The Board of Directors of the United Fund of Talbot County voted at their June meeting to allocate $232,500 to 18 member agencies for its 2016-17 campaign. These agencies qualified by demonstrating how their requests for funds would be used to meet the health and human services needs of the underserved in Talbot County. The original amount requested by the 18 applicant agencies was $325,500.
“This year’s Agency Review Committee continued to exercise due diligence when reviewing each agency application. The stellar job they did in their reviews and recommendations facilitated the allocation deliberations,” said Chuck Mangold and Leslie Stevenson, Agency Review Committee Co-Chairs.
Stevenson noted that “No agency application is rubberstamped, and all must reapply each year. Through a rigorous and comprehensive agency review process, United Fund committee volunteers are able to analyze where funding will have the greatest impact and award grant funding accordingly.”
For the just concluded 2015-16 campaign, the United Fund reached only 82% of its goal. The upcoming campaign has again set a goal of $400,000.
“It’s unfortunate we could not satisfy total grant requests due to budget constraints, but we continue to strive toward that goal every year,” noted Mangold.
The United Fund of Talbot County is the only local philanthropic organization that for over half a century of fundraising has successfully raised over $14 million to assist non-profit charities in Talbot County.
The agencies selected for the 2016-17 campaign are:
- BAAM (Building African American Minds). $10,000 to provide programs that enrich the academic and social development of young African American boys.
- Boy Scouts in Talbot County. $3,000 to deliver scouting programs to both existing scouting troop units and at-risk youth through its outreach efforts.
- CASA of Talbot County. $17,000 to provide trained volunteers to children under court protection because of abuse, neglect or abandonment.
- Character Counts!. $10,000 to promote character development in the county’s public schools as well as conducting workplace ethics classes in the business community.
- Delmarva Community Services. $11,000 to fund adult medical daycare and intervention and travel expenses for medically dependent and frail Talbot County clients as well as general transportation services.
- For All Seasons. $11,000 to provide advocacy, therapy and education for those needing low cost, easily accessible mental health services.
- Girl Scouts. $3,000 to provide a host of programs for local girls to build character and skills for success.
- Imagination Library. $5,000 to expose children birth to age 5 with a literature and vocabulary rich environment, promoting reading readiness through the monthly provision of high quality, age-appropriate books.
- Mid-Shore Council on Family Violence. $20,000 to provide advocacy and support for victims of domestic violence.
- Neighborhood Service Center. $60,000 to serve the total family, addressing housing, food, utilities, eviction and learning needs of local low-income residents.
- Partners in Care. $7,000 to empower older adults to remain independent in their homes using the concept of service exchange to provide transportation and handyman services.
- Martin’s Ministries. $15,000 to help to feed, clothe and financially assist impoverished clients, building their self-esteem and self-sufficiency.
- Michaels Community Center. $20,500 to provide services to the Bay Hundred Community, including after-school enrichment programs for local youth and teens.
- Talbot Mentors. $10,000 to provide young people with a one-on-one mentoring relationship with a caring adult.
- Talbot Special Riders. $14,000 to provide a therapeutic horseback-riding program for children and adults with learning and physical limitations.
- Tilghman Area Youth Association. $5,000 to cover scholarship costs for children unable to pay for afterschool programs.
- United Needs & Abilities. $2,000 to provide counseling, resources and advocacy for adults with development disabilities.
- Upper Shore Aging. $12,000 to provide meals-on-wheels services for the frail/elderly
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