UNITED WAY OF LEE, HENDRY, AND GLADES ANNUAL IMPACT REPORT 2022-2023

Special thanks to our largest supporters:

ONE MILLION DOLLAR CIRCLE OF EXCELLENCE

Bonita Bay Community and Publix Supermarkets

$500,000 Donors

Sanibel Captiva Community and Bonita Bay Group

$200,000 Donors

LCEC, Beesley’s Paw Prints, Pelican Landing Community, Grandezza Community, Fiddlesticks Community, FineMark National Bank & Trust.

$100,000 Donors

Lee Board of County Commissioners, The Brooks Community, Lee Health, O’Donnell Landscapes, Inc., Gulf Harbour Community, United Way of Lee, Hendry, and Glades Employees, Pelican Preserve Campaign.

United More Than Ever | $11.2 MILLION RAISED

The 2022-2023 Campaign had a significant plot twist this year with the landfall of one of the most destructive hurricanes in Southwest Florida’s history. However, Campaign Co-Chairs, Sally Jackson and Matt Humphreys, stayed the course and ensured our goal of $11,186,558 was not only met, but exceeded for the 30TH YEAR IN A ROW. Even though many experienced personal losses from the hurricane, our generous board of directors accounted for an amazing $1.33 million in personal giving this year.

 

ALEXIS DE TOCQUEVILLE DONORS CONTINUE TO BREAK RECORDS!

Alexis de Tocqueville donors are those who donate over $10,000 to United Way. This year, Alexis de Tocqueville donors, led by the esteemed David Lucas, comprised 52% of the campaign. Mr. Lucas has a 32-year history of fostering philanthropy among his United Way peers, resulting in over $59 million going back to the community. Mr. Lucas brought in 21 new members to the group, which brings this year’s total to 200 members, and a record-shattering $5,791,787. Over the course of 32 years, the Alexis de Tocqueville Society has raised over $59 million!

 

OUR IMPACT: PRIDE IN OUR PROGRAMS

United Way of Lee, Hendry, and Glades is unique for many reasons. One of those is that in addition to providing funds to nonprofit agencies throughout the region, we also provide a myriad of highly beneficial programs to our community! United Way has been named a 4-Star Charity on Charity Navigator since 2014.

CHECK OUT THE IMPACT YOUR DOLLARS HAVE MADE!

Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) Program

As of May 2023, 177 IRS-Certified Tax Preparers filed 7,101 tax returns, contributing 14,624 volunteer hours (a $465,043 value). VITA helped generate $7.9M in refunds and saved our community $2.1M in tax prep fees resulting in a $10.5M impact!

United Way WeCare Program

A total of $7,257,254 in medical care was donated by 300 volunteer providers and specialists, impacting 271 uninsured patients in our community. This includes 6,250 medical procedures and 29,029 volunteer hours making this life-saving program possible.

United Way 211

Every hour of every day, someone in our community is searching for health, human, or social services. Information and referrals for United Way and community resources were provided to 119,854 contacts via phone, chat, and email, with $1,062,449 in assistance to 3,214 families. 211 achieved National AIRS Reaccreditation in September 2022.

Mission United

Mission United served 2,965 veterans, active-duty military, and their families through case management, service navigation, information, and referrals. 400 veterans were enrolled in Care Coordination services to provide peer support for veterans with mental health and substance abuse histories.

 

United Way School Resource Center

Now in its third school year, the SRC distributed over $3.7M in necessities such as backpacks, school supplies, hygiene items, shoes, and clothing. Working closely with school guidance counselors, social workers, and resource officers, the program supports K-12 students in the School District of Lee County.

Beesley’s Paw Prints

A pet therapy collaboration with Children’s Advocacy Center and Gulf Coast Humane Society engaged 123 volunteers at 89 different locations! Together, over 1,504 volunteer hours of pet therapy were provided, with a total reach of 38,291 people!

ReUnite

Partnering with Lee County Sheriff’s Office and law enforcement in Hendry and Glades Counties, we have 702 families currently enrolled in ReUnite. Provided community outreach at 51 events in 2022. ReUnite provides peace of mind to parents and caregivers of vulnerable individuals prone to wandering.

Gifts In Kind

The United Way Gifts In Kind Program provides access to millions of dollars of donated goods to nonprofits. The goods include, but are not limited to furniture, personal care items, household goods, office equipment, and more. Through the generosity of donors - the total fair market value of donated items was: $10,349,366 in 2022. 200 companies, organizations, and individuals donated! $9,728,804 in items distributed to those in need.

United Way Houses

In 2022, United Way Houses delivered 460,629 client services, an increase of 49% from the prior year. United Way Houses currently provides a place where individuals and families can receive wrap-around social services from multiple community organizations in 18 central locations.

Community Partnership Schools

The Community Partnership Schools™ program is now at 3 schools: Franklin Park Elementary, Colonial Elementary, and Fort Myers Middle Academy. The program offers students and families access to a wide range of services including expanded learning, tutoring, mentorship, clothing closet, food pantry, wellness education, and employment services. Over 2,000 students were reached last year.

