Informatics board member leads United Way campaign to record-setting level of generosity
February 25, 2008
Top fundraisers for United Way of Central Indiana put a full-court press on local business executives over the past year, and it paid off. On Wednesday, the six-county United Way umbrella group reported a record $39 million in corporate and individual contributions to its 2007 campaign.
The amount exceeds the goal by $57,000 and should climb even higher because several national companies have yet to report contributions from their local employees, the United Way said. "Much can be accomplished when we all do a little. It is a warm day right now for the community," campaign co-chair Denny Sponsel said, announcing the record fundraising in the snowy front yard of the United Way's Northside offices, where a painted thermometer gauge shows the $39 million goal being met. The money goes to 104 human service agencies in Marion, Hamilton, Hendricks, Hancock, Boone and Morgan counties.
Sponsel, chief executive of RJE Business Interiors, co-chaired the campaign with Bob Potts, recently retired chief executive of Herff Jones. The two, along with 20 fundraising recruits, made 253 face-to-face appeals to area business leaders to ask them to support the United Way's donation drive among their employees, Potts said. "No one turned us down," he said. The United Way team approached 68 more business leaders than in the 2006 campaign, Potts said. The average donation rose 10 percent, or $27 per giver, from last year. Contributions typically are made by paycheck deductions, which will be collected during 2008. More than 100,000 people donated, Sponsel said. Individual donations make up about 80 percent of donations to United Way of Central Indiana, with corporate giving at 20 percent. Nearly 100 companies donated to the annual campaign for the first time. At drug maker Eli Lilly and Co., the area's largest private employer, employee contributions rose by more than $500,000 over last year, the United Way said. At Community Health Network, Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis and OneAmerica, contributions jumped by more than $70,000 each. Seven new donations of more than $10,000 were made by the Indiana Pacers basketball organization, the United Way said.
This year marks the 90th anniversary of United Way of Central Indiana. While most of its funds go to the agencies in six counties, it also runs the 2-year-old Ready to Learn, Ready to Earn program, which helps meet the educational and other needs of children through classroom tutoring and services. This year's campaign chairman is Samuel L. Odle, vice president of Clarian Health Partners. (Source: The Indianapolis Star)
