What "Best Practices" Do You Utilize?
 |  United Way of North Central Florida Utilized a Reserved Parking Space for Their Winning Contributor |
| Ohio United Way is always open to new ideas and fresh concepts to bring together the best in fundraising, networking, and marketing to benefit local United Way members. |
Do you have any creative & successful ideas you'd like to share with your United Way peers? Send your "Best Practices" to tanderson@ouw.org and we'll feature them on our website or in one of our monthly publications!
 | United Way Introduces the |
The United Way of America has developed a great tool for campaign season: the Common Good Forecaster. The interactive tool allows users to see the real effects of education on communities across the country, and is something all United Ways should take full advantage of. To utilize the Forecaster, please visit: www.liveunited.org/forecaster.
To introduce the new interactive tool to your local community, United Way of America has developed a localized template to guide local United Ways with their press release statements. The United Way of Summit County was successful in their efforts with this template, having their press release picked up by the Akron Beacon Journal. The template serves to direct the local United Way in a simple and easy way and can be viewed by CLICKING HERE.
What’s Your Donation Been Up To?United Way of Richland County Produces |  |
Ever wonder what a United Way donation goes toward? To answer that question, Amie Shoemaker of United Way of Richland County put together “A Day in the Life of your United Way of Richland County Contribution!" The piece looks to localize the truly meaningful effects of every donation, no matter how large or small.
In just the short time after producing the piece, United Way of Richland County has received numerous compliments from influential leaders and donors within the community. As such, they have offered their “A Day in the Life” piece as a template for United Ways wishing to localize their message into a similar model. With many local United Ways looking to get their hands on “best practices” fund raising ideas, this is a great way to outline just how much your United Way effects the people of your community.
To take a look at what the United Way of Richland County has put together, or to use it as a model for your local United Way, please CLICK HERE.
Butler County United Way Wins National Award“Live United” Video Takes Home Two National Telly Awards |  |
From a pool of over 15,000 entries, the Butler County United Way was selected for the 2008 National Telly Award, honoring their 2008 corporate video, “Live United.” The award honors outstanding local, regional and national commercials as well as video and film productions.
The video illustrates the positive impact a community can have when people follow the slogan of “Give, Advocate and Volunteer” for United Way and brings the “Live United” theme to life. The Live United video also won a Bronze Telly in the Charitable & Not-For-Profit category.
The award marks the second time in three years that a video from producer Murray Multimedia Resources in conjunction with Butler County United Way has received a Telly Award. Maureen Noe, local United Way President, commented that with such a great producer and compassionate stories from community volunteers, “we knew we had, on a local level, an award winning result.”
The video can be viewed at www.bc-unitedway.org.
Bringing a Little Light to Fairfield County
Claypool Electric, voted “Business of the Year” by the Lancaster-Fairfield Chamber of Commerce, recently donated a Residential Emergency Power System for auction with United Way of Fairfield County. Due to recent power outages in the area, the system couldn’t have been more fitting. With over 1000 tickets sold during the auction, United Way was able to raise over $9000 to benefit their 2009 Campaign and Brandon’s Bucket Brigade, an early learning program for children, named in memory of Brandon Deem, as well as shining a little light along the way.
Scarlet & Gray...Goes Blue?OSU Alum, Jim Miller struggles through |  |
When coming up with an idea to help meet their campaign goals in this tough economy, the United Way of Wayne & Holmes Counties decided to blur the line on one of sports’ most heated rivalries. James Miller, Executive Director of The Village Network and alumnus of The Ohio State University made this promise to his local United Way: If you make your goal for this campaign, I will don the Maize & Blue and sing ‘Hail to the Victors,’ the fight song for that state up North.
Miller learned first hand the commitment of donors and volunteers of the United Way as they were able to meet their targeted objective, forcing him to live up to his end of the deal.
After reading an apology letter to his local alumni association and explaining the details, Miller went on to sing along as a recording of the Michigan band played in the background.
Though it appeared to be nothing short of treason to Buckeye Nation, President E. Gordon Gee later absolved Miller of his sins, stating that it was for a good cause and just to make sure he doesn’t “let it happen again.”