Trident United Way Inc

Financial stabilityinitiatives that support the financial stability framework include the americorps financial stability project, resource connection centers in berkeley and dorchester counties, sc thrive-thrive hub online application tool, charitytracker, barriers to employment and foodshare berkeley county. The integration of two impact areas, basic needs and income, into one began in 2010 resulting in a model of change - financial stability, which consists of interrelated steps that begins with addressing basic needs, followed by increasing basic skills, then increasing income and savings, and finally, gaining and sustaining assets. Highlights of the accomplishments for 2023-2024 include the following: 2-1-1 service:2-1-1 is a free, confidential referral and information service that connects people from all communities and of all ages to a community resource specialist who will help them find local health and human services. The call center is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week to serve callers in over 100 languages via phone, text or online. 2-1-1 is committed to being an essential resource to anyone who needs help. An information and referral (i&r) specialist assesses callers' needs and helps the caller determine options and best course of action in a non-threatening, non-judgmental and confidential manner. Additionally, i&r specialists are trained to determine whether a caller may be eligible for other programs, to intervene in crisis situations and to advocate on behalf of a caller who may need further assistance. 2-1-1 is a free service to the community. Trident united way contracts with the united way of association of sc, which manages the call center and provides up-to-date, timely, local information about resources in the tri-county to tri-county callers. Highlights of services for the 2023-2024 fiscal year include 13,267 calls received, 33,131 referrals made for the tri-county, and 10,407 website visits statewide. Berkeley and dorchester resource connection centers:the berkeley and dorchester resource connection centers are a collaborative partnership between trident united way and over 10 local nonprofit partners. The berkeley resource connection center is located at 500 s live oak dr, moncks corner, sc 29461 and the dorchester resource connection center is located at 115 devon rd unit #14, summerville, sc 29483. Services in the centers are provided through a network of community partners in an integrated service delivery system. Partners located in the centers include dorchester adult education, sc works, vocational rehabilitation, salvation army, palmetto goodwill, palmetto cap, sc thrive, origin sc, accesshealth, lowcountry food bank and foodshare berkeley county. The centers are service hubs where low-to-moderate income individuals and families have access to programs and resources such as educational resources, basic needs support and resources to become financially stable. The resource connection centers take an integrated approach to service delivery, which includes bundling and sequencing of services, leading to long-lasting financial change for clients and their families. The centers operate using a continuum framework that begins with addressing basic needs and moves individuals along a path to achieve the goal of gaining and sustaining assets. Serving individuals collaboratively is a shared desire to create better financial outcomes for individuals and families in the tri-county area.the resource connection centers served 10,453 individuals during the 2023-2024 fiscal year. Americorps family navigators:the trident united way americorps program has been operating for a decade with a goal of building capacity for community organizations to provide services that help individuals and families become more financially stable. Further, the trident united way americorps program has developed a reputation in the tri-county for producing highly qualified, trained human services professionals. Notable results include:trident united way's seven americorps members connected 1,240 households, including 2,160 individuals, to 2,642 services, including 1,876 basic needs services. Charitytracker:charitytracker is a web-based tracking tool provided by trident united way to tri-county nonprofit partners at no charge. It is used by trident united way partner organizations including grantees, community partners and faith-based organizations to track and safely share confidential information on individuals receiving financial stability and other human services. The tool mitigates issues related to transportation and provides accountability for those being served, as well as agencies and partners working collectively to move individuals into financial stability. A bulletin board feature allows partners to post services provided, such as classes and events, and alerts allow partners to post emergency needs so that resources can be distributed quickly and efficiently throughout the community. The system is secure and only agencies and partners that complete a training certification can use the system. 404 local nonprofit partners used the system in the 2023-2024 fiscal year, providing 13,461 households, comprised of 36,295 individuals, with 99,341 services. The estimated value of these services was $1,562,894. Foodshare berkeley county:foodshare berkeley county is making strides in addressing food insecurity in our community. 52,811 pounds of food have been distributed to 523 customers, in over 3,000 boxes in fiscal year 2023-2024. Over 60% of the boxes ordered were purchased with snap funds. Sc thrive:trident united way partner, sc thrive, utilizes thrive hub, a web-based system that allows counselors to help clients apply for multiple resources during a single interview. For fiscal year 2023-2024, 1,077 individuals completed free tax returns. Individuals saved $294,021 in tax preparation fees and the completed returns have an estimated refund value of $1,918,137. Barriers to employment:barriers to employment is a program designed to help individuals obtain childcare, transportation, equipment and other expenses that are preventing them from finding and keeping a job. During fiscal year 2023-2024, 81 clients and 117 household members were served. $35,440 was spent from the fund, with an average per client spend of $437.

