issues - allowing our United Way to strengthen our ability to provide leadership to the region.
Download the published Peoria Area Community Assessment PDF 1.2 mb
Download the Bradley University United Way Assessment PDF 1.5 mb
Success by Six®
The Heart of Illinois United Way's early childhood initiative, Success by 6®, is a community-based committee of business leaders, educators and early childhood advocates brought together to develop solutions for children of central Illinois. Read more and access Success by Six resources...
Help for Hard Times Guide
The Help for Hard Times Guide has been designed to provide guidance if you’re facing unemployment or adjusting to life on a reduced income. By taking control of your situation and learning what is available, you will be able to survive the struggling economy. Help for Hard Times Guide
PACES
PACES is a collaborative effort between Peoria Public Schools and the Heart of Illinois United Way member agencies that, through the United Way grant process, established a full-service substance abuse, violence prevention and mental health program for students in kindergarten through high school in the Manual High School region. Read more...