Prepared by First Call for Help Iowa, Inc. August 2012

Fiscal Year 2012 was a very exciting year for FCFH-Iowa, Inc. (First Call for Help Iowa, Inc.). Early in the year we organized a team to take a 360 degree look at the organization and help the 2-1-1 Advisory Board build a Business Plan. We shared the plan with the 2-1-1 Advisory Board and United Way of East Central Iowa Board of Directors in May of 2012. We are actively using the plan to build strategic activities for the organization in the areas of: Building Capacity, Diversify Funding and Strengthen the Brand.

Call Volume - IRis

Between July 1, 2011 and June 30, 2012, there were 34,892 calls placed to the United Way 2-1-1 system from within the United Way of East Central Iowa service delivery area.

In comparison to last year, there were 9,382 fewer calls placed to the United Way 2-1-1 system from within the United Way of East Central Iowa service delivery area. There are many factors which influence call volume. Below is a short list of the factors which we believe played a part in the decreased call volume in fiscal year 2012:

Fewer disasters in our service delivery area.

The economy seems to be doing better.

Individuals needing assistance learn from others when there are gaps in service(s).

We launched a new searchable website which has become very popular.

United Way of East Central Iowa

United Way 2-1-1 Statistics

FY2012

Prepared by First Call for Help Iowa, Inc. August 2012

Requested Services

When individuals call United Way 2-1-1 we start each call by asking how we can help. Information and Referral Specialists log this information as requested services or problem needs.

In FY 2012, residents of the United Way of East Central Iowa service delivery area most frequently requested assistance in the areas represented in the chart below. The six needs listed account for 81% of the calls received during this timeframe.

Prepared by First Call for Help Iowa, Inc. August 2012

Requested Services - Unmet

Information and Referral Specialists also document if they were able to provide referrals for those requested needs. In some instances they are not able to make a referral. Some of the most common reasons include:

Already contacted the program.

Client declined referrals.

Client terminated call.

No funding available.

No program found to meet need.

No transportation.

Other. During this time period, Information and Referral Specialists documented 2,496 unmet needs in the United Way of East Central Iowa service delivery area. The needs most frequently identified as unmet can be found in the chart below. Three of the five areas listed were also some of the most requested services listed above.

Because these five categories are so broad, it is important to expand on the identified gaps in service.

Individuals who needed assistance in the area of Housing/Shelter most often were not able to receive referrals for Rent Assistance (48%) because the agencies that provide that assistance were out of funds.

Those calling for Income Support/Assistance most often were not able to receive referrals for agencies that provide Tax Organizations and Services (96%). This was primarily due to the fact that United Way 2-1-1 received these calls either before the service was available or after the service had closed for the tax season.

Individuals calling for Transportation most frequently requested assistance for Out of Town Transportation Expense (36%). Information and Referral Specialists were not able to provide referrals because there are no resources available for this type of program.

Those needing assistance with Clothing/Personal/Household items most frequently needed Furniture/Appliances (72%).

Those who called for Individual/Family Support most often requested Holiday Assistance (66%). Again, we were unable to provide referrals because calls were received before or after the program was available.

Prepared by First Call for Help Iowa, Inc. August 2012

Referrals

Between July 1, 2011 and June 30, 2012, there were 44,215 referrals given to individuals who contacted the United Way 2-1-1 system from within the United Way of East Central Iowa service delivery area.

Budget

Revenue: $445,041.96 Expenses: $425,631.27 Revenue over Expenses: $19,410.69

Cost per day to operate United Way 2-1-1: $1,166.11*

FCFH-Iowa, Inc. is financially sound. This year’s excess was due to smaller than expected spending in four line items: outside printing, office supplies, telephone expenses and lodging/rental car. The most significant savings was in the telephone expenses line item. This was attributed to:

A new cost per minute rate which was negotiated after the budget was developed

Lower than anticipated call volume

No disasters in the service delivery area The organization has built a five month reserve to allow for the continuation of operations. This practice is in line with recommendations made my United Way Worldwide and United Way of East Central Iowa.

Highlights

Website o This year, United Way 2-1-1 launched a new searchable website at

www.firstcallforhelpiowa.org. From January (when we launched the site) to June 30, 2012 we had recorded 18,427 searches on the site.

Tax Assistance Season o United Way 2-1-1 scheduled tax appointments for the following partners who

provided free tax preparation services: Linn County AARP Linn County VITA ISU Extension in Iowa County Black Hawk County VITA Washington County VITA Jones County RSVP

o Linn County AARP, Linn County VITA, ISU Extension in Iowa County, Black Hawk County VITA, Washington County VITA and Jones County RSVP completed 4,180 returns. This is the same number of returns as the previous year.

o Clients who had their tax returns completed by one of the partners received $7,012,447 in Federal refunds.

o 1,342 (32%) of these tax payers were eligible for EITC for a total EITC return of $1,765,544. This is an increase of 108 EITC returns over last year.

o United Way 2-1-1 contributes over 270 hours of scheduling services to this project valued at more than $36,000.

*Day is 24 hours.