Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

United Way raises $17.7 million in recent campaign; looks for lower goal in the coming year

United Way of Greater Rochester and the Finger Lakes offices in Rochester
Brian Sharp
/
WXXI News
United Way of Greater Rochester and the Finger Lakes offices in Rochester

The United Way of Greater Rochester and the Finger Lakes didn’t quite make the $18 million goal it set for the just-completed fundraising campaign, but it came very close.

The organization, which covers a six-county area, raised $17.7 million in 2024.

United Way President and CEO Jaime Saunders said the organization is grateful, considering they went through some changes in their grant making process, and potential donors are also coping with pocketbook issues.

“When things are unknown, or we are looking at the costs of just basic goods and services, often, we can retrench,” Saunders said. “We can lean back. But in this community, we just witness time and time again that they lean forward and do the best that they can given the dynamics that are at play.”

Saunders noted that the nation is still dealing with economic challenges, including inflationary costs.

The local United Way has reduced its goal for the coming year, to $16.5 million. She said that goal is based in part to trends the United Way sees in terms of what nonprofit organizations are seeing across the country.

“We are laser focused on not only meeting the $16.5 million, but surpassing it. We have done this collectively before,” said Saunders. “We also cannot ignore the fact that there's a lot of unsettling and unknown changes to come, and so we have to be eyes wide open. But we also believe more than ever that our community can rise to the occasion.”

The Chair of the 2025 campaign is Vince Lecce, Rochester Market President and Private Bank Market leader Senior Vice President at KeyBank. In a statement, Lecce said that he looks forward to rallying support “to meet and exceed our campaign goal,” and to leverage his role with KeyBank to connect with the community to make the campaign drive successful.

Randy Gorbman is WXXI's director of news and public affairs. Randy manages the day-to-day operations of WXXI News on radio, television, and online.