November 13, 2023 • 20 mins
Cortney M. Nicolato is a mission-driven executive leader and systems change-agent with two decades of experience in nonprofit management and entrepreneurship. Cortney is president and CEO of United Way of Rhode Island, a statewide nonprofit with more than 80 employees and an operating budget of $28M. United Way proved during COVID-19 to be the only organization in the state that effectively harnessed resources from government, corporations, nonprofits, and individuals to address crises, starting with its 211 hotline, the front door to social services in the state, as well as through advocacy, fundraising, and grant making.
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(00:00):
I'm Bill George. We're talking withCourtney Nicolatto. She is the CEO of
United Way of Rhode Island. Hi, Courtney, Hey there, Bill,
Thanks for having me. It's apleasure talking with you, Courtney. For
anybody who's not completely sure what theUnited Way of Rhode Island does, tell
us about your mission. You know, we're so proud of the work that
(00:20):
we do at United Way. Weare a ninety eight year old organization here
in the state of Rhode Island,and really our focus, you know,
we have a belief that every individualin each community should have equal opportunities to
justice and prosperity. And we dothat by convening our community and resources around
the most critical issues that are facingour state. And so it is a
(00:42):
joy to be able to do ourwork. We get to work with four
hundred companies across the state as they'rethinking through how can they be the best
corporate citizens and community partners in thestate. And then also we're thrilled that
we get to work with hundreds ofnonprofit organizations so we can tackle those big,
big, big gorilla challenges that RhodeIsland has challenged or faced with.
(01:06):
That is a unique aspect of whatyou do the fact that you are an
organization that doesn't just deal with oneor two issues facing people. You're basically
dealing with all of them. Everypretty much every nonprofit, every cause in
Rhode Island. The United Way ofRhode Island is involved. Yeah, And
it's a really interesting because it sometimeswill confuse folks right about what we do.
(01:29):
And so sometimes I'll hear like,oh, I love the United Way,
but what do you you know?And I'll ask, well, tell
me what about United Way do youlove? And they're like, well,
you guys are just great. AndI think it's because lots of the work
that we do is all encompassing withthe community, right, and so sometimes
it might not feel like you cansee directly what we're doing, but we're
behind pretty much everything that are thosecritical issues that Rhode Islanders are saying,
(01:53):
Hey, they need to change,we need transformational change. And so I
think that that does make us incrediblyunique. I think all so, we
have a number of donors who cometo us and support our Community Impact Fund
because they trust that United Way willreally support and invest in the organizations that
are moving the needle in our state. And so so I think that that
(02:14):
is interesting. I think what folksmay not know is that we are providing
some direct service and support through ourtwo on one call center as well as
the program called the Point, whichsupports older adults and folks you know,
living with disabilities. And so weare providing Right now, my staff is
busy, busy, busy helping olderadults through Medicare enrollment. Uh, if
(02:37):
you've done that, have filled outthose materials for a minute, you'll can
you see how overwhelming it is.And so we're helping hundreds of Rhode Islanders
through that process. And so,you know, we talk about our work
really in a throughout and kind ofmore at a higher level, but really
we are providing support at every levelwithin with where the needs exist. Yeah,
(02:58):
and I want to talk to youabout those programs coming up as well
as the ways that people can helpsupport them. But first tell us about
some of the biggest issues. Whatare some of the focus issues for Rhode
Islanders right now? What are someof the toughest challenges facing people in our
state. Yeah, I think allof us are feeling the crunch of housing
right and you know, I thinkthe last number I saw was housing costs
(03:20):
have gone up forty six percent sincetwenty nineteen. Right, so this is
this is feeling the effect. Ithink all of us are feeling the effects
of it right now. We're seeingthat young adults who are want to have
their first home can't find because theinventory doesn't exist here in the state.
We have many older adults who donot want to go to an assisted living
facility. They want to stay livingindependent as long as possible, but yet
(03:45):
we don't have the you know,housing units to be able to do that,
and so we are twenty four thousandunits short of affordable housing here in
the state of Rhode Island, andso housing is a big, big focus
for us. What I really loveabout our work is that we look at
the data. What is the datatelling us, right, We make sure
that we're you know, and thatincludes hearing directly from Rhode Islanders through two
(04:06):
one one, and then also we'rethinking through how do we put the investments
in the places that we can movethe needle on this work, and then
also how can we move policy andadvocacy. So we really look at h
issue comprehensively, and so housing isdefinitely one of the things that I feel
like I'm personally, I'm spending aton of time talking about and thinking about
(04:28):
with great leaders across the state.You know, things like our education system.
