United Way falls short of goal

By George L. Jones (Contact) | Selma Times-Journal

Published Thursday, January 1, 2009

Editor’s note: This is a series of stories about the agencies supported by the Dallas County-Selma United Way.

One of the toughest decisions for the United Way of Selma and Dallas County was deciding where to cut.

Jeff Cothran, executive director, forecast several weeks ago that his office would likely fall short of its goal of $390,000 for its annual fund drive.

On Tuesday, one day before the drive was scheduled to end, the United Way sat at $325,000 — 83 percent of its goal. The money will be distributed among more than a dozen local partner agencies.

The United Way’s board of directors measured disbursement of funds by what kind of service each agency provides to the public.

“The agencies that provide basic services, food and shelter, are pretty much being kept level — places like the Bosco Food Center,” Cothran said. “People gotta eat. That place is open every day. (Director) Mary Gayle is down there cooking meals every day. There’s no reason for people to go hungry in Selma.”

In addition to a lack of contributions, the United Way suffered because other funding sources hit dry spells. It’s a common problem no matter where you go.

“This year alone our endowment fund lost more than $100,000,” Cothran said. “Everyone else has been hit hard, too.”

Unlike other United Way offices, Selma won’t extend its fund drive to make its goal.

But that doesn’t mean Cothran and his staff will take a break until next fall.

Programs like Doc in a Bus uses the United Way’s aid to serve dozens of people in need of medical help each day.

And people can still make donations throughout the year.

Despite the rough economic times, some encouraging things came of this year’s drive.

“We had a lot of people give who never gave before. It’s good to see commitment from people in the community,” Cothran said.

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