After a few years on hiatus, the United Way thermometer is back and currently located in Hutchinson’s Library Square. For decades United Ways across America have used the tool as a community focal point to gauge their annual fall campaigns. Recently however, United Ways began to debate the use of thermometers, as they moved away from a strictly fundraising function to that of community impact. The thought was United Ways do not want to be seen as an organization that covets your money, but instead be known for the lasting partnerships they have built and the good work coming from those relations.

Years ago a local Boy Scout troop took on the creation of a United Way thermometer as a team project. Following its completion, it resided on the south banks of the Crow River each fall. The last sighting of that thermometer was it being placed into a storage shed. There really was no explanation or reason for it, our organization just stopped using that specific tool.

At our November board meeting, a director asked why we don’t use the thermometer anymore. The person pointed out that while we have a lot of attention around our kickoff at the county fair, most folks are not aware that we are still in the midst of our campaign in December. The board member continued that while we get a good deal of publicity from the local media, not everyone will see an ad or have the time to read a commentary. The person believed that it was a good start that an individual resident gets a mailed brochure, or a small business owner will hang a poster, but time spent thinking about United Way is minimal for most. Even for the thousands who participate in a workplace campaign each year, the commitment to a United Way presentation or special event is limited.

At that meeting we agreed that the thermometer is an effective visual piece, in that if done right, people will be curious to see just how the campaign is faring. While not everyone will read today’s newspaper, there is a good chance that folks will take notice of an eight-foot thermometer in Library Square or elsewhere in the county. Whether noticing the thermometer leads people to make a campaign contribution remains to be seen, however we feel that it certainly can’t hurt.

That leads me to the more serious nature of this commentary. As of Christmas our organization had raised $168,000, or 60 percent of our 2009-10 campaign goal of $280,000. The former total marks a $32,000 decrease from where we were a year ago, en route to raising $235,000 overall during the 2008-09 campaign. We are a long way from where we need to be and time is running out. We are so grateful to the individuals, families, businesses and corporations who have given so far, they have all been as generous as they can. Now we are appealing to those who have not, but can, afford to make a contribution before our March 31 campaign deadline.

We are hopeful that another $56,000 will come in from efforts that are currently underway in workplaces throughout the county and from national corporate campaigns that are not processed locally. However, even if those projections are realized, they will boost the campaign only to 80 percent of the need, leaving a shortfall of an additional $56,000.

What that means to our region is that help may not be available at a time when help is needed the most. All funds raised by the United Way of McLeod County remain in the area to provide grants to critical human service programs delivered by our 42 partners. If the campaign falls short, the United Way will see a drastic reduction in its ability to provide these grants. Programs that have a real impact on local people’s lives will lose vital funding, and the recipient organizations, most of which already are stretched to the limit with their own fundraising efforts, urgently need those United Way dollars.