Live United 2012 – 41 percent participation was better, but was it impressive?

As the 2012 UNMC United Way drive kicks off today, let’s look back a bit on last year’s drive.

We raised $148,304 to surpass our financial goal to collectively donate $145,000, which was awesome! This year we aim to top $148,000.

We also notched 41 percent participation in 2011, which was an 8 percentage point increase over our average from the previous years.

While it’s laudable that we significantly raised our participation rate as a campus, well, um …






picture disc.

Seriously, it was cool to raise our participation, but there’s still plenty of room for improvement, especially considering our goal each year is 100 percent participation in the drive.

Here are three things to note about participation:

  • One — It’s easy! This morning you received an e-mail from United Way. To participate, just click the link in the e-mail, enter the password provided in the email and then participate!
  • Two — Participation doesn’t equate to donation. While it’s preferable that all who participate donate, we realize that may not be possible for everyone. That said, you can choose not to donate once at the site and that, too, counts as participation.
  • Three — Participation can mean prizes! If you participate in the drive, you’ll be registered to win prizes in weekly drawings. Prizes include gift cards to businesses such as Borsheim’s, Best Buy and the Nebraska Furniture Mart as well as Nebraska football tickets.

In short, there’s no reason not to participate. So log on, participate, donate and help UNMC meet its goals for this year’s fund drive!