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In this Issue
- United Way unveils 'Agenda for Change'
- TV special to highlight new partnership
- New weekly to highlight United Way’s work
- All Stars recognize Tocqueville supporters
- Credit saves taxpayers cash
- Kurt's Corner:
- Detroit metropolitan area leads the nation in employment loss from 2005 - 2006
- Mover finds many saying 'Goodbye' to michigan, region
- Volunteer spotlight: January is National Mentoring Month
United Way unveils ‘Agenda for Change’
The United Way for Southeastern Michigan Board of Directors recently approved a new strategic directive that will better position the organization to improve lives and build stronger communities.
The plan is called the Agenda for Change, and its contents are the result of a year spent working with the community, and conducting extensive subject matter research, to determine most critical social issues affecting Wayne, Oakland and Macomb counties. The agenda targets three key areas identified by the community -- educational preparedness, Financial Stability and basic needs.
“We knew we had to do things differently and do them well,” said UWSEM President and CEO Michael Brennan. “Our first charge was to reach out and engage the region in new and unprecedented ways. The second was to seek the input, ideas and involvement of the community and bring focus to the issues people care most about.”
The outreach effort is considered to be the most extensive of its kind ever conducted in the area, and through the 20,0000 voices that sounded off during the process, one shared hope was clear: Southeastern Michigan aspires to be a region where all people have the educational and economic opportunities needed to succeed and to thrive.
Key strategies, action steps and barometers of success will be developed by the summer of 2007. Strategies will include short-, medium- and long-term objectives. Full implementation and measurement will commence in 2008, according to Brennan.
“We recognize the importance of using data to support initiatives and measure progress on critical social issues facing the region,” said Al Lucarelli, a member of the UWSEM Board of Directors, and co-chair of the Community Impact Cabinet, which has led the Agenda for Change process.
“The goals and corresponding outcomes will be measured against specific indicators. For instance, educational preparedness may be measured by graduation rates, school attendance trends, and reading levels. United Way will further define the indicators as strategies to target each of our goals are developed in 2007.”
Find out more about United Way’s Agenda for Change at www.uwsem.org.
TV special to highlight new partnership
United Way for Southeastern Michigan leadership will share details of the organization’s work with other area planning organizations to transform the region during a special to air Feb. 8 on WTVS Detroit Public Television.
Lack of regional collaboration – real or perceived – has for decades hindered progress on a number of issues important to metro Detroiters. However, ONE D: Transforming Regional Detroit, a new partnership between United Way and five other leadership organizations aims to eliminate historical barriers and move metro Detroit forward.
The Feb. 8 show -- to air on local PBS channel 56 -- begins at 7 p.m., and highlights United Way’s role in ONE D. The half-hour program will feature UWSEM President and CEO Michael Brennan, UWSEM Board Chair Anthony F. Earley Jr., Chairman and CEO of DTE Energy, Board Vice Chair and Reginald Turner, an attorney with Clark Hill PLC, and Board member Leslie Murphy, Group Managing Partner, Plante & Moran.
WTVS will air the special a second time Feb. 11, at 6 p.m.
The formation of ONE D is an important step toward a new regionalism. The partnership includes United Way, New Detroit, the Detroit Regional Chamber, Detroit Renaissance, the Detroit Metro Convention and Visitors Bureau and the Cultural Alliance of Southeastern Michigan.
ONE D members have agreed to work together to achieve measurable goals in six priority areas: economic prosperity, educational preparedness, regional transit, race relations, regional cooperation and quality of life.
Edsel B. Ford II, who championed Detroit 300 and Design Regional Detroit, and is a strong advocate for regionalism, chairs the ONE D partnership. Ford wants to see the group drive “collaborative thinking, planning and implementing of growth ideas and policies that maximize the competitiveness and prosperity of a region.”
The partners are currently working to develop a shared plan that addresses each of the six priority areas identified as key to transforming southeast Michigan. The final blueprint is expected to be unveiled at the 2007 Mackinac Leadership Policy Conference in June.
New weekly to highlight United Way’s work
Issue Media Group, creator of the popular Model D e-newsletter is launching a new publication that will highlight United Way for Southeastern Michigan work to create stronger communities by changing lives and linking residents with opportunities to serve.
The publisher launched metromode, an electronic weekly that launched Jan. 12. The publication promotes economic and community development in Detroit, Ann Arbor and everywhere in between. Stories examine emerging economic opportunities and regional collaborations that will help southeast Michigan thrive by growing talent, increasing diversity and improving quality of life.
Metromode also seeks to bring people together, through its Regional Activation Zone, sponsored by United Way.
The zone features profiles of individuals and organizations working to improve neighborhoods across the region, and groups that promote collective action at the community level.
The first series of features will focus on “The 7 Disciplines of a Community of Progress,” a white paper recently written by UWSEM President and CEO Michael Brennan, which details his vision for our community and makes the case for why he believes Detroit can be, and in many cases already is, a community of progress.
Finally, the Regional Activation Zone will continually promote United Way's 2-1-1 as a way to get help or give help, and UWSEM’s online volunteer database, Volunteer Solutions, as a means of getting involved in creating a better region.
You can read the latest issue and sign up for a free subscription by visiting www.metromodemedia.com.
All Stars recognize Tocqueville supporters
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More than 300 members of southeast Michigan’s philanthropic community came out to recognize and thank members of United Way’s Tocqueville Society during a Jan. 5 celebration at the historic Detroit Firehouse.