I think it goes without saying thatwe have a lot to do in
education. We also have a lotto do as it relates to ensuring that
all kids have access to high qualityeducation inside and outside of the classroom,
and so we do a lot ofwork in that space. In fact,
we run a summer learning initiative.In the summer, We're in five communities
(04:51):
providing six hundred families with free summerlearning right and so these are the types
of things that you know in thoseareas we're folks on and so we're also
focused on helping families through economic mobility. We have so many Rhode Islanders that
want to do more certifications, theywant to upskill, they want to grow
(05:12):
economically, and aren't given the bestresources to do that. And so we
work hard to make sure that RhodeIslanders have those resources access and then we
can help them bite the barriers thatmight exist from helping folks be able to
complete certification programs. And then I'dsay the last focus for us is that,
well, I say last We havelots of others, but I'll highlight
(05:33):
just a couple is strong nonprofit organizations. I think that COVID did nothing but
prove the importance of nonprofit organizations.We were there through thick and thin.
We were running and sprinting and helping. But I think our nonprofit sector needs
more support, and so we've beendoing a ton of work. We're in
fact, we're in the process offinalizing what will be Rhode Island's Nonprofit Center,
(05:58):
will be a hub for technical assistanceand support, and we're also sparking
innovation through our nonprofit Innovation Lab.So we want to ensure that we're moving
our entire community from stability, eventhough we still have work to do on
the stability front, to resiliency andto growth and to transformation. And so
those are the issues that we arefocusing a lot of attention on. This
is an unusual time for our economy, both nationally and in Rhode Island.
(06:24):
We have some very positive things goingon. For instance, unemployment is very
low right now. On the otherhand, as you said, we have
a housing crunch and we have inflation. Everything is so expensive right now.
So what kind of challenges is thatpresenting to Rhode Island's nonprofit world and what
are some of the challenges those organizationsare seeing. Yeah, it's a bit
(06:45):
of a perfect storm right now forour nonprofits. You know, one is
you're absolutely right, inflation is significant. We are seeing that Rhode Islanders are
you know, the cost of living, cost of housing, cost of utilities,
cost of just grocery shopping is allsignificantly higher. But yet wages are
(07:05):
not meeting any type of growth thatwe're seeing in inflation. Right, So
we're finding more and more Ward Islandersare finding themselves in a pinch. Many
of them are working one, two, sometimes three jobs and still can't make
it work because the costs are justoutweighing the money coming into their families.
And so that is a significant andnonprofit organizations had received funding through COVID dollars,
(07:32):
ARPA dollars, number of different federaland state based funding opportunities. Those
now of course have died down asa result of the time that it was
here. But yet the need isso much significantly higher than pre pandemic levels
and we see that here at UnitedWay and just the phone calls that we
(07:53):
take and the support that's needed.We are at least twenty percent higher in
phone calls annually then we were prepandemic, and so in housing and utility
assistance tend to be the top twoissues that we're hearing directly from Rhode Islanders,
and so we're seeing we're trying tohelp as many nonprofits as possible as
(08:13):
they're thinking through how can they meetthis balance, this important need of being
able to staff at levels that theyneed to but not getting the same level
of funding that they were so thatwe can continue to provide great service to
Rhode Island. But it's a veryvery challenging time for our organizations. Yeah,
And you know it's funny we thinkabout the For a lot of us,
(08:35):
the pandemic is in the rear view, but for those organizations that are
dealing with those effects and how thepandemic really changed their world, we have
to keep those things in mind.Yeah, and they really need support,
especially organizations, I mean all organizations. If you think about there's our arts
organizations who had to go without area lot of revenue during the pandemic and
(08:58):
now they're still trying to make upfor lost time. And so our social
service organizations, our education based organizations. They have gone above and beyond the
call of duty, but the levelof funding and support is not at the
same levels. And so organizations maybein your neighborhood, maybe organizations that your
your children or maybe your parents belongto, they need your support and now's
(09:22):
the time to do that. Yeah, And I want to talk about two
to one one, which is oneof those conduits that the United Way uses
to help connect people with those otherservices or or the other organizations that they
might need. So tell us abouttwo to one one for anybody who's not
familiar with it. Two one oneis a it's a national program. We
(09:43):
administrate it here in Rhode Island,and in fact two one one is accessible
in ninety nine percent of the UScommunities. Uh. And we're so lucky
to be able to run the programbecause I do think it gives us a
way to support Rhode Islanders through goodtimes and in bat And so it's a
available twenty four to seven, threesixty five. It's available in two hundred
(10:03):
different languages. You can go onto our website and you can access and
need chat on our website. Youcan send a text message to our team.
