Monadnock United Way

Community building:monadnock United Way (muw) works collaboratively to address our community's needs in three focus areas: children, education and financial stability throughout every community in our region. Muw uses a collective impact model to bring people from across all sectors of the Monadnock region and state of new hampshire together to solve these issues in our community: ensuring that children live in safe, nurturing, healthy homes because we have the 3rd highest rate of child abuse and neglect in the state. Ensuring that everyone has the financial resources they need to live healthy, happy and productive lives, because 1 in 4 of us are low income, which is higher than the state average of 1 in 5. And ensuring that everyone in our community receives an education that enables them to achieve their fullest potential because our children score lower than the rest of the state in english and math. These problems are complex and no single organization or individual alone can solve them. By bringing all segments of our community together, we can create long-lasting changes and address the underlying causes of the problems. Muw funds over 30 collectives and individual programs, providing guidance and technical assistance to help funded programs achieve their goals. Muw also brings sectors together to address our region's needs. This includes the business sector, education sector, governmental sector on a local, regional and statewide basis and organizations such as early learning nh, parent info center, connected families nh, healthy Monadnock alliance, and nh funder's forum. Monadnock United Way serves as the administrator for the federal emergency food and shelter program for cheshire county.

Impact monadnock:impact Monadnock seeks to improve outcomes for all children in the Monadnock region, from birth to age eight, and their families for future academic, career and life success. It was created in response to research indicating that early childhood development is one of the most critical factors determining the future of all citizens of the Monadnock region, because what happens to our youngest residents will have a powerful impact on our community's future success and prosperity. Focusing on the educational achievement and welfare of children from birth to age eight creates a strong foundation for their future health, happiness and economic opportunity. And this in turn, leads to more stability and prosperity for the communities where they live. Impact Monadnock's master plan is based on a comprehensive analysis of the challenges facing our region. It aligns with the new hampshire strategic plan for early childhood.

Impact and investment:the Monadnock United Way has a unique investment process, which supports and encourages collective and collaborative efforts; focuses on both program-specific and collective achievement of outcomes that address our region's underlying issues for children, education and financial stability; and ensures fiscal and governance accountability. The objective of muw's impact and investment committee is to deploy Monadnock United Way financial and backbone support to maximize the resources available to initiatives that work toward a common agenda, shared measurement, mutually reinforcing activities, and who engage in continuous communication. Muw's volunteer investment team members read proposals, conduct site visits, listen to presentations from agencies requesting funding, and make funding recommendations. These volunteers also assist staff in reviewing regular reporting throughout the multi-year funding cycle to ensure that programs are on-target, to highlight areas of concern, and to provide support and assistance so programs may address those concerns as early as possible in their funding cycle. This system is designed to be accountable to the donor, responsive to our community's needs and inclusive of the programs to which the givers wish to contribute.

The Monadnock United Way collaborates with other Monadnock region agencies on various projects. Some of these projects provide that the Monadnock United Way will act as fiscal agent for such cooperative efforts.