Open Source: What’s going on with Knox County United Way?

MOUNT VERNON — Questions, texts, and emails poured in over the past two weeks from readers wanting to know what’s going on at Knox County United Way.

Readers asked about staff reductions, the loss of the resource navigator, and alleged losses of donors and long-time volunteers. Rumors swirled about personnel issues and that the agency is selling its building and joining with Licking County.

All of this comes as United Way of Knox County is set to celebrate its 75^th year in the community.

Executive Director Katie Ellis confirmed the organization reduced its staff from five to two. One cut was administrative, one was programmatic, and the other was the resource navigator Walter Lewis.

“It was unfortunate timing that the grant for Walt’s resource navigator position ran out. It was always built out of ARPA money,” Ellis said.

The city contributed $80,000 of its American Rescue Plan Act funds to the position over three years.

“The funding ran out, and it’s unfortunate, but it was going to take away from what we could do for our agencies to continue to offer that program at the level that we were offering it.”

Ellis said other local partnerships have stepped up to help United Way continue its programs.

“Obviously the research navigator has been cut back from our office, but that’s because other agencies are offering it,” Ellis said.

“Also, we’ve been building back our partnership with Pathways 211, to make sure that that’s as strong as it can be in Knox County. We have other similar partnerships that are helping us out with the administrative side as well as the program side.”

Still involved in resource navigation

Ellis said she met with Pathways to solidify how the United Way can continue providing resource navigation.

She said United Way is still present in service meetings, “so we have our ear to the ground, we know what’s going on.”

“If I’m going to have to ask our agencies to take a hit, then honestly, the United Way as a leader needs to feel it first. So we had to look for the ways that we could cut our own spending before we cut anybody else’s.”

katie ellis, executive director united way of knox county

Additionally, Ellis said the organization is reporting back to 211 to ensure it is as up-to-date as possible.

“We’re also still the hub in Knox County for disseminating any paper information, so our resource cards, the navigator brochures, all of that is still happening,” Ellis said.

The same goes for the organization’s online presence. Ellis said the agency is updating its website to help individuals find local information.

“So we’re still doing all that we can. Unfortunately, there’s just not Walt’s kind voice on the other end of the phone,” she said.

A shift in donor landscape

Ellis said there have been some “shifts in the donor landscape” for a number of years. A lot of that is the hit from the COVID-19 pandemic.

“The wave of that hits different entities at different times, and in the nonprofit sector, it’s not just us. It’s nationwide,” she said.

However, for many local entities, the wave is now hitting strongly.

“There was a lot of real generosity right around the time of the pandemic during the lockdown and just a little bit after,” Ellis said. “Some of that has gone away, as that landscape changes and different economic factors are playing into what money people have to spend.”

Ellis said when you combine the wave with hyperlocal changes in Knox County’s non-profit world, you get a different landscape. One change she cited is the passing of Karen Wright.

“I’m so, so grateful for everything that Karen Wright has been able to do for the United Way of Knox County and, you know, we always knew that wasn’t going to be able to go on forever,” she said.

“We are trying to look at the landscape of what the community has to give to the nonprofit world and make our smartest decisions for protecting our donors’ investments, and being able to really keep our strong partnerships with our partner agencies so that we’re not asking them to take a huge hit while the United Way internally is still spending as much money as it ever was.”

Are other programs being cut?

Ellis said that at this point, no other programs are being eliminated or cut back.

“ROX (Ruling Our Experiences) is in full swing in every single elementary school. Dolly Parton actually just introduced newborn enrollment across the entire state of Ohio, which should actually increase our numbers,” Ellis said.

“We’ve got Learn United, the after-school tutoring program, still in the four schools, and we’re still planning on having a summer program at Danville.”

Tax filing program

Many readers were concerned that United Way discontinued the tax filing program.

Ellis said during this year’s tax program, the IRS accepted United Way’s 100^th return. That puts the agency ahead of last year, even with only two staff members.

The nonprofit changed from processing returns by appointment to drop-off.

Ellis said the set drop-off times make things a lot easier for the volunteers, and they can handle a larger volume than before.

Under the appointment method, residents would sit in their cars and wait for the return to be completed.

“We were limited by how many parking spots we had, as well as who could be here at exactly the right time. This way, we’re better able to meet our volunteers on their schedule,” Ellis explained.

Is Knox County merging with Licking County?

United Way Board Chairman Sam Filkins said the agency is not merging with Licking County United Way.

The board is, however, evaluating what to do with the building at 305 E. High St.

“The building is not the mission of the United Way, and so tying up the funds in what is basically an unrealized gain of that building’s value isn’t helping the community in the best way it can, unless that building was going to be more used by the public,” Filkins said.

“With a smaller staff, the size is not necessary, but also, is tying up money in ownership the right thing to do?”

Filkins said that while he will not comment on personnel matters, he has great respect for everyone who has contributed to United Way’s work in the community.

“Transitions like these are never easy, especially when they involve people who care so deeply about our community. I am grateful for the dedication and compassion the former staff brought to United Way during their time here,” he said.

Filkins said the changes reflect new strategic opportunities and in no way reflect on the dedication or contributions of former staff.

“It’s the United Way board’s role to focus resources where they’ll have the greatest impact and to evalute opportunities as they arise. This allows United Way to focus more resources on the programs and partnerships that matter most to our community,” he said.

The focus going forward

Ellis said the nonprofit is focused on its 75^th anniversary and plans to celebrate with an event this fall.

“From a day-to-day office perspective, we are prioritizing, reaching out to our volunteers, really building that volunteer army that it takes to not just pull off events and programs, but also to take this campaign to an entire county,” she said.

“We’ve always needed a bunch of volunteers who are willing to spread the good word, and that’s where we’re focusing right now, building that.”

Ellis acknowledged a few volunteers who were friends with the former employees preferred not to come in if they were not going to interact with that employee.

“Which I totally respect; we do lots of stuff for our friends. But we didn’t dismiss any volunteers,” Ellis said.

“Truly, this decision was made with our program and our impact in mind. The board really felt like our impact would be most effective if we took some time to really focus on some of these programs that took a lot of energy to build,” she said.

“Now they kind of run without a whole lot of interference on our part … Any decision that was made by the board was to protect the long-term investment in our partner agencies and to make sure that we still have that for the long term.”

Ellis said that the board, and she in particular, hope the community still cares about United Way’s partner agencies and wants to see them grow and develop.

“And honestly, everybody I’ve talked to, all of our donors that I’ve talked to, that’s what they’ve told me. I haven’t spoken to a single donor that isn’t just really passionate that our partner agencies be well supported,” she said.