We have a mobile unit that goesto fifty five different locations every month,
and we have in person support onValley Street in the Onlyville neighborhood of
Providence, and so we really trulytry to be everywhere because accessing these social
(10:26):
service needs is really complicated in thestate of Hode Island. There are eleven
thousand different programs that someone may ormay not be eligible for. And I
often say to folks, when folkspick up old phone to say I need
help, there's a level of courageand bravery that goes into that. It's
really hard to ask for help,and so we don't want to over complicate
(10:48):
it say oh you, well,here's eleven thousand different options, right,
And so we really have trained staffthat are providing level support so we can
peel back to understand what your needsare and so we can get to the
right place right away. And sotwo on one really truly is that one
stop or that front door to socialservices here in the state of Rhode Island,
(11:09):
and we are here to help.And what's really interesting is I think
some people might think it's just whenyou're in an emergency situation, right,
and that's not it either. Wehave lots of folks that call us and
say I have an older loved oneI need to bring in some home health
care for them. Would you havea recommendation? Or I need a new
daycare for my child? Do youhave recommendations for that? And so,
(11:30):
you know, I think anything thatmight be just something you're like, where
do I turn? Who's the bestresource for it? Call two on one.
Let us help you through that andsave you a ton of time.
Right, Yeah, So it isan amazing resource. Everything from jeez,
I don't know how we're going topay for groceries this week, to maybe
someone who's in a domestic violent situationwhere they need to get into a different
(11:52):
situation. I mean, you nameit. The United Way can hook folks
up with the help that they need. I want to talk about four to
one gives. Now, this isan amazing program. This year, over
five hundred organizations involved over three pointfour million dollars raise. So tell us
about that, tell us about howit works and what contributes to the success
(12:16):
of it so far. You know, four oh one gives. It's literally
my favorite day in Rhode Island,and I'd like anybody to try to test
that because it is full of joyand full of celebration for the nonprofit sector,
which you know quick frontly, Ithink people know of the nonprofit sector.
But this is our day to celebratethe non project. I want to
(12:37):
mention that it's we're talking about Aprilfirst, so it's not just four oh
one Rhode Island before it happens onfour one. Right. Well, our
thought was when we created it,like we're going to celebrate Rhode Island,
We've got to do it in everyway possible, and why not do it
on April first on four oh one. Uh And you know, I will
say that I think my favorite Igot it. There was a tweet that's
(13:00):
said that United Way has gotten ridof April Fool's Day completely, and I'm
gonna We're gonna own that. Ithink it's great. And so four oh
one Gives is a statewide day ofgiving. It is focused on celebrating the
nonprofit community and also offering a reallyeasy way for Rhode Islanders to support the
(13:20):
nonprofit sector. It's one website andyou can go on and you can search.
You can get to know a newnonprofit that maybe you didn't know was
in your neighborhood. You can there'smatching gifts throughout the day so your dollars
can double or triple. We havecontests, we have in person events,
we have events online. I mean, it's really just this great, great,
(13:43):
great celebration of the nonprofit sector.We also provide a ton of training
and supports. Nonprofit organizations start planningmonths before the event. In fact that
we've already started asking. The folkshave already started asking when the first training
programs are coming. There are anythingsthinking about it in November, right,
And so we really love this dayin so many ways. But what I
(14:07):
love to watch is many of thenonprofit organizations that are participating do two things
that I love. One is theysee a ton at least two to three
new donors. Every nonprofit who participatessees new donors on four oh one gifts
and so that that is something thatI love to see because that means we're
(14:31):
introducing Rhode Islanders to great organizations thatthey may have not have done. The
second thing is I watch nonprofit leaderscelebrate other organizations and really encourage folks their
donors as an example to support otherorganizations as well. And that's what community
is about for me, That's whatcommunity should be. It should be encouraging
(14:54):
one another, supporting one another,and celebrating good work when it's happening.
And so it is by far,as I mentioned, my favorite day of
the year, and this year isour fifth, so we are going to
have a blast. We're going tomake it even more fun on Monday,
April first. Yeah, And Iwould tell anybody any organization that you contribute
(15:16):
to within the state of Rhode Islandis probably involved in four to oh one
gifts, so over five hundred organizations, right, and I know you add
new ones every year, and thereis a benefit. I'm not telling anybody.
