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There are some things in life that simply grab you. They catch your attention and in a single solitary moment and then… you’re off! Soaring around, wind beneath your wings type feeling that you simply can’t get enough of. When I see something I want, I go and get it. But when I see a need, especially within my own community, my heart skips a beat – at which point I catch my breath, open my mind and the wheels in this blonde little head of mine start turning! In order to get involved and stay involved, I’ve developed some simple steps to what I like to call, “being a nonprofit cheerleader.”

STEP 1: Ask yourself, what do I enjoy doing most?

From cooking, to teaching, to singing; there is always a need for your specific talents. YOU are meant for something great within your community and there are over a hundred United Way certified nonprofits just waiting for your call! All you have to do is open up, reach out, and SEIZE THE DAY! Oh yes, and check your local United Way website for the list of certified agencies, that might help too.

When you look at our list of Certified Partner Agencies, you find most of the region’s very best health and human services nonprofits on the roster.

What may not be readily apparent to you is how much work it takes—for the agencies and for us—to compile that list.

We really make agencies jump through hoops to be listed—and they’re willing to do it because being on that list is like having the Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval.

We make them submit their tax returns (IRS Form 990) and their audit reports. They have to give us their board rosters and a list of their board meeting dates.

They have to give us their annual reports so that we can see what services they provide and verify that they really do serve this regional community.

So they have to work hard to fill out their applications, and in turn, we have to work hard to deal with all that paper (sometimes 30 pages or more per agency).

But things have just gotten a lot easier for both the agencies and United Way thanks to a talented group of eight seniors from Sac State’s College of Business Administration, MIS-160 class.

It’s hard to believe that I have been involved in some way with United Way California Capital Region for the past three years now. How time flies when you are having fun!  Whether it is Chairing or Co-Chairing State Street’s annual Giving Campaign, coordinating my office’s always fun Toilet Paper Drive or being sponsored for the Women in Philanthropy program, I feel so blessed to be involved in such a great organization. By being involved in all of these programs through United Way I have had the chance to meet some amazing people.

Anyone that knows me, knows that I love my job as the Director of Volunteer Services for Sacramento Habitat for Humanity and I LOVE to rant. So you can imagine my unbridled excitement when Cole, our Sacramento United Way Go-to, asked if I would be interested in writing a blog about my involvement in the United Way Emerging Leaders program.  I have a hearty sense of humor- you have to when your job is managing over 3,000 volunteers a year! Sometimes, even with my 3 kids away at college, I feel like the Momma Goose of Habitat running around, wings a-fluttering, just trying to keep all our little geese on track and on schedule.  But all the ranting and the fluttering are all worth it when our hard working little geese and I get to hand the keys to the family for their newly constructed home. 

My name is Emily, and I am a member of the Board of Directors for the Kiwanis Family House. You might be surprised to know that I am just 20 years old, enrolled in California State University at Sacramento, and a member of Circle K International at Sacramento State , the collegiate division of Kiwanis International. 

When I first learned about the Kiwanis Family House, I knew right away that it was a project I could passionately support.  From my experiences as both a child and an adult patient,  I knew firsthand what it was like to be in the hospital and that regardless of age, it is never easy to be on your own during a medical crisis.

In my short life, I have been hospitalized a total of five times, being admitted most recently in August of 2011.

There was a time when our United Way was criticized because it resisted letting donors designate where their gifts should go. “Designation” was tantamount to a four-letter word. “Just give us the money and trust us to make sure it is used wisely,” we used to tell people.

That was 20 years ago. Today we are perhaps the most donor-choice-friendly United Way. Typically, 60% of what we raise passes through us to another nonprofit. Back in the early 1990s, when I was a volunteer on our board, we voted to listen to our customers and change it.

With debt, foreclosures, unemployment and other costs on the rise, low-income families are falling behind financially—and fast. To help bring some relief during the upcoming tax season, the Sacramento Coalition for Working Families (SCWF) is recruiting volunteers to help bring free tax and financial services to families who need them most through it Volunteers in Tax Assistance (VITA) Program.