Donations more crucial than ever

There is a crisis in the nonprofit sector. With a state budget deficit of more than $13 billion, human services are being defunded at an alarming rate. On any given day, the state owes hundreds of millions of dollars in back payments to nonprofit organizations across Illinois, especially those in mental health, developmental disabilities, senior services and substance abuse sectors.

Within the last two fiscal years, state-funded agencies have experienced funding cuts of 20 percent to 45 percent. So it’s no surprise that in a recent analysis of United Way-funded nonprofits, 70 percent were flagged as struggling in at least one out of three financial stress categories. Last year alone, United Way received applications for funding at a level of 10 times the amount of dollars available in Chicago — the largest request-to-funding ratio in decades.

The state funding crisis is not a temporary situation. And without United Way, there is no second line of defense to ensure our region can maintain services for people in need. At this pivotal moment in our state’s history, the Chicago area’s nonprofits need help, and they’re calling on us. Now we all have to step up to meet our community’s needs. We ask that you join us in our commitment to keeping critical health and human services in place now and into the future by generously supporting United Way.

Laura S. Thrall

President and CEO

United Way of Metropolitan Chicago