Don't donate now, but also donateon April first, because, as
Courtney said, you've got a lotof other reasons for that, because there
are contests and incentives and matches andthings like that that take place. What
(15:39):
are some of the other programs Courtney, that you want to mention that folks
can help support for the United Way. Yeah, I think there's so many
ways to get involved and to supportfinancially our organization. And so there's a
couple of programs that folks might notrealize that we run, and we proudly
run those programs. One is voluntaryincome tax assistance program that's called VITA.
(16:03):
This is providing free tax service tofamilies who make under a certain amount of
money. I believe the last yearwas about sixty thousand. And what we
really want to do with that programis to help ensure that they're not going
to any predatory organizations as well asthat they're getting and optimizing all the opportunities
that they can, so things likethe child tax Credit, the earned income
(16:26):
tax credit, there's a number ofdifferent tax credits that folks might not realize.
That program is relatively you know,I would say small and how what
we have to invest to make ithappen, but the benefit, the return
on investment is about twenty three milliondollars coming back into the state every year.
And so that is a great programthat I would encourage folks to get
(16:48):
to know. We are starting wewill be starting to recruit if you're interested
in being a volunteer tax preparer.We give irs in United Way have a
great partnership and so if you're interested, give us a call United Way or
go to a United Way ri dotorg for more information. UH. Additionally,
we run the point program, soif you have an older adult,
(17:08):
or your caregiving for an aging lovedone or someone who's experiencing disability. We
have team members who are specialized inthat work to help you through whatever situation
you may be facing. And sothat is a great program that I love
to share more about. Also,if you're interested in volunteering, we want
we've run that. We run theVolunteer Center of Rhode Island, and so
(17:33):
if you're interested in being a volunteer, you're interested in joining and getting to
know organizations in your community, wewould love to point you in the right
direction. If you're interested in UH, if you're an merging leader, if
you're a younger leader and you areinterested in you know, connecting with people
with you know your shared values,you want to volunteer more, we have
(17:53):
a great program called the Emerging LeadersUH program we'd love to introduce you to.
And then last, if there's ifyou're interested in early childhood education and
you want to invest your time,you want to invest your money as well
in that area. We have anincredible group of women called Women United that
is about one hundred and eighty womenstrong who are giving of their time,
(18:15):
their talents, and their treasures toimprove childhood education here in the state of
Rhode Island. So I could spendall day Bill you and I the podcast
that we could literally talk for hoursand hours about all the various things that
we're doing here at United Way.But it is a great time to be
connected in to your community, sharingof your talents. If you are someone
(18:38):
in marketing or if you're in someonein finance and you're like, where can
I what can I do? Howcan I help? Let us call us.
We want to help you because thecommunity needs all of us participating in
order to really see the change thatI think we all seek. Absolutely,
So I know you can connect folkswith lots of opportunities, including openings at
United Way of Rhode Island right now. Yes, we have a number of
(19:00):
openings, so I'm not going tosay, well, maybe I will.
We're the best organization in the stateto work for. We're fun the you
know, we love to have agood time. We work hard, but
we play hard too, and sowe have a number of things going on,
a number of openings. One isto outreach, so doing the work
(19:21):
of outreaching for our two one oneour mobile unit, making sure that we
are partnering with organizations throughout the state, so we're looking for a program coordinator
for that. We're also looking fora program coordinator for our new nonprofit resource
center that I mentioned earlier in ourconversation. We're also looking for someone who
(19:44):
will help us continue to build ourgreat relationships with our corporate partners, and
so if you're interested in being aprogram officer for corporate relations, we would
love to talk to you. Andso lots of great things happening and always
openings because you know, we takea lot of supports for our community and
we always are looking for great talentfor Team United Great and I know folks
(20:07):
can find out more about everything we'vetalked about on the website right Yes,
absolutely, UNITEDWAYURI dot org is ourwebsite. Our Facebook and LinkedIn are constantly
updated and we want you to wewant to participate with you, and we
also have a number we have agreat events page on our website, so
we would love to have you joinus at one of our events. We
(20:27):
have a number of great ones happeningover the course of the next couple of
months. If you just want tosee some of the work or be part
of a conversation about these issues thatwe're really focused on tackling. Courtney Nicolato
is the CEO of United Way ofRhode Island. Courtney, thanks for all
your time today and thanks for everythingyou're doing for Rhode Islanders. It is
absolutely my honor to do this work. My mom always said leave the world
(20:51):
better than you got it, andI really took that seriously, and so
it's a pleasure to do that anda pleasure to always to catch up with you.
