The United Way of Chatham-Kent has set a campaign goal of $1.9-million for this year.
Tom Slager, director of resource development, says this year's fundraising target is slightly lower than last year's, but is still an increase over what was raised in 2015.
"Every year we take a look at what the needs are and we try to balance that out, and that's how we came up with the number for this year," he says. "And quite frankly, it's a number that we need to be able to reach in order to provide the level of assistance to the different agencies and programs that we fund."
While Slager admits campaigns are always challenging, they're confident that number can be reached by January of 2017.
Slager says they reach out to donors through a number of channels, but their most effective is workplace campaigns.
"We go in, we do a little education piece, and people at that point have the opportunity to make a pledge to support the campaign or not, based on what they've heard," says Slager. "We also receive gifts from corporations, that comes from the corporate side of it. And then, of course, there's individual giving, so we do send out notes to individuals and let them contribute that way."
He adds the labour unions are big champions for the campaign in the community.
Slager says the funding goes a long way for the 18 local agencies they serve.
"They don't have to do as much fundraising down the road, and in some cases, if we can provide 100% of their funding, they don't have to do any fundraising whatsoever," Slager says. "This allows them to focus on what they do best, which is delivering services to the community."
