To be sure, it's about fundraising that supports the work of many local health and human-care organizations.  It's about identifying and prioritizing our community's problems and changing needs.  And of course, its about making sure that the public's contributions are used wisely and effectively. 

And, Upper Valley United Way is about much more than just that.  It's about people...  hard working people who, despite their own best efforts, sometimes find themselves or their families facing circumstances they simply can't handle alone.  It's also about other people, too...  people who recognize that the well-being of our community as a whole is actually a reflection of how well we treat others in their times of need.

Upper Valley United Way is an independent, non-profit organization run by local volunteers, with day-to-day support from a small professional staff, who study local community needs and then allocate resources to best meet those concerns

Organized in 1974 by a small, dedicated group of volunteers, Upper Valley United Way has spent the last 30 years bringing friends and neighbors together to help one another.   
                                                                                                                
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Our Mission
To coordinate a system of providers, users of services and volunteer contributors to meet the human service needs of the Upper Valley community, and to improve the quality of life for all our residents.

Our Objectives
Upper Valley United Way's three primary objectives are:

1. To periodically review both community needs and assets, and to then identify, prioritize and seek solutions for leading health and human-service problems in the Upper Valley.
2. To raise and distribute funds for not-for-profit health and human-service agencies.
3. To promote and facilitate voluntarism and the application of other community resources in addressing priority health and human-service problems.

Thinking about United Way...

Our Professional Staff

Jim Tonkovich, Excutive Director and Chief Professional Officer
Jim joined our staff in 1998, and has primary responsibility for fund distribution and allocations, needs assessment planning, agency relations and community involvement.  He has over 25 years experience in the non-profit sector, including professional staff positions at Dartmouth College and Colby-Sawyer College.  (jim@UVUW.org)

Dana Hanson, Campaign Director
Dana joined the professional staff in the fall of 1999, and works on all aspects of the annual campaign, with primary staff responsibility for the employee campaign at Dartmouth College.  Dana comes to United Way after having served as executive director for The ChildCare Center in Norwich from 1989 to 1997.  (dana@UVUW.org)

Barbara Putnam, Campaign Secretary
Barbara has managed campaign records, including donor lists, giving histories, donor designations, for over 16 years. Volunteers with questions on campaign records can check with Barbara for the latest news.  (barbara@UVUW.org)

Caroline Rood, Office Administrator / Referral
Caroline has served in UVUW’s Administration since 1997.  In addition to overseeing front office duties, her background and experience in accounting have been very valuable in upgrading and maintaining our computer accounting software.  (caroline@UVUW.org)

Debra Jones, Campaign Assistant

Debra joined the United Way staff in July 2004.  She has extensive experience in nonprofit program management and has worked in the fields of community mediation, women's issues, sustainable agriculture and energy conservation.  She lives with her husband, Jeem Peterson in Hartland Four Corners, Vermont.

United Way invests your gift wisely in our community...

Upper Valley United Way is one of the largest and most efficient charitable organizations supporting human services in the area, distributing over $720,000 this year, and another $804,000 next year, while spending just 16% or less of its campaign revenues on fundraising and management.

Volunteers make it work
Our overhead is kept low by the participation of hundreds of volunteers, who are key figures in all aspects of United Way operations.  Together, they work with experienced professional staff to...

•   Monitor overhead costs and ensure that your gift will be able to help the most people in need.

•   Determine the areas of service and agencies that will  meet serious needs in the Upper Valley

•   Distribute funding to agencies based on their services to people within prioritized areas of need.

•   Make sure that your hard-earned gift is making a difference in the Upper Valley.