Record-setting donation year for Ottawa United Way

The United Way will pour a record $23.9 million worth of Ottawa’s goodwill into community causes this year, officials said yesterday.

The United Way/Centraide campaign raised a record $28.2 million in 2006, and officials say nearly $24 million of that money will be invested this year in programs — an 11.2-per-cent increase over last year’s spending of $21.5 million.

At a city hall event yesterday to announce the total, United Way Ottawa chair Mark Sutcliffe said the board carefully considers how to use Ottawans’ donations, and this year has identified six “impact” areas for funding: children and youth, immigrants, seniors, people with disabilities and individuals and families in need or crisis.

The United Way will give $14.9 million of its total investments to these six areas.

“(The councils go) through a very careful and thoughtful process of making decisions on how best to invest that money, so that it has the maximum impact,” Sutcliffe said.

Another $6.33 million will support donor-directed designations and $1.4 million will help donor-directed designations in other communities.

The last $1.32 million will be invested in areas not linked to the six priorities.

Kevin Frost, of the Canadian National Institute for the Blind’s (CNIB) Vision Rehabilitation Services, knows first-hand the impact that programs supported by United Way can have.

“People who have disabilities tend to hibernate,” Frost, who suffers from a hearing and seeing disability, said. “If they know the resources are there, that could open new doors to get them active.”

Katie Graves/metro ottawa