American Rescue Plan Act

In partnership with Lee County BoCC, United Way was awarded $20M in ARPA funding to provide additional services to residents through our local non-profits. After an application and local volunteer review process, 65 Projects were awarded ARPA funding through 2024. For 16 of the agencies, this was their first Federal award.

$20M in total funding was distributed.

UNITED WAY FUND DISTRIBUTION

The Fund Distribution process is the cornerstone of our United Way. It ensures fiscal and program accountability for all agencies receiving United Way funding while meeting the social service needs of the community. During the annual review process, community volunteers look at the effectiveness of each agency in providing services, assess the need for the programs in the region, and analyze the impact of United Way funding in meeting those needs.

FUND DISTRIBUTION BY THE NUMBERS:

360 Volunteers throughout Lee, Hendry, and Glades. 78 New volunteers this year. 262 programs and special initiatives funded in 2023. 42 teams reviewing Partner Agencies.

GETTING THE WORD OUT:

171,700 page views on UnitedWayLee.org; a 41% increase. 962M total media reaches. 5,838 followers on Facebook, a 10% increase. Page visits were 23,486, a 405.2% increase. Facebook reach was 1,798,145, a 2,200% increase! We had 776 followers on Instagram, a 58% increase. 1,060 Instagram profile visits, a 227% increase, and our reach was 4,626, which was a 2223% increase.

UNITED WAY VOLUNTEER CENTER - TOTAL ORGANIZATIONAL VOLUNTEER IMPACT

67,629 volunteer hours, which was over $8.4M in value (2022 Volunteer value: $31.80/hour; Medical:

$250/hour) , 5,049 volunteers on our volunteer portal, 1,298 Facebook volunteer group members, which is a 46% increase. We held 3 Volunteer Management Workshops, 10 high school blood drives, collecting 347 pints of blood. We hosted 1 volunteer fair and had 23 other tabling events. We had 118 United Way Days of Caring with a total of 2,026 volunteers, 6,769 hours, and a $215,000 value for our partners. The total placement of volunteers was broken down in the following manner: 40% empowering communities, 29% strengthening families, 24% meeting critical needs, and 7% nurturing children/youth.

 

Volunteer Center Continued:

Reading Pals had 104 trained volunteers, touched 184 children, sent home over 1,860 books with children, and registered over 1,912 volunteer hours, resulting in over $60,800 value.

The United Way Volunteer Portal can be found at: Volunteer.UnitedWayLee.org, it is sponsored by Uhler & Vertich and LCEC.

 

HURRICANE IAN - 9.28.22

Response: 9.26.22 United Way 211 was activated by Lee County Emergency Management as the United Way 211 Emergency Information Hotline. 25,209 calls were fielded 24 hours a day from the time of activation until

10.31.22. Staff and volunteers were directing people to evacuation routes and shelters beforehand, and then helping people get food, water, and emergency supplies afterwards.

9.29.22 The SWFL Emergency Relief Fund was opened by Collaboratory in partnership with United Way. To date, $7 million in donations, grants, and special funding has been contributed to the fund.

Relief: 9.30.22 United Way’s Community Impact and Volunteer Center Teams were mobilized within the Lee County Emergency Operations Center. United Way worked alongside the EOC to coordinate Mass Care, including directing both local and out of area food, water, and supplies to some of our most vulnerable communities. The United Way Volunteer Center directed local and out of area volunteers and coordinated with authorities to set up a Volunteer Reception Center. United Way deployed the SWFL Emergency Relief Fund to assist agencies and survivors with immediate and long-term needs. United Way’s Beesley’s Paw Prints had pet therapy teams at EOC, the Disaster Recovery Center, nursing homes, and other locations.

Recovery: United Way is committed to our community for the long-term recovery process from Hurricane Ian. Funding will continue to be distributed to help our survivors get back to a vibrant, healthy, and safe life. United Way staff members currently have representation with the following groups: Unmet Needs Long Term Recovery Group – Board of Governors, Volunteer Committee Lead, Donations Committee Lead, Data & Case Management Committees; and Resilient Lee Recovery Task Force – Health and Social Services Branch.

 

HURRICANE IAN BY THE NUMBERS: 9.26.22 - 5.31.23

$2,803,970 in funding to 161 agencies and programs to help survivors and provide services and resources.

$964,345 in gift cards to thousands of survivors to help with repairs, immediate needs, and replacement of essentials.

$892,270 in direct assistance to survivors to help with temporary shelter, repairs, immediate needs, and replacement of essentials.

$25,784,747 received in donated goods with $17,623,045 worth of building/construction supplies, furniture, apparel, home goods, school supplies, etc. distributed to community partners and thousands of households.

$10 million in additional donated goods received and distributed in cooperation with the State of Florida, Volunteer Florida, and Emergency Management.

$3.4 million impact in debris removal, muck and gut, repairs, and points of distribution by 11.2K volunteers

with 107,446 volunteer hours tracked by the United Way Volunteer Center.