Re: April 30, Oakville Beaver,  United Way agencies hurt by cutbacks

I read with interest the recent article on agencies reeling from United Way of Oakville cutbacks.
The story noted it was hard to determine just how many agencies had been affected. Our organization has very much been affected and was not included in her list.
Family Adolescent Straight Talk (FAST) has been an integral part of Oakville since its inception in 2000. We provide effective and immediate support for adolescents, adults and families struggling with the devastating effects of substance abuse.
Our service is unique and extremely successful. As a result, our client base has grown 800 per cent over the past eight years. We are the only agency providing an abstinent-based program in the area. As a result, we have referrals from Hamilton, Peel, Orangeville and as far north as Barrie.
Our graduates have gone on to complete their secondary education; many have gone on to college and university, repaired fractured family relationships and have become productive, contributing members of our community. We have been a United Way member agency for eight years and have never had an increase in funding, despite our phenomenal growth. This United Way provides only 10 per cent of our total revenue, yet increasing accountability demands take far more than 10 per cent of our staff time.
As with all other United Way-funded agencies, our staff took part in the training for the outcome measurement model. We completed the requirements using the United Way forms, even though we have had effective outcome measurements in place for the past two years, which were approved by our other funders. This year the United Way stated they were unsatisfactory.
One important point that is not discussed in the article is the fact that agencies were given no notice there would be significant cutbacks. The news came at the start of a new fiscal year, with virtually no time for agencies to make alternative arrangements.
Stewardship of donor dollars is indeed important, as noted by the United Way. However, the United Way does Oakville donors a great disservice by suggesting they would approve of the way this was handled. Oakville citizens have always been very generous in supporting their local institutions, for they understand and value the services provided. Our local donors are very knowledgeable about their community and its issues, and they value their local agencies.
More importantly, the United Way is forgetting that agency staff, program volunteers and board members are also donors. To label donors as "Joe Public" and suggest this conversation could not be held with them for fear it would create doubt about the United Way is an insult to the very donors that support this United Way.
It is also interesting this quote states that by talking to donors it will affect gifts to United Way, which will in turn hurt agencies. What do they thing this round of cuts has done? Every agency affected is in the process of reviewing its services and wondering if it can maintain the same levels. Many will not be able to.

Jim Harkins, Executive Director
Family Adolescent Straight Talk (F.A.S.T.)