Attendees were treated to a gourmet sports-themed buffet, along with beverages served by a group of celebrity bartenders that included former Detroit Lions players Lomas Brown and Scott Kowalkowski, along with past Detroit Tigers Dave Rozema and Pat Sheridan, among others. The athletes were joined by journalists David Hunke, publisher of the Detroit Free Press, and Carol Cain, veteran newspaper columnist. DaimlerChrysler sponsored the event.
The Tocqueville Society is comprised of individuals who contribute $10,000 or more annually to United Way. Over the past five years, the Tocqueville Society has seen tremendous growth, increasing by 39 percent to 270 members. During the 2006 campaign alone, 61 individuals joined the group, donating more than $4.1 million in the process.
The society is just one of several United Way leadership giving programs. Others include the Women’s Initiative and the Virgil H. Carr Society, which are open to donors of $1,000 or more annually.
“When we think about community champions we’re not only referring to those who excel in sports or business,” said Michael J. Brennan, president and CEO, United Way for Southeastern Michigan. “There are countless people who generously give of their resources and time to assure that children have opportunities to excel and people have a chance to overcome challenges to succeed in life. It is individuals like those in our Tocqueville Society who help United Way be the best it can be for the residents of our region.”
United Way also used the evening to recognize participants in its recently introduced Sports Champions program, a unique partnership formed in September 2006 that includes the Detroit Pistons, Lions, Red Wings, Shock and Tigers working together to provide resources area children need to thrive in the classroom and beyond. Organizers believe this is the first time that five professional sports teams in the same market have joined forces to tackle a single cause.
The Sports Champions concept was developed to provide the teams an opportunity to make an even larger impact by combining resources to address specific education-related issues, taking advantage of capacity United Way provides. The program will focus initial work on improving school attendance across the region, in partnership with the Virgil H. Carr Society.
For more information on United Way’s leadership giving programs, contact 313-226-9297.
Credit saves taxpayers cash
Thousands of metro Detroiters leave up to $4,500 sitting in the U.S. Treasury each year because they either don’t know about -- or fail to tap into -- the Earned Income Tax Credit, and millions of dollars go unclaimed as a result.
As another tax season approaches United Way for Southeastern Michigan is working to change that, helping more tri-county residents pocket much-needed cash.
The EITC is a federal credit aimed at low-income working individuals and families. The state of Michigan estimates that $12 million to $49 million in credits could be awarded to eligible workers this year if outreach efforts are successful.
United Way's 2-1-1 is teaming up with the Accounting Aid Society, the Detroit Public Library and other area organizations to spread the word, while helping local residents determine eligibility and locate free tax preparation service through the three-digit helpline.
Individuals interested in volunteering as tax preparers may also dial 2-1-1 (or 800.552.1183) to get involved. Training is provided.
To qualify for an EITC, a taxpayer must:
- Have more than one qualifying child and earned income of less than $36,348 ($38,348 if married filing jointly),
- Have one qualifying child and earned income of less than $32,001 ($34,001 if married filing jointly), or
- Have no qualifying children and earned income of less than $12,120 ($14,120 if married filing jointly).
United Way and its partners in the EITC plan a major tax season push Feb. 3. The group is calling the event Super Saturday, and encouraging families with incomes under $39,000 to visit designated sites around the tri-county area to have their taxes prepared for free. Two locations have been announced so far:
Detroit Workforce Development Department
1300 Rosa Parks Blvd.
Detroit, MI 48216
From 10 a.m. – 2 p.m.Baker College Library
4500 Enterprise Dr.
Allen Park, MI 48101
10am - 2pm
Attendees are asked to bring:
- Photo identification and Social Security cards for each household resident
- Proof of income (W-2, W-2G, 1099), DHS, Social Security, and interest /dividend statements
- Bank routing numbers and account numbers for those interested in direct deposit
- Day care provider's tax identification number and total amount paid for day care
Detroit Metropolitan Area Leads the Nation in Employment Loss from 2005- 2006
In November 2006, 301 metropolitan areas reported over-the-year increases in non-farm payroll employment, 60 reported decreases, and six had no change. The largest over-the-year employment gain was posted in Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, Ariz., area, (+90,700), while the largest over-the-year decreases in employment occurred in Detroit-Warren-Livonia, Mich., area (-26,400), St. Louis, (-3,300), Flint, Mich., (-3,100), and Dayton, Ohio, (-2,500). The largest over-the-year percentage decreases in employment were reported in Danville, Va., (-4.8 percent), Gadsden, Ala., (-4 percent), Jackson, Mich., (-2.6 percent), and Mansfield, Ohio, (-2.4 percent).
Mover Finds Many Saying 'Goodbye' to Michigan, Region
An analysis prepared by United Van Lines, the nation’s largest household goods mover, shows a growing number of Americans packing up their belongings and heading to the West and Southeast, leaving Michigan and neighboring states behind.
Kurt's Corner is written by demographer Kurt Metzger, director of research at United Way for Southeastern Michigan. For more information on UWSEM's research visit www.uwsem.org/research, or contact Kurt at kurt.metzger@LiveUnitedSEM.org.
Volunteer spotlight: January is National Mentoring Month
Thank Your Mentor Day is January 25
Have you had someone in your life - a teacher, neighbor, relative, coach - who encouraged you, or who helped you become the person you are today?
Well, if you ever thought about that person, but never adequately expressed your a appreciation, consider saying "thank you!" by paying forward. Make a difference, today. Become a mentor to a young person in your community and pay tribute to that special someone who helped you, by touching another life.
For more information on mentoring opportunities in your area, please visit United Way's online volunteer-matching system, Volunteer Solutions, at www.volunteersolutions.org/uwsem. Just type in the keyword "mentoring."