In announcing a $72 million campaign goal for the United Way of Greater St. Louis, 2012 campaign chair Greg Boyce pointed out this was a 4 percent increase over the 2011 goal, which means “about two and a half million new dollars.”
Then he realized that made the goal seem much less ambitious than it is.
“We start fresh every year, so when we talk about needing to raise two and a half million new dollars, that’s actually 72 million new dollars,” Boyce said.
As chairman and chief executive officer of St. Louis-based Peabody Energy, the world’s largest private-sector coal company with nearly $8 billion in revenues for 2011, Boyce knows something about setting ambitious financial goals. But he is asking everyone to contribute to the United Way’s 170 funded agencies in the area.
“We’re going to raise $72 million, but we’ll raise it a dollar at a time,” Boyce said.
Boyce said United Way is feeling a pinch from both sides this year, with greater community need met by less support from public sources.
“We spent time in February and March visiting our agencies when we began the planning process for this year’s campaign, and not a single agency out of 170 agencies didn’t say they could use more resources, because their client needs are growing every day,” Boyce said.
Yet, he said, “there is a reduction in government support, as state, federal and local government budgets are under stress. So, as a community, I ask everyone to step up and make a difference to fill the gap.”
Gary Dollar, United Way of Greater St. Louis CEO and president, pointed out that “close to 40” of the area agencies it funds primarily serve African-American populations with “almost $20 million” in United Way funding, and many other African Americans are assisted by area agencies “that serve all walks of life.”
Boyce is not thinking of African Americans merely as a service demographic. He also has enlisted African-American leadership in making the $72 million goal.
“The Charmaine Chapman Society is chaired this year by the Newberrys,” Boyce said of the African-American Leadership Giving Initiative, the most successful in the country, chaired this year by entrepreneurs Maurice and Brenda Newberry.
“They had a hugely successful kick-off recently, and enthusiasms are very high to reach their goal of about $2.2 million. We have the largest group in the U.S. in terms of support from the African-American community, and we will rely on their support tremendously as an integral part of our planning and execution going forward.”
The campaign begins officially on September 4 and will end in early November.
To get involved, call 314-421-0700 or visit www.stl.unitedway.org.
