Two United Way groups set to merge

The Naperville United Way soon will join forces with the United Way of the DuPage Area.

The two announced Thursday that they plan to merge Oct. 1 in order to use their resources more effectively to support area health and human services agencies.

Twenty-one of the 30 agencies the Naperville group serves overlap with the DuPage group.

Naperville United Way president-elect Stephen Frost said he's excited about the merger and believes it will be in the best interest of the community.

"This will allow us a significant amount of benefits from consolidating without interfering with the services that are provided to the Naperville community and Naperville residents and gives us the opportunity to grow those agencies and programs," Frost said.

Naperville will have five representatives on the new board of directors and will be participating in the organization's many committees. Mayor George Pradel has agreed to be an honorary board member.

As part of the merger, the DuPage United Way will create two new fundraising positions.

"For non-profits it's always a competitive time," said Christine Lewis, chief professional officer for United Way of the DuPage Area. "I think we both are strong leaders throughout our areas and realize the nature of hard economic times for folks and we just want to think ahead of how we can really serve the residents of Naperville … and this is the best opportunity we have."

Together, the two groups said they will be able to invest $4 million into the communities they serve.

The agencies that don't already overlap with the DuPage group, such as KidsMatter and Loaves and Fishes Community Food Pantry, still will receive funding for another two years before they have to re-apply.

KidsMatter Executive Director IdaLynn Wenhold said she is not concerned about losing out on funding in the merger.

"We felt very good when United Way accepted us as a partner agency and we believe we'll continue creating programs that will effectively help families raise healthy kids and are confident in the new merger … they will also understand the importance of organizations such as KidsMatter," Wenhold said.

The merger will not affect the annual outdoor public art display this year. Garden sculptures will be placed around the city later this month and auctioned in September as planned. The program is in its eighth year and organizers hope to raise $100,000 for charity.

Frost said the program will be re-evaluated after the merger is complete.