The United Way of Halton-Hamilton is under some criticism at Hamilton City Hall.
Glanbrook Coun. Brenda Johnson says she “strongly encourages” city employees to stop donating to the United Way through their paycheques. Instead, she suggests they take that money and give it directly to the organization of their choice.
Johnson has “taken issue” after she says 14 organizations had their funding reduced, without notice, by $174,000 this year.
The city has responded to the cuts by using its enrichment fund to “top up” the 14 organizations.
The issue has drawn a more tempered response from Hamilton’s mayor who notes that United Way officials will be at the next meeting of the grant’s subcommittee to explain.
Fred Eisenberger stresses that these are challenging times for fundraising, adding that “the United Way has a long tradition and he’s not ready to castigate them for all that great work” without first hearing an explanation.
A statement issued by the United Way of Halton-Hamilton says it’s been “a challenging year.”
In addition to a fundraising shortfall in Hamilton, President and CEO Brad Park says “we also had a record number of agency requests and we had a new application process” which has added to the complexity.
Park disputes suggestions that the funding reductions came without warning. He stresses that they’ve been working with and preparing the agencies for this change “for the past three years.”
Park says that “the whole community needs to come together and not be divided”, adding that “we’re going to be looking to the community to help support us so we can grow that fundraising pot and we can actually allocate more to agencies.”
Some members of city council have questioned whether a recent amalgamation involving the local United Way, which now serves five communities, has played a role in its funding decisions.
Known until April 2017 as the United Way of Greater Hamilton and Burlington, the United Way of Halton-Hamilton now serves Hamilton, Burlington, Oakville, Milton and Halton Hills.
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