United Way announces local grants The United Way of Monmouth County board of directors has officially announced that 68 local health and human service agencies will receive funding for the 2006-07 cycle. This year more than 50 volunteers assisted in the annual resource investment process reviewing more than 70 applications, making onsite visits to the agencies, conducting interviews with agency staff, board members and key volunteers. Of the $900,000 to be distributed, the largest amount distributed was $40,000, and the smallest grant was $2,800, with an average grant being $13,325. Four new agencies also received funding for the first time. "This process is the probably the most significant act the United Way accomplishes; distributing funds to agencies in need. We are very fortunate to live in a community where we can truly see how reaching out to others can make a difference," said Tom Hayes, chairman of the resource investment committee and community relations manager for the New Jersey Natural Gas Co. "We have an obligation on the resource investment committee to ensure that the donors' contributions are distributed in the most efficient and effective way possible. Our committee has worked long hours pouring over numerous applications with great intensity to ensure the success of this process. A great deal of thanks goes to the many volunteers from all over the county, from all walks of life who dedicated themselves to this process for the betterment of the community at large," Hayes said. According to a press release, United Way of Monmouth County allocates its unrestricted funds annually through this open competitive grant process, known as the resource investment process. This process identifies high-quality programs that address critical community impact areas and provides significant measurable outcomes. Proposals for this year's funding cycle were accepted in the early spring and all applicants had to be registered with the state of New Jersey and be in business for a period of at least two years. Each proposal had to contain an agency program overview, a noted target population, an evaluation methodology including goals, tools, measurable outcomes and program budgets. Collaboration with other service providers was strongly encouraged, thus avoiding the duplication of any service. Any proposal that was determined to properly address one of the United Way defined impact areas and did so with reasonable cost and had the capacity to complete the projects was reviewed. Once the process was completed, the committee then made its recommendations to the United Way Board of Directors. The board of directors then made its final approvals for the specific funding amounts. The following are some of the list of agencies to be funded by the United Way in 2006: 180, Turning Lives Around; Alzheimer's Disease and Related Disorders Association; Association for Retarded Citizens, Monmouth Unit; Big Brothers Big Sisters; Cancer Care of New Jersey; CentraState Health Awareness Center. Also, Child Assault Prevention of Monmouth County; Collier Services; CPC Behavioral Healthcare; FoodBank of Monmouth and Ocean Counties; Freehold Area Open Door; Hispanic Affairs and Resource Center of Monmouth County; I Beseech Thee Community Development Corporation; Jewish Community Center of Greater Monmouth County; Jewish Family and Children's Service of Greater Monmouth County. And, Literacy Volunteers of Monmouth County; Love In the Name of Christ; Monmouth Council of Girl Scouts; Monmouth Council, Boy Scouts of America; Monmouth Housing Alliance; National Multiple Sclerosis Society; Ocean-Monmouth Legal Services; Parker Family Health Center; Planned Parenthood of Central New Jersey; Prevention First; Samaritan Center; Visiting Nurse Association of Central Jersey; Western Monmouth Habitat for Humanity; YMCA of Western Monmouth County.