The University kicked of its annual United Way Campaign with President Louis Caldera announcing the most ambitious goals to date: “We are challenging ourselves to increase our collective United Way giving to $400,000,” he said.
During this time of natural disasters at home and abroad, the need for both relief and community support increases. By giving through the United Way, 100 percent of a donor’s gift is distributed as the donor has designated. Donations can be made in any number of ways including the United Way Community fund, which supports more than 80 programs in the Albuquerque Metropolitan area, or to any not-for-profit group in the world including your favorite UNM programs, scholarships or initiatives.
When determining the 2005 goal, President Caldera said, “In Campaign 2004 the university faculty and staff supported the United Way with record-breaking contributions of $310,526. This surpassed our ambitious goal by $33,500 and was up by $90,500 from the year before.”
UNM now has the distinction of being in the top five campaigns in the four counties surrounding the Albuquerque Metropolitan Area. We join others on this list including Intel, Sandia Labs, Presbyterian Hospital and PNM.
School of Law Dean Suellyn Scarnecchia will lead this year’s campaign. Under her leadership the university will reach out to faculty, staff and students, encouraging each to show support for the community we serve, a community that always supports the university.
Campaign pledge forms will be distributed through campus mail this week. All donors will be eligible for drawings of different prizes donated by university departments, individuals and corporations serving the community.
United Way of Central New Mexico [UWCNM] volunteers will raise $16,161,616 from corporate and individual donors by February, 2006, to help the most vulnerable people in central New Mexico,” said David Weymouth, CEO of Talbot Financial Corporation and 2005 Campaign Chair for UWCNM.
“United Way is the way a community takes care of itself by helping the people living here who are least able to help themselves. This is what we have done for the residents of New Mexico since 1934. With 490 people just recently relocated here from the Gulf States disaster, the list of the most vulnerable people living in central New Mexico just got longer. We have our work cut out for us.” It is the largest fundraising goal ever set by the charity, and is 7 percent higher than last year’s results of $15,100, 015.
In times of disaster, UWCNM’s role is first to help those emergency organizations, like the local Red Cross and Roadrunner Food Bank, whose work revolves around food, clothing, shelter and emergency medical needs of the victims.
United Way of Central New Mexico’s 15 percent administrative cost is funded by Corporate Cornerstone Companies. Because of this corporate support, all other donations by donors are sent, in their entirety, where the donor wants them to go.
UWCNM is a volunteer driven, private, nonprofit local charity that is governed by people who live here. United Way of America is a trade association and is not a governing body of this, or any, local United Way. UWCNM annually runs the largest human service fund drive in the state of New Mexico. The money raised by United Way of Central New Mexico, stays in central New Mexico, unless otherwise directed by a donor.
Contact: Patrick Vigil, (505) 277-1593