The beginning of July marked a new era and a new name for the United Way in Wyandotte County.
The boards of the United Ways of Greater Kansas City and Wyandotte County voted to merge, and the merger took effect July 1. The organization here now will take on the United Way of Greater Kansas City name.
The Wyandotte County agency is almost 100 years old, having been started in 1921 as the Community Chest of Kansas City, Kansas, according to information from the agency’s website. The organization became the United Community Fund and Council in 1958, merging with the Planning Council. It received its United Way of Wyandotte County charter in 1973.
Todd Jordan was president and CEO of the United Way of Wyandotte County at the time of the merger vote. He said a big part of what led to the merger was a changing environment when it comes to philanthropy in general and what they need to provide to communities.
As they move more toward digital services, it requires investment to keep pace, he said. There were some financial advantages to the merger. There is some redundancy in funding two United Way organizations, including items such as two audits, he noted.
They also serve a community where people traverse a lot of borders, he said.
“Through the merger with United Way of Greater Kansas City, we will have even more resources to serve the interests and challenges faced by our communities – in Wyandotte County and beyond,” he said.
Ultimately, the two boards forged an agreement that reflected the dialogue they held over a number of months, he said.
The United Way of Wyandotte County was a $3 million organization, with workplace campaigns bringing in about $1.8 million, he said. They plan to sustain existing programs via grants and contracts.
Programs here that are operating internally and funded externally to agencies will be maintained, with commitments honored this year, and will be extended another two years, he said. Then they will be synced with the United Way of Greater Kansas City schedule.
In the future, funding will be pooled together for both United Ways, he said. However, there are provisions in place to make geographic equity part of the arrangement, he said. If a campaign in the workplace declines because of COVID-19, for example, there will be no impact on Wyandotte County, he said. If it goes up, there could be additional investment in Wyandotte County.
The local United Way board had reached an agreement to set a floor to maintain what it has now, and as they continue to raise funds over the course of a year, they will be able to leverage resources around the metro area to address the greatest areas of need, which includes Wyandotte County, he said.
The United Way works with a number of programs to assist local residents. It’s likely that more assistance will be needed in the coming year or years, including some assistance for housing or utilities caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Jordan said they participated in the One KC event, matched by Sunderland and the Hall Foundation, to raise funding for COVID-19 relief efforts. Fundraising had reached $16 million by May, and it will include funds for programs in Wyandotte County.
The local United Way also has worked with the BPU in providing utility assistance through BPU employee fundraisers, and those funds will continue to go to Wyandotte County needs.
Jordan said they would probably be able to leverage dollars from the region to help people in Wyandotte County, with the potential to look at funding that occurs on a much larger scale.
The United Way of Greater Kansas City served five counties before the merger. Brent Stewart, CEO of United Way of Greater Kansas City, is remaining as CEO. He led the organization through a merger in 2008 of four regional United Way agencies.
Jordan, who has a doctorate in public affairs, joined the United Way in 2015 and will remain with the merged agency as chief community engagement officer.
Jordan said all staff members were being offered comparable positions with the newly merged organization. No layoffs were part of the merger agreement, he said.
The local office in Wyandotte County will remain open, he added.