Our Approach

Our Approach

Using the AIM Approach

United Way Hastings & Prince Edward is a volunteer led, staff driven organization. This philosophy is practiced agency wide, including the allocations process. Teams of volunteers complete thorough and comprehensive reviews of 50 or more not-for-profit organizations requesting funding from United Way Hastings & Prince Edward every year. The process involves many hours of meetings, discussion, reading, analyzing and review, resulting in funding decisions which ensure United Way Hastings & Prince Edward’s logo is proudly displayed by organizations that are accountable, transparent and both fiscally and socially responsible.

United Way Hastings & Prince Edward strives to keep administrative costs to a minimum, allocating $0.86 of every dollar to community programming.

Advocate, Invest and Mobilize

A significant part of our work uses the AIM approach; Advocate, Invest and Mobilize.

Borrowed in large part from United Way organizations across the province and country, we use a three-pronged approach to community impact that will include funding, but will also include the mechanisms for creating lasting measurable change. This approach is called AIM and it has three key principles:

  • Advocate – work with government, community planners, community partners, and decision-makers to shape social policy
  • Invest – strategically fund programs and services that align with the priorities identified for our community, have the greatest impact possible, and demonstrate a financial need for support.
  • Mobilize – maximize the collective power of the social sector and the community as a whole by engaging in effective, collaborative approaches to community conditions

Community Impact Strategy

United Way Hastings & Prince Edward is proud to be a respected fundraising organization and trusted community partner. In an effort to continue to bring about measurable and permanent change for people throughout Hastings and Prince Edward Counties, United Way Hastings & Prince Edward has created three priority areas that are supported by the communities’ not-for-profit social services sector following extensive research that began in 2011. These priority areas include All that Kids Can Be, From Poverty to Possibility and Strong Communities.

Each of these priorities is part of a larger strategy known as Community Impact (CI). Community Impact can be defined as making fundamental changes to community conditions, which includes, but is not limited to allocating funds through the annual fundraising campaign. Ultimately, it is about people and organizations coming together to create lasting measurable change.

The CI strategy will be achieved by identifying the root causes of key local issues, developing strategies to address them, bringing together the funding and resources needed to get the job done, and finally, measuring the results.

Investment Criteria

United Way Hastings & Prince Edward has established four key investment principles that will guide investment processes ensuring financial contributions remain:

  • Focused – United Way Hastings & Prince Edward supports strategies that align with its strategic focus areas based on in depth community research. Investments are open to all organizations and associations that meet current eligibility requirements and that demonstrate their work aligns with the impact agenda
  • Balanced – United Way Hastings & Prince Edward invests in both proactive prevention services as well as reactive responsive interventions and strives to balance investments to ensure one is not over-represented
  • Impactful – Community investments support strategies that focus on measurable results that are proven to build a stronger community. We collect, analyze, track and share information on these results.
    and Financially Accountable – United Way Hastings & Prince Edward will invest funds in programs and services where the agency can demonstrate:
  • Strong and transparent financial accountability
  • Sustainability and viability
  • Financial need for support

Regardless of the funding term of the grant, our funding priorities remain the same; All that Kids Can Be, Poverty to Possibility and Strong Communities.

Eligibility Requirements

Every application organization must complete a Pre-Qualification as part of the online application to ensure compliance with criteria. Basic eligibility for United Way Hastings & Prince Edward includes, but is not limited to, the following.

  • The agency must align with United Way Hastings & Prince Edward Community Impact Strategy and,
  • The agency provides services to residents of Hastings County and/or Prince Edward County and,
  • A volunteer Board of Directors governs the agency and,
  • The agency provides audited annual financial statement and,
  • The agency must be an organization that is a qualified donee under Canada Revenue Agency

United Way Hastings & Prince Edward does NOT fund:

  • Organizations that are primarily religious in nature or political in nature
  • The arts
  • Medical research

Costs for major capital equipment or expenses that relate to the construction of new buildings, renovations to existing buildings or the purchase of office equipment or furniture that does not have a direct relation to program delivery.

Measurement and Reporting

United Way Hastings & Prince Edward has developed standardized Indicators for each outcome under the three priority pillars. By standardizing the way we define indicators, and identifying which indicators are commonly measured and reported, United Way Hastings & Prince Edward can accurately measure the impact of funding and increase the consistency in our reporting of performance and community impact data.

Programs must measure a minimum of one standardized indicator for each funded program and may choose to measure an additional agency identified indicator.

Mandatory Progress Report Schedule:

  • One year grant – 6 months and completion
  • Multi-year grant – 6 months, 1 year, 2 year and completion