ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Friday, November 8, 1996 TAG: 9611090003
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-1 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: ROBERT FREIS STAFF WRITER
At this point, calling the 1996 United Way of Montgomery, Radford & Floyd fund drive a success would be like projecting the winner of a presidential election before the polls close, Dan Specht said.
"You still want them to go out and vote."
Nonetheless, Specht readily admitted the 1996 campaign he chairs is going well. So far, 59 percent - or $532,534 - of the $900,000 goal has been pledged, compared with 35 percent at this point last year.
The 1995 United Way campaign raised a record amount of money yet still fell short of the $900,000 goal. Downsizing, buyouts and layoffs restricted donations, particularly among the area's many state employees.
This year, the campaign let the goal stand but made changes that United Way officials say are paying dividends.
Some of the area's larger employers agreed to begin their employee fund drives earlier in the campaign, a significant boost to the amount pledged to date.
Collections among state employees will continue to come through the end of the year. At this point United Way has about half of the pledged funds it expects from this sizeable group.
"It's very difficult to predict," said Kymn Davidson-Hamley, local United Way executive director, of the returns from state employees and the on-going changes in the status of their jobs.
Overall, Specht said, donations from both individuals and groups are up about 11 percent from 1995. "People have been so supportive of United Way this year, across the board," he added.
The United Way of Montgomery, Floyd & Radford supports 36 local social service agencies by providing revenue to support their operations. The budgets of some of these agencies are almost totally dependent on United Way dollars.
United Way officials say they want to wrap up the 1996 campaign before the holiday season, if not by the original deadline of Nov. 15.
A few of the big employee campaigns such as those of Corning Inc., Hubble Lighting and Virginia Tech's Corporate Resource Center haven't concluded, so the deadline may have to be stretched a bit, Davidson-Hamley said.
"We hope to keep up the momentum, " Specht said.
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