United Way of Bartholomew County President Mark Stewart speaks at a past event.
United Way of Bartholomew County will celebrate its $4.1 million campaign at 4 p.m. June 14 at The Commons, 300 Washington St. in downtown Columbus.
Campaign leaders announced in April that donors put the campaign over its $4.1 million goal at a final total of $4,114,852.
That keeps the local campaign at the top spot of per-capita giving among such Indiana campaigns at $52 per resident. Bartholomew County has led the state in that category for more than a decade, according to figures from local leaders and the Indianapolis-based Indiana United Ways.
Last year’s total was $4,088,480. That doesn’t include more than $600,000 generated for a separate United Way COVID-19 Relief Fund.
United Way operates 17 nonprofit agencies representing 32 programs that reach more than one-third of the county population. Because its overhead is covered separately by donors, all of the campaign contributions go directly to the cause.
United Way agency programs range from youth sports to job training for the underemployed to efforts promoting emotional and physical well-being of retirees.
Through the years, United Way also has earned the top ranking for integrity according to such national ranking agencies as Charity Navigator.
United Way President Mark Stewart has been careful to point out that these past two campaigns are in some ways more successful than others that generated more money in recent years because they required more creativity and ingenuity since. He said that most United Way presentations to businesses and corporations had to be done online rather than in a normal in-person fashion.
The celebration next week also will highlight the nonprofit agency’s awards such as Volunteer of the Year and other honors. It will mark the first in-person post-campaign celebration since spring 2019.
