PHILADELPHIA, July 10, 2017 – North Penn United Way has joined United Way of Greater Philadelphia and Southern New Jersey (UWGPSNJ) through a merger agreement effective July 1, 2017. This strategic decision will allow United Way to serve all of Montgomery County through a single organization with a unified approach to fighting poverty. It also completes a contiguous regional footprint for the organization, which serves 1.75 million individuals and families in nine counties from Pottstown, Pa., to Cape May, N.J.
Adding this portion of Montgomery County to its regional service area will allow United Way to engage more donors, volunteers and community partners to address issues of poverty from a local community, countywide and regional perspective, while offering more comprehensive and cohesive support to individuals and companies that look to United Way as a philanthropic partner.
“We are thrilled to welcome the North Penn and Indian Valley communities into our regional family as we seek to end intergenerational poverty from western Montgomery County to the Jersey Shore,” says Jim Cawley, president and CEO of UWGPSNJ. “As a volunteer-driven organization, we know that there is no substitute for local expertise, and United Way’s work in the North Penn area will continue to be driven by local donors, advocates and volunteers, in partnership with local nonprofit organizations driving measurable results.”
The process was led by a design team comprised of deeply dedicated staff and volunteer leaders from North Penn United Way and UWGPSNJ, who spent more than a year exploring this opportunity and working together to ensure the merger is positioned for long-term success.
“At United Way, we believe that together, we can drive measurable, lasting Impact that none of us can achieve alone. From a regional perspective, this merger will create a stronger, more unified organization better positioned to fight poverty in communities across Montgomery County and beyond, and by combining our strengths, we will deliver more for those who need us most,” says J. Gordon Cooney, Jr., partner, Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP, and chair of UWGPSNJ’s regional Board of Directors.
Continued Local Presence and Local Impact
UWGPSNJ remains committed to the founding principle behind the 2012 merger that brought seven local United Ways together as one regional organization: regional lift requires local relevance. As a result, the organization will continue to invest in nonprofit partners and programs local to the North Penn area and keep the local community engaged in new ways.
“Our supporters in the North Penn and Indian Valley areas can still expect opportunities to support United Way in our local communities, but now, they will also be able to join new events and initiatives that engage businesses, volunteers, nonprofit partners and community leaders at a countywide and regional level,” says Ron Geib, chairman and CEO of Harleysville Bank and former board chairman of North Penn United Way.
UWGPSNJ will also ensure North Penn United Way communities have a seat at the table to shape the organization’s regional agenda. Effective July 1, two former North Penn United Way board members will join UWGPSNJ’s regional Board of Directors: Jack Dooley, partner at Dischell Bartle Dooley, and Chari Richardson, president of TRC Staffing. In addition, UWGPSNJ will launch its first local board for Montgomery County, comprised of local leaders from the business, nonprofit, and public sectors to oversee local investments and support local and regional fundraising efforts. North Penn United Way staff and volunteers will also lend their expertise to help UWGPSNJ roll out its new Results-Based Accountability framework for greater accountability to investors.
For more information about UWGPSNJ, please visit UnitedForImpact.org.