Change can be scary, but it can be a good thing. In fact, it can be a great thing.

The Community Action Team (formerly the Planning & Allocations Committee) at United Way of Sheboygan County has undergone a change over the last two years in how we invest the money raised through the annual fundraising campaign.

And the change has been one for the better.

The CAT, made up of 12 to 15 community volunteers, has worked long and hard to create an investment process that is outcome driven and has the ability to help agencies strengthen their programs through the development of logic models.

Our process begins late summer and into the fall when CAT volunteers visit partner agencies to learn about the various programs funded, in part, by United Way dollars. These meetings allow agency directors and board members to teach us what they do, their challenges, and their impact on the community. Volunteers ask questions and really develop a better understanding about the community need and how these programs are meeting those needs.

Following those site visits, we arrange logic model training for any agency interested in applying for United Way funding. Without getting too technical, a logic model is a program’s roadmap to achieving their short term and long term outcomes. This document gives CAT volunteers and agency directors a clear idea of what a program does with the resources they have available.

In February, all of the CAT volunteers hunker down and review the applications. The average application takes about 90 minutes to review and volunteers have as few as six applications to review and as many at 13.

We take these applications very seriously because we want to invest the community dollars wisely and with purpose. We want to ensure that the programs we invest in have real impacts on the community, are focused on prevention, and are reaching their outcomes.

We want to see long and lasting change in the community; we are focused on preventative solutions to problems while still meeting the immediate needs of the community, and we absolutely must be good stewards of the dollars that you have donated and invested in the United Way.

This change in the investment process has not been an easy adjustment. It was uncomfortable and there has been a lot to learn for both the agencies and CAT volunteers. But in the end, this is a great change in how we invest in the community. It is more thoughtful and collaborative with agencies and programs, and I believe, we will see tremendous and positive impacts in how programs are able meet community needs.