United Way for Southeastern Michigan (UWSEM) joined two donors this week to contribute a total $200,000 to the Detroit Water Fund, Mayor Mike Duggan’s response to helping low-income Detroiters with their water bill. UWSEM, the Ford Motor Company Fund and the General Motors Foundation announced their donations Monday at the United Way’s 211 call center. The donations are the first major contributions to the Detroit Water Fund since it was established two weeks ago as part of Mayor Duggan’s 10-point plan to assist Detroit residents in getting current on their water bill before the residential shutoff moratorium expires on Aug. 25. In this interview, UWSEM CEO Michael Brennan talks to Bankole Thompson about why his organization gave $100,000, the highest amount so far to the water fund. Excerpts
MICHIGAN CHRONICLE: Why did United Way feel the need to step in for the fund?
MICHAEL BRENNAN: One of our three core focus areas at United Way is Basic Needs, and there is no more basic need than the need for water. That made United Way a natural for this assignment. Capitalizing on the expertise of our 211 call center, a free and confidential information and referral hotline, we connect people with the resources they need most. In addition to calling for help with their water bills, individuals can also get assistance with food, housing, employment, health care and more.
MC: Were you at all disturbed by the international press the water crisis in Detroit received?
MB: Yes. I am always concerned when our region is perceived negatively, no matter what the issue. In my position at United Way, my focus is on how we move the city forward and work collaboratively with others to solve problems and address the pressing needs of residents. Working with the mayor to develop the Detroit Water Fund, and with the corporate leadership shown by Jim Vella from the Ford Motor Company Fund and Vivian Pickard from the General Motors Foundation is an example of how we can change what might have initially been viewed as a negative situation into a positive one.
MC: Do you share the view that the global attention the city received from the water crisis was bad for its image?
MB: Ultimately, no. Remember, this is a story that is still evolving. I do think it began as a negative story for our city, but it is turning into something else. We are showing that Detroit is a city of problem solvers. Working together, caring individuals and organizations are responding quickly to what could have become a crisis. We are helping people meet their short and long term need for water, and showing them where to get help so they can assume the fiscal responsibility the vast majority of our residents want to assume in addressing unpaid water bills.
MC: In a tough economy like this, its been equally tough for nonprofits as well. How is United Way able to maintain its mission of community service even as resources are dwindling?
MB: We are targeting our resources in a few specific areas where we can make the biggest difference in peoples’ lives. By focusing on basic needs, education and financial stability, we are helping people meet immediate crises, but also develop the skills necessary to become independent and stable. We are funding only those community partners that work in these specific areas and share our mission. Currently, we work with more than 500 community partners to address some of the region’s toughest social issues. As resources dwindled in the region, we have sought innovative ways to work with others for greater results.
For example, through our “Meet Up & Eat Up” initiative, children who rely on free and reduced-price school lunches during the school year can continue to get meals throughout the summer months at a variety of community-based sites. We are also leading on efforts to turn around metro Detroit high schools with historically low graduation rates by preparing students to become college and career ready. Through our Detroit Regional Workforce Fund, we are creating pathways to jobs. Our work is not accomplished alone; it is dependent on cooperation among a wide range of partners who share common goals and visions for the future of our region.
MC: What is your sense of the city’s direction right now?
MB: With the creation of the Detroit Water Fund we have moved in a positive direction. The mayor’s press conference to announce the creation of water fund instilled confidence in the city’s can-do response in solving this problem. I am very optimistic about Detroit’s future. In the past decade I have seen a dramatic improvement in the ways corporations, government entities and nonprofits work together for the common good. At United Way we have a Big Hairy Audacious Goal (BHAG) to help Greater Detroit become one of the top five places to live and work by the year 2030. To get there, no one institution or organization can accomplish this alone. But together, with the commitment of all of us, great progress is being made and will continue.
MC: What else do you think other nonprofits with similar missions like yours should be embracing in Detroit?
MB: There are so many areas with which other nonprofits could become involved. We have a hunger crisis in this community. Earlier I mentioned our summer feeding program, “Meet Up & Eat Up.” In Detroit, we have a wonderful network of food pantries, but the need for children to have increased access to more healthy and nutritious food options is unending. Early childhood education is another important focus. Through United Way’s funding of Early Learning Communities (ELCs), we are preparing our young people for positive futures by increasing kindergarten readiness from 50 to 80 percent through an ongoing collaborative approach. This engaged effort targets young children by training parents and caregivers to utilize best practices in early child care, as well as by connecting them with a variety of needed and necessary social services.
