CU United Way campaign seeks higher rate of participation

The Cornell campus can be proud that its pledges to the United Way of Tompkins County campaign provide one-third of the county's total contributions. This year, the goal is for $585,000 to come from the Cornell community. As of Tuesday, Dec. 2, the Cornell community had reached 72.9 percent of its campaign goal, with pledges totaling $426,685.

When United Way contributions at Cornell are compared with those at about 600 other colleges and universities, Cornell ranks 51st in the size of its average contribution. The Cornell average last year, per contributor, was more than $291. "Those who contribute are clearly very generous," said Hal Craft, chair of the 2003 Cornell United Way Campaign.

However, Cornell exceeded its campaign goal by 5 percent last year due to the generosity of only 17 percent of the Cornell staff; 83 percent made no contribution. When comparing its rate of participation with other colleges and universities, Cornell ranked 360th out of 532 schools that reported their participation rates.

"I hope we can do better than that this year," said Craft. "Imagine what the campus could do for this community if more people participated. I don't think people realize how the United Way supports 30 human service agencies in Tompkins County and more than 100 local health and human service programs.

"These are tough times, and charitable giving across the board is down 1.2 percent after average increases of 12 percent over the past five years," Craft noted. "However, the human service agencies, such as Suicide Prevention and Crisis Services, the Red Cross, Challenge Industries or Children and Family Services, continue to deliver services to more people than ever, all this in the face of reduced state or federal assistance in some cases."

Every gift counts, he noted. In fact, if people participated by just giving 1 or 2 dollars per pay week, it could make a significant difference. Pledges can be paid through payroll deduction, by check or with a credit card. For more information, call the United Way of Tompkins County at 272-6286 or e-mail acolt@uwtc.org.