Local charities worry about focus on N.Y.

BANGOR – Officials for local charities are glad to do their part for relief efforts after last week’s terrorist attacks, but they’re hoping Mainers will continue to give when the needs are closer to home.

That’s especially true at the United Way of Eastern Maine, now in the middle of its annual campaign.

“The real question for us is, will people say ‘I’ve done my thing’ or ‘I’ve already given?'” asked Jeff Wahlstrom, executive director.

“Our concern, of course, is that while we are encouraging people to give to the relief effort – because we see that as extremely important – we also need to be aware we can’t lessen our support for our local community and the agencies we count on,” he said.

Wahlstrom was concerned to hear in recent days that officials at another division of United Way had been told that Verizon Foundation planned to drop participation in UW campaigns this fall in favor of its relief efforts for those affected by last week’s tragedies.

Between employee and corporate donations, that could have amounted to the loss of some $40,000 the Bangor-based UWEM hoped for, based on last year’s contributions.

But a spokesman for Verizon Foundation, the community giving arm of the communications giant, said Tuesday that some United Way campaigns were only being postponed.

Larry Plumb of Verizon Foundation described the one-month period Sept. 13-Oct. 13 as “a window of opportunity” for the foundation to recruit donations for the relief effort.

Fall is also prime time for the United Way, which conducts its annual campaign in the workplace so that it can give to a variety of health, educational and social services each year.

UWEM is distributing campaign materials to some 500 companies this fall in hopes of meeting its fund-raising goal of $2.55 million to benefit more than 70 agencies in five counties.

Officials also have been promoting giving to the Sept. 11th Fund, the United Way’s relief effort organized in the wake of last week’s events in New York, Washington, D.C., and Pennsylvania.

“There’s a very visible tragedy,” Wahlstrom said, adding, “but a lot of quiet tragedies happen here every day, and we need to be able to respond to those as well.”

Verizon spokesman Peter Reilly of Portland said the question of the company’s support for United Way was a misunderstanding, and that Verizon would “continue to be a very strong supporter of community giving throughout the state of Maine.”

The Verizon foundation’s Web site lists some $424,000 in contributions to Maine organizations last year, from several United Ways to the Friends of Fort Knox and the Maine Discovery Museum. The support of community efforts will continue, Reilly asserted.

“Given the terrorist attacks, we are focusing our giving to supporting victims by donations of money and blood and other goods,” he explained, but Verizon also will “continue to have workplace efforts coordinated by agencies.”

Like other companies, Verizon does have a payroll deduction mechanism, he said, but employees are “probably encouraged to give through the matching incentive program,” because that method of giving helps employees make the most of their donations.

“Our expectation is that Verizon will continue to be one of the largest supporters of United Way,” Plumb said.

“We are thrilled to know that it was a communications error, and that we can count on continued support from Verizon,” Wahlstrom said. “The thing we do know is that Verizon employees have been extraordinarily generous, and we anticipate they’ll continue to be generous.”

The Bangor YMCA is one of the organizations that receives funding through the United Way, but its own annual giving campaign won’t start until February.

It’s normal for anyone involved in fund raising to worry about the impact of major projects such as the current relief effort, said Rob Reeves, executive director at the YMCA.

“I equate it with giving to the YMCA donors’ capital campaign, and then not giving to the annual campaign,” he explained. “Only a certain number of dollars is available. People may give out of our area, but in our own community there are needs we need to meet.”

The United Way of Eastern Maine has a good start to its current campaign, with more than $260,000 pledged so far.

Campaign Chairman Charles Hutchins has given the effort a boost by promising $100,000 – the largest gift ever to UWEM – if the campaign can match that with new “leadership” gifts of at least $1,000.

Also counting toward the match will be increased contributions by those already giving at the leadership level. Some $20,000 of the $100,000 already has been matched.