United Way Annual Campaign Approaches Goal Middlebury College Trustees Support Local Appeal with Discrete Gift

Author: Campus Editor in Chief

The Addison County Chapter of United Way, part of a nationwide network that funds many local nonprofit agencies, has raised 93 percent of its annual goal of $570,000 to date, reported Executive Director Mary Ellen Mendel.

"We knew that this was going to be a tough year," said Mendel, "and that was before Sept. 11 happened."

Among the strategies that ensured the campaign's success was securing a one-time gift from several members of the Middlebury College Board of Trustees, which totaled more than $10,000.

President John McCardell explained, "The Trustees were concerned that, in light of the events of Sept. 11 and the possibility that the philanthropic impulse might be shifted away from the local to the national, that local agencies not see a shortfall in United Way allocations they depend upon to survive."

At the December board meeting, members decided to support the local United Way "quietly and without fanfare." McCardell said that he does not even know "who they are, or how many they are — this, too, by design — but I do know the impulse that motivated the gifts, and I celebrate this latest example of town-gown relations that probably, because it has been done inconspicuously, will largely go unnoticed and unremarked, but which represents yet another way in which the College helps the town."

Mendel remarked that, if she were to remove the Trustees' gift from the donation total, "we would be hurting."

Donations from College faculty, staff and administrators have also surged in recent months, reflecting a $10,000 — or 24 percent — increase over last year.

"Contrary to what we had feared, and contrary to what seems to be happening elsewhere, Middlebury faculty and staff members have gotten the message that this is an important year for fundraising," said Dean of Advising Karl Lindholm, who oversees the United Way campaign for faculty and senior administrators.

United Way will close the books on the campaign at the end of February.