United Way HPE Surpasses Fundraising Goal Amidst Unprecedented Need

Belleville, ON – On Thursday Feb 15^th, in front of 250 people, United Way Hastings & Prince Edward announced the success of the 2023 fundraising campaign that raised $2,220,422, surpassing the goal of $2,200,000 set back in September.

“It has been a privilege and pleasure to watch this year’s campaign unfold and ultimately exceed the already significant goal set back in September,” said Dan McCullough, AGM at Magna Autosystems and 2023 Campaign Cabinet Chair. “The people of Hastings and Prince Edward continue to show up in remarkable ways – through payroll donations, volunteering, spreading the word about United Way and the impact each dollar can have. I am very proud of the team, and our community.”

United Way Hastings & Prince Edward Executive Director, Brandi Hodge, thanked the community for their support, “in a year where there is so much need, it was vitally important that we raise as much as possible to support the social infrastructure in our community.  So many donors, volunteers and partners made this goal a reality. Because of their efforts and generosity, local programs are able to continue helping our friends, neighbours and larger community.”

The achievement celebration incorporated a private screening of Uncharitable; a film that highlights how constraints placed on charities can limit the change that charities can enable in communities.    Staff, board members and donors of charitable organizations across the region were invited to attend.  “We are capacity builders and community builders at our heart” Said Hodge.  “This is an important time to have this conversation.  The needs of communities are more complex than ever before.  The issues that communities are trying to disrupt are more challenging, the consequences of not disrupting them more severe, and yet – we’re holding fast to models that restrict the resources that we need to be able to do the work.”

United Way HPE was oversubscribed by $1M in funding requests from the not-for-profit sector this year; successful applicants will be notified over the next two weeks. “It is very important that we do everything we can to ensure the sector has what it needs to do the vital work they are doing” Said Hodge, “so we’re challenging our own models to see how we can do better – the UnCharitable movie offers a new perspective to consider.”

About UnCharitable Movie:

What if charity could be transformed from a gesture to an answer–to solving the world’s greatest problems? What if everything we’ve been taught about charitable giving is wrong? What if it’s undermining the very causes, we love the most? UnCharitable is a one-of-a-kind movie that shows how our charitable traditions and prejudices have suffocated the charitable sector and prevented it from leading the charge to truly change the world. Based on the book, “UnCharitable,” by Dan Pallotta, which became one of the most talked-about TED talks of all time.