I'm Bill George. We're talking withCourtney Nicolatto. She is the CEO of
United Way of Rhode Island. Hi, Courtney, Hey there, Bill,
Thanks for having me. It's apleasure talking with you, Courtney. For
anybody who's not completely sure what theUnited Way of Rhode Island does, tell
us about your mission. You know, we're so proud of the work that
(00:20):
we do at United Way. Weare a ninety eight year old organization here
in the state of Rhode Island,and really our focus, you know,
we have a belief that every individualin each community should have equal opportunities to
justice and prosperity. And we dothat by convening our community and resources around
the most critical issues that are facingour state. And so it is a
(00:42):
joy to be able to do ourwork. We get to work with four
hundred companies across the state as they'rethinking through how can they be the best
corporate citizens and community partners in thestate. And then also we're thrilled that
we get to work with hundreds ofnonprofit organizations so we can tackle those big,
big, big gorilla challenges that RhodeIsland has challenged or faced with.
(01:06):
That is a unique aspect of whatyou do the fact that you are an
organization that doesn't just deal with oneor two issues facing people. You're basically
dealing with all of them. Everypretty much every nonprofit, every cause in
Rhode Island. The United Way ofRhode Island is involved. Yeah, And
it's a really interesting because it sometimeswill confuse folks right about what we do.
(01:29):
And so sometimes I'll hear like,oh, I love the United Way,
but what do you you know?And I'll ask, well, tell
me what about United Way do youlove? And they're like, well,
you guys are just great. AndI think it's because lots of the work
that we do is all encompassing withthe community, right, and so sometimes
it might not feel like you cansee directly what we're doing, but we're
behind pretty much everything that are thosecritical issues that Rhode Islanders are saying,
(01:53):
Hey, they need to change,we need transformational change. And so I
think that that does make us incrediblyunique. I think all so, we
have a number of donors who cometo us and support our Community Impact Fund
because they trust that United Way willreally support and invest in the organizations that
are moving the needle in our state. And so so I think that that
(02:14):
is interesting. I think what folksmay not know is that we are providing
some direct service and support through ourtwo on one call center as well as
the program called the Point, whichsupports older adults and folks you know,
living with disabilities. And so weare providing Right now, my staff is
busy, busy, busy helping olderadults through Medicare enrollment. Uh, if
(02:37):
you've done that, have filled outthose materials for a minute, you'll can
you see how overwhelming it is.And so we're helping hundreds of Rhode Islanders
through that process. And so,you know, we talk about our work
really in a throughout and kind ofmore at a higher level, but really
we are providing support at every levelwithin with where the needs exist. Yeah,
(02:58):
and I want to talk to youabout those programs coming up as well
as the ways that people can helpsupport them. But first tell us about
some of the biggest issues. Whatare some of the focus issues for Rhode
Islanders right now? What are someof the toughest challenges facing people in our
state. Yeah, I think allof us are feeling the crunch of housing
right and you know, I thinkthe last number I saw was housing costs
(03:20):
have gone up forty six percent sincetwenty nineteen. Right, so this is
this is feeling the effect. Ithink all of us are feeling the effects
of it right now. We're seeingthat young adults who are want to have
their first home can't find because theinventory doesn't exist here in the state.
We have many older adults who donot want to go to an assisted living
facility. They want to stay livingindependent as long as possible, but yet
(03:45):
we don't have the you know,housing units to be able to do that,
and so we are twenty four thousandunits short of affordable housing here in
the state of Rhode Island, andso housing is a big, big focus
for us. What I really loveabout our work is that we look at
the data. What is the datatelling us, right, We make sure
that we're you know, and thatincludes hearing directly from Rhode Islanders through two
(04:06):
one one, and then also we'rethinking through how do we put the investments
in the places that we can movethe needle on this work, and then
also how can we move policy andadvocacy. So we really look at h
issue comprehensively, and so housing isdefinitely one of the things that I feel
like I'm personally, I'm spending aton of time talking about and thinking about
(04:28):
with great leaders across the state.You know, things like our education system.
