United Way of the Piedmont awards Program Excellence Awards to six nonprofits at the annual Community Investment breakfast

United Way of the Piedmont celebrated the conclusion of this year’s Community Investment Process with the annual Community Investment Breakfast at First Baptist Spartanburg. At the event, United Way awarded six organizations with this year’s Program Excellence Awards and heard from community leaders about the collective impact nonprofits have in Spartanburg, Cherokee, and Union Counties.

The Community Investment Breakfast celebrates the conclusion of the Community Investment Process through which nonprofit organizations apply to United Way of the Piedmont for funding in the areas of Education, Financial Stability, and Health. Through the process, volunteers award funding based on several factors including demonstrated need, program performance, and interviews with applicants. Each nonprofit who applies receives a score and those who receive the highest score in their respective category are awarded the Program Excellence Award for that category.

In Spartanburg County, the Program Excellence Awards were as follows:

• For Education- Hope Center for Children for their Ensuring Academic Success Program
• For Long Term Financial Stability- the Adult Learning Center for their Opportunities through Education program
• For Financial Stability Safety Net- Middle Tyger Community Center for District 5 Family Ministries program
• For Health Safety & Access- Healthy Smiles for their Pediatric Oral Health program
• For Health Prevention & Wellness- HALTER for their Making a Greater Community Impact program

And in Union County, the program Excellence Award for Education was given to Union First Steps for their Parents as Teachers program.

In addition to the Program Excellence Awards, attendees heard from Tish Young McCutchen with the Jolley Foundation on the importance of Collective Impact in the work of nonprofits across the Upstate.

“Each of us and each organization is on a different path towards our goals, but it’s where the paths converge that we can see the most progress. That’s what Collective Impact and United Way is all about… bringing organizations together to achieve common goals,” McCutchen said at the event.

United Way also shared data from their new Results-Based Accountability report which compiles information from United Way’s nonprofit partners so that community-wide progress can be measured. More data from the Results-Based Accountability report will be shared by United Way in Spring 2020.

About United Way of the Piedmont

United Way of the Piedmont is a local nonprofit that fights for the education, financial stability, and health of every member of our community. Our mission is to connect, engage, and inspire people to transform our community. We are more than fundraisers. We forge unique partnerships, find new solutions to old problems, and mobilize the best resources by inspiring others to join the fight. We believe that everyone deserves the opportunity to not just survive, but to thrive.