n 2020, Chenango United Way raised more than $428,000 and funded 19 programs along with four community impact initiatives.

CHENANGO COUNTY – Chenango United Way worked with the community throughout 2020, continuing services to people in need, raising funds for local nonprofits, and successfully leading COVID-19 response efforts.

According to Chenango United Way Executive Director Elizabeth Monaco, 2020 was an incredibly difficult year for nonprofits in the area, but with incredible generosity from its community they were able to continue providing services to the people in need.

Monaco said some of the focuses for the organization include education, financial stability, and health.

She said those goals are met in part by United Way’s work with local nonprofits, and many of the people who are struggling are working class families known as ALICE families.

“ALICE stands for Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed and these are families that earn more than the Federal Poverty Level, but less than the basic cost of living,” said Monaco. “Combined, the number of ALICE and poverty-level households equals the total population struggling to afford basic needs.”

In 2020, Chenango United Way raised more than $428,000 and funded 19 programs along with four community impact initiatives.

Monaco said those funds help people in need all throughout Chenango County, and all donations received stay local.

“We are local, and will always be local,” she said. “This year’s campaign was really tough, in December we were at about 60 percent of our goal, but we managed to reach 95 percent with some incredibly generous last minute donations.”