I think it goes without saying thatwe have a lot to do in
education. We also have a lotto do as it relates to ensuring that
all kids have access to high qualityeducation inside and outside of the classroom,
and so we do a lot ofwork in that space. In fact,
we run a summer learning initiative.In the summer, We're in five communities
(04:51):
providing six hundred families with free summerlearning right and so these are the types
of things that you know in thoseareas we're folks on and so we're also
focused on helping families through economic mobility. We have so many Rhode Islanders that
want to do more certifications, theywant to upskill, they want to grow
(05:12):
economically, and aren't given the bestresources to do that. And so we
work hard to make sure that RhodeIslanders have those resources access and then we
can help them bite the barriers thatmight exist from helping folks be able to
complete certification programs. And then I'dsay the last focus for us is that,
well, I say last We havelots of others, but I'll highlight
(05:33):
just a couple is strong nonprofit organizations. I think that COVID did nothing but
prove the importance of nonprofit organizations.We were there through thick and thin.
We were running and sprinting and helping. But I think our nonprofit sector needs
more support, and so we've beendoing a ton of work. We're in
fact, we're in the process offinalizing what will be Rhode Island's Nonprofit Center,
(05:58):
will be a hub for technical assistanceand support, and we're also sparking
innovation through our nonprofit Innovation Lab.So we want to ensure that we're moving
our entire community from stability, eventhough we still have work to do on
the stability front, to resiliency andto growth and to transformation. And so
those are the issues that we arefocusing a lot of attention on. This
is an unusual time for our economy, both nationally and in Rhode Island.
(06:24):
We have some very positive things goingon. For instance, unemployment is very
low right now. On the otherhand, as you said, we have
a housing crunch and we have inflation. Everything is so expensive right now.
So what kind of challenges is thatpresenting to Rhode Island's nonprofit world and what
are some of the challenges those organizationsare seeing. Yeah, it's a bit
(06:45):
of a perfect storm right now forour nonprofits. You know, one is
you're absolutely right, inflation is significant. We are seeing that Rhode Islanders are
you know, the cost of living, cost of housing, cost of utilities,
cost of just grocery shopping is allsignificantly higher. But yet wages are
(07:05):
not meeting any type of growth thatwe're seeing in inflation. Right, So
we're finding more and more Ward Islandersare finding themselves in a pinch. Many
of them are working one, two, sometimes three jobs and still can't make
it work because the costs are justoutweighing the money coming into their families.
And so that is a significant andnonprofit organizations had received funding through COVID dollars,
(07:32):
ARPA dollars, number of different federaland state based funding opportunities. Those
now of course have died down asa result of the time that it was
here. But yet the need isso much significantly higher than pre pandemic levels
and we see that here at UnitedWay and just the phone calls that we
(07:53):
take and the support that's needed.We are at least twenty percent higher in
phone calls annually then we were prepandemic, and so in housing and utility
assistance tend to be the top twoissues that we're hearing directly from Rhode Islanders,
and so we're seeing we're trying tohelp as many nonprofits as possible as
(08:13):
they're thinking through how can they meetthis balance, this important need of being
able to staff at levels that theyneed to but not getting the same level
of funding that they were so thatwe can continue to provide great service to
Rhode Island. But it's a veryvery challenging time for our organizations. Yeah,
And you know it's funny we thinkabout the For a lot of us,
(08:35):
the pandemic is in the rear view, but for those organizations that are
dealing with those effects and how thepandemic really changed their world, we have
to keep those things in mind.Yeah, and they really need support,
especially organizations, I mean all organizations. If you think about there's our arts
organizations who had to go without area lot of revenue during the pandemic and
(08:58):
now they're still trying to make upfor lost time. And so our social
service organizations, our education based organizations. They have gone above and beyond the
call of duty, but the levelof funding and support is not at the
same levels. And so organizations maybein your neighborhood, maybe organizations that your
your children or maybe your parents belongto, they need your support and now's
(09:22):
the time to do that. Yeah, And I want to talk about two
to one one, which is oneof those conduits that the United Way uses
to help connect people with those otherservices or or the other organizations that they
might need. So tell us abouttwo to one one for anybody who's not
familiar with it. Two one oneis a it's a national program. We
(09:43):
administrate it here in Rhode Island,and in fact two one one is accessible
in ninety nine percent of the UScommunities. Uh. And we're so lucky
to be able to run the programbecause I do think it gives us a
way to support Rhode Islanders through goodtimes and in bat And so it's a
available twenty four to seven, threesixty five. It's available in two hundred
(10:03):
different languages. You can go onto our website and you can access and
need chat on our website. Youcan send a text message to our team.
