The United Way of Chatham County’s (UWCC) 2021/2022 campaign generated the most dollars and donors in its 36-year history in Chatham County, with 84% of donations coming from residential campaigns.
Three of UWCC’s residential campaigns — Governors Club, Carolina Meadows and Encore at Briar Chapel — proved to be exceptional and record-breaking, each earning the Spirit of North Carolina Award from the United Way of North Carolina.
The Spirit of North Carolina Award is a statewide award and recognizes campaign excellence, honoring groups and organizations whose United Way campaigns exemplify the “spirit” of their community. The three UWCC campaigns were awarded in the “Campaign/Engagement Success” award category, which celebrates a campaign’s growth in participation or dollars raised to build stronger loyalty to meeting the community need.
Spirit of North Carolina Award recipients meet specific standards of achievement and are selected by a team of United Way leaders from across the state. United Way of North Carolina leads the award nomination and judging process and presents the awards annually.
“The Governors Club, Carolina Meadows and Encore at Briar Chapel campaigns not only demonstrate excellence in their United Way campaigns, but are building a philanthropic culture community-wide,” said Katie Childs, UWCC’s executive director. “The ongoing and increasing support from all neighborhoods, donors and community partners in Chatham is outstanding.”
Because of the 2021/2022 UWCC residential campaign success, Childs was invited to co-facilitate a workshop at the United Way Southeast Regional Conference, which will host 50 United Way representatives from an 11-state radius in late April. The workshop will highlight best-in-class practices that UWCC has learned from its community campaigns. In all, the conference will host more than 300 United Way representatives from the southeast region.
“I’m honored to represent Chatham County at the conference, sharing what makes our United Way campaign so unique and successful,” said Childs. “Each year United Way board and staff lay the campaign’s foundation. But the leadership, drive and passion from our neighborhood captains, support from community management, and buy-in from individuals and families are what enable United Way to increase its impact on poverty year after year.”
Governors Club
UWCC’s 2021 Governors Club residential campaign made United Way history in North Carolina: The neighborhood raised $273,000 — the largest amount ever raised by a residential campaign in North Carolina. It was also the largest amount raised in Governors Club’s 20-plus year history with UWCC. Governors Club utilizes a network of 27 area captains to champion the effort within their own streets/areas.
Carolina Meadows
UWCC’s 2021 Carolina Meadows residential campaign raised the most in its 20-plus year history with United Way: the campaign brought in $101,269, exceeding its campaign goal by 19%, and raising $15,000 more in 2021 over 2020.
The Carolina Meadows residential campaign is led by United Way of Chatham County Board Treasurer George Evans, who is also an active and well-connected resident of Carolina Meadows.
Due to COVID-19, Carolina Meadows imposed visitor restrictions to ensure the safety of its residents. Evans saw this as an opportunity to remind residents of the importance of the United Way mission and organized a volunteer opportunity that could be completed without residents leaving the premises, and was part of UWCC’s 2021 Day of Service.
Encore at Briar Chapel
UWCC’s residential campaign reached a new neighborhood in 2021 — Encore at Briar Chapel — a new community for those aged 55 and above within the largest residential neighborhood in Chatham. One loyal United Way supporter and a new resident to Encore, John Hughes, helped coordinate a group of 16 neighborhood captains to spread the mission and impact United Way has in Chatham County. Encore captains also held socially distanced cookie exchanges, cocktail parties and door-to-door introductions to not only get to know their new neighbors, but to share the importance of supporting UWCC.
Because of the dedication of the Encore neighborhood captains, 66% of the Encore neighborhood donated to the campaign, with United Way gaining more than 100 new donors.
Each fall, UWCC kicks off its annual campaign, which includes more than 15 residential campaigns and countless volunteers. If you are interested in volunteering in your neighborhood, please contact Katie Childs at 919-542-1110 or katie@UnitedWayOfChathamCounty.org. Visit www.UnitedWayOfChathamCounty.org to learn more about our impact.