Educationtrident united way supports programs and leads collaborative partnerships that aim to improve educational outcomes for all students with a goal of supporting all children from birth to be prepared for school, meet grade-level standards and graduate from high school prepared for employment or higher education.additional initiatives included three annual volunteer programs: read across america day, the african american leadership council annual book drive and the young leaders united annual school supply drive. The young leaders united annual school supply drive reached 600+ students in 8+ schools and community based events by providing backpacks and school supplies. 1,000 books before kindergarten had participation from 150 children. Children receive tracking sheets and milestone rewards for having 100, 500 or 1,000 books read. The trident united way team also led an early learning summit that included a presentation on alice data regarding the cost of childcare in tri-county households and collaboration among businesses, the education community and parents.

Healththrough partnerships with roper st. Francis, medical university of south carolina and the duke endowment, trident united way supports 7 programs that seek to improve nutrition and overall wellbeing in the tri-county. These programs together help achieve goals for the overall wellbeing of our tri-county area as set through the healthy tri-county health improvement plan. For fiscal year 2023-2024, 30,000 pounds of food was distributed through fresh food pantries, produce deliveries and community gardens. Approximately 7,000 people received health education surrounding nutrition, physical activity and chronic disease prevention. Connecting the communityconnecting the community includes initiatives that provide community service opportunities and information about the work of trident united way across the tri-county region. The primary initiatives are strategic volunteer engagement and stakeholder and community communication as follows:1. Strategic volunteer engagement supports both internal and external volunteer engagement to provide impactful volunteer matching opportunities. Volunteers for trident united way serve as thought-leaders on committees and councils, as well as decision-makers about community investments and support mission fulfillment. Trident united way's nonprofit partners and corporate partners create a pipeline of volunteers for the organization in all levels of engagement by offering tailor-made volunteer opportunities to corporate partners that may range from supply drives to home builds and can take place at an office or in the community. Additionally, trident united way supports the strategic growth of signature volunteer events such as read across america day in local schools and the community's largest volunteer event, trident united way's days of caring. In the 2023-2024 fiscal year, trident united way engaged more than 3,600 volunteers for almost 13,000 hours of service. The time and skills contributed by the trident united way volunteers provided an estimated community benefit of over $387,500.2. Communication with key constituents and across the community includes year-round strategic efforts. Trident united way distributes bi-monthly email newsletters to more than 30,000 recipients for each issue. The organization's website (tuw.org) and social media channels are updated multiple times each week with new information about impact and events. Trident united way posts information and engages with followers daily on its facebook, instagram,youtube and linked in. Through multiple communications tactics, trident united way aims to engage with audiences and report on its work to donors, potential donors, and the community-at-large, announce volunteer and grant opportunities and celebrate the impact of volunteer time. Strategic communications are also vital to raising awareness of the myriad community resources available to those in need and to seeking the support of those who can help. To that end, trident united way works with local media to share information and promote offerings and activities to the community. Donor designations:the purpose of trident united way's annual fundraising campaigns is to develop and enhance the resources available for trident united way's community impact mission. Community volunteers strategically invest those resources in the tri-county community to create lasting, measurable change on the most pressing issues facing families and individuals. Trident united way promotes investing in the community impact work as the most effective way to financially support the tri-county community above any form of designated giving.donors may elect all or a portion of their pledge/contribution as designated to 501(c)(3) organizations, other than trident united way. Requests are processed by trident united way and payments made to designated organizations is as follows:* trident united way honors donor designations to any verified 501(c)(3) organization of $50 or more per organization. Verification consists of, on a quarterly basis, confirming the organization has an active 501(c)(3) status with the internal revenue service and completing additional verifications as may be required by united way worldwide. No further oversight is provided by trident united way on the use of designated funds.* trident united way deducts fundraising and administrative fees at the rate of 15 percent (with a minimum of $5 and a maximum of $75) per designation.* trident united way sends payments to verified designated organizations (net of the fundraising and administrative fee) on a quarterly basis (january, april, july and october).* gifts or payments made by cash, check, credit card or stock will be paid out to the organization in the month following the quarter in which pledge payment(s) are received from the donor. For example, donor pledge payments received in january, february or march will be paid in april; payments received in april, may and june will be paid in july.* trident united way has a donor privacy policy and will not release the names of individuals without authorization for the release of such information. If a donor provides authorization, trident united way will send donor information to the designated organization.