We have a mobile unit that goesto fifty five different locations every month,
and we have in person support onValley Street in the Onlyville neighborhood of
Providence, and so we really trulytry to be everywhere because accessing these social
(10:26):
service needs is really complicated in thestate of Hode Island. There are eleven
thousand different programs that someone may ormay not be eligible for. And I
often say to folks, when folkspick up old phone to say I need
help, there's a level of courageand bravery that goes into that. It's
really hard to ask for help,and so we don't want to over complicate
(10:48):
it say oh you, well,here's eleven thousand different options, right,
And so we really have trained staffthat are providing level support so we can
peel back to understand what your needsare and so we can get to the
right place right away. And sotwo on one really truly is that one
stop or that front door to socialservices here in the state of Rhode Island,
(11:09):
and we are here to help.And what's really interesting is I think
some people might think it's just whenyou're in an emergency situation, right,
and that's not it either. Wehave lots of folks that call us and
say I have an older loved oneI need to bring in some home health
care for them. Would you havea recommendation? Or I need a new
daycare for my child? Do youhave recommendations for that? And so,
(11:30):
you know, I think anything thatmight be just something you're like, where
do I turn? Who's the bestresource for it? Call two on one.
Let us help you through that andsave you a ton of time.
Right, Yeah, So it isan amazing resource. Everything from jeez,
I don't know how we're going topay for groceries this week, to maybe
someone who's in a domestic violent situationwhere they need to get into a different
(11:52):
situation. I mean, you nameit. The United Way can hook folks
up with the help that they need. I want to talk about four to
one gives. Now, this isan amazing program. This year, over
five hundred organizations involved over three pointfour million dollars raise. So tell us
about that, tell us about howit works and what contributes to the success
(12:16):
of it so far. You know, four oh one gives. It's literally
my favorite day in Rhode Island,and I'd like anybody to try to test
that because it is full of joyand full of celebration for the nonprofit sector,
which you know quick frontly, Ithink people know of the nonprofit sector.
But this is our day to celebratethe non project. I want to
(12:37):
mention that it's we're talking about Aprilfirst, so it's not just four oh
one Rhode Island before it happens onfour one. Right. Well, our
thought was when we created it,like we're going to celebrate Rhode Island,
We've got to do it in everyway possible, and why not do it
on April first on four oh one. Uh And you know, I will
say that I think my favorite Igot it. There was a tweet that's
(13:00):
said that United Way has gotten ridof April Fool's Day completely, and I'm
gonna We're gonna own that. Ithink it's great. And so four oh
one Gives is a statewide day ofgiving. It is focused on celebrating the
nonprofit community and also offering a reallyeasy way for Rhode Islanders to support the
(13:20):
nonprofit sector. It's one website andyou can go on and you can search.
You can get to know a newnonprofit that maybe you didn't know was
in your neighborhood. You can there'smatching gifts throughout the day so your dollars
can double or triple. We havecontests, we have in person events,
we have events online. I mean, it's really just this great, great,
(13:43):
great celebration of the nonprofit sector.We also provide a ton of training
and supports. Nonprofit organizations start planningmonths before the event. In fact that
we've already started asking. The folkshave already started asking when the first training
programs are coming. There are anythingsthinking about it in November, right,
And so we really love this dayin so many ways. But what I
(14:07):
love to watch is many of thenonprofit organizations that are participating do two things
that I love. One is theysee a ton at least two to three
new donors. Every nonprofit who participatessees new donors on four oh one gifts
and so that that is something thatI love to see because that means we're
(14:31):
introducing Rhode Islanders to great organizations thatthey may have not have done. The
second thing is I watch nonprofit leaderscelebrate other organizations and really encourage folks their
donors as an example to support otherorganizations as well. And that's what community
is about for me, That's whatcommunity should be. It should be encouraging
(14:54):
one another, supporting one another,and celebrating good work when it's happening.
And so it is by far,as I mentioned, my favorite day of
the year, and this year isour fifth, so we are going to
have a blast. We're going tomake it even more fun on Monday,
April first. Yeah, And Iwould tell anybody any organization that you contribute
(15:16):
to within the state of Rhode Islandis probably involved in four to oh one
gifts, so over five hundred organizations, right, and I know you add
new ones every year, and thereis a benefit. I'm not telling anybody.
Don't donate now, but also donateon April first, because, as
Courtney said, you've got a lotof other reasons for that, because there
are contests and incentives and matches andthings like that that take place. What
(15:39):
are some of the other programs Courtney, that you want to mention that folks
can help support for the United Way. Yeah, I think there's so many
ways to get involved and to supportfinancially our organization. And so there's a
couple of programs that folks might notrealize that we run, and we proudly
run those programs. One is voluntaryincome tax assistance program that's called VITA.
(16:03):
This is providing free tax service tofamilies who make under a certain amount of
money. I believe the last yearwas about sixty thousand. And what we
really want to do with that programis to help ensure that they're not going
to any predatory organizations as well asthat they're getting and optimizing all the opportunities
that they can, so things likethe child tax Credit, the earned income
(16:26):
tax credit, there's a number ofdifferent tax credits that folks might not realize.
That program is relatively you know,I would say small and how what
we have to invest to make ithappen, but the benefit, the return
on investment is about twenty three milliondollars coming back into the state every year.
And so that is a great programthat I would encourage folks to get
(16:48):
to know. We are starting wewill be starting to recruit if you're interested
in being a volunteer tax preparer.We give irs in United Way have a
great partnership and so if you're interested, give us a call United Way or
go to a United Way ri dotorg for more information. UH. Additionally,
we run the point program, soif you have an older adult,
(17:08):
or your caregiving for an aging lovedone or someone who's experiencing disability. We
have team members who are specialized inthat work to help you through whatever situation
you may be facing. And sothat is a great program that I love
to share more about. Also,if you're interested in volunteering, we want
we've run that. We run theVolunteer Center of Rhode Island, and so
(17:33):
if you're interested in being a volunteer, you're interested in joining and getting to
know organizations in your community, wewould love to point you in the right
direction. If you're interested in UH, if you're an merging leader, if
you're a younger leader and you areinterested in you know, connecting with people
with you know your shared values,you want to volunteer more, we have
(17:53):
a great program called the Emerging LeadersUH program we'd love to introduce you to.
And then last, if there's ifyou're interested in early childhood education and
you want to invest your time,you want to invest your money as well
in that area. We have anincredible group of women called Women United that
is about one hundred and eighty womenstrong who are giving of their time,
(18:15):
their talents, and their treasures toimprove childhood education here in the state of
Rhode Island. So I could spendall day Bill you and I the podcast
that we could literally talk for hoursand hours about all the various things that
we're doing here at United Way.But it is a great time to be
connected in to your community, sharingof your talents. If you are someone
(18:38):
in marketing or if you're in someonein finance and you're like, where can
I what can I do? Howcan I help? Let us call us.
We want to help you because thecommunity needs all of us participating in
order to really see the change thatI think we all seek. Absolutely,
So I know you can connect folkswith lots of opportunities, including openings at
United Way of Rhode Island right now. Yes, we have a number of
(19:00):
openings, so I'm not going tosay, well, maybe I will.
We're the best organization in the stateto work for. We're fun the you
know, we love to have agood time. We work hard, but
we play hard too, and sowe have a number of things going on,
a number of openings. One isto outreach, so doing the work
(19:21):
of outreaching for our two one oneour mobile unit, making sure that we
are partnering with organizations throughout the state, so we're looking for a program coordinator
for that. We're also looking fora program coordinator for our new nonprofit resource
center that I mentioned earlier in ourconversation. We're also looking for someone who
(19:44):
will help us continue to build ourgreat relationships with our corporate partners, and
so if you're interested in being aprogram officer for corporate relations, we would
love to talk to you. Andso lots of great things happening and always
openings because you know, we takea lot of supports for our community and
we always are looking for great talentfor Team United Great and I know folks
(20:07):
can find out more about everything we'vetalked about on the website right Yes,
absolutely, UNITEDWAYURI dot org is ourwebsite. Our Facebook and LinkedIn are constantly
updated and we want you to wewant to participate with you, and we
also have a number we have agreat events page on our website, so
we would love to have you joinus at one of our events. We
(20:27):
have a number of great ones happeningover the course of the next couple of
months. If you just want tosee some of the work or be part
of a conversation about these issues thatwe're really focused on tackling. Courtney Nicolato
is the CEO of United Way ofRhode Island. Courtney, thanks for all
your time today and thanks for everythingyou're doing for Rhode Islanders. It is
absolutely my honor to do this work. My mom always said leave the world
(20:51):
better than you got it, andI really took that seriously, and so
it's a pleasure to do that anda pleasure to always to catch up with you.
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