Sally Zive will leave the post she’s held since 1999 and begin treatment in February for ovarian cancer.

What’s an especially exciting project for United Way right now?

The Allumbaugh House (a 16-bed detox and mental health crisis center) will open in March.

It’s a perfect example of the special power of collaboration that we are focused on now. It takes all of us, the nonprofit organizations and all levels of the government to “move the needle” on big issues like this.

Substance abuse is a root cause of so many community problems. The Allumbaugh House isn’t a treatment facility, but it’s a place to start to build a system of care to keep folks on track.

The project has taken a while, but it was a remarkable effort from so many groups in the community who stayed at the table together to see it through.

How has United Way of Treasure Valley changed since you took over leadership in 1999?

The biggest change has been in the community in the business landscape.

Historically, our primary relationships were with businesses. We would help people learn about local needs and how they could do something about it.

Now, we need to figure out how to reach the self-employed, the professionals in smaller businesses in a cost-effective way that engages them.

A well-known local CEO told me that not that long ago, he could bring 15 or 20 CEOs together to discuss a community issue, and they would represent 80 percent of the Valley’s employed people. It was easy to get things done.

Now, it would take hundreds of CEOs to get that kind of coverage to make that kind of an impact.

What this means for everybody is that we need to know more people, talk to more people and find more ways people can contribute – because they do want to contribute.

How did the organization decide to focus its giving on three areas: education, income and health?

It comes from the national United Way’s research, and essentially means we want to help people be healthy, wealthy and wise.

For me, it seems education trumps everything. If you get an education, you’ll have fewer problems with everything else, and studies have shown that this is true.

I think there are all kinds of forces coming together now, from United Way to the Idaho Statesman’s Vision for the Valley project to the J.A. and Kathryn Albertson Foundation, to change the local culture of the importance of education at the early and secondary levels. This excites me.

United Way designed Born Learning, a program that focuses on early education. What else is the organization doing?

This quarter, we’ll release a study we started last summer to look at the graduation rate, and college attendance, as well as the educational resources we have and which we don’t, specifically in the Treasure Valley.

The study will help United Way and other organizations identify the kinds of projects the community needs, and what collaborative efforts can improve college attendance rates.

What project was the hardest to sell to your staff and donors?

Investing in the education research took some doing.

My contention is that if we want to be a credible voice in education, we need to partner with the university and use the research talents there to help us know what we don’t know.

There’s always tension between the various compelling needs for money, but periodic research can help make sure we’re investing our time and financial resources wisely.

We need to be able to tell people about the scope of an issue if we are trying to solve it.

How do you counter those who say United Way is a “middle man,” and that it’s better to give directly to charities?

That old model, where we were a fundraiser for a static list of beneficiaries is long gone. Unfortunately, the memory lives on.

We’re in a unique position – between businesses, government, individuals and nonprofit organizations.

Most nonprofits are focused on the important work they do every day. We have the advantage of knowing a lot about the good results they are achieving.

We want to help “connect the dots” among all these groups to come up with a more coordinated and cohesive approach to issues.

After my medical issues are taken care of, I hope to continue to be involved with these problem solving activities in our community. It has been such an honor to serve with United Way these many years.

Anna Webb: 377-6431

From the Statesman’s article:

“We’re in the final stages of interviewing candidates for my position,” said Zive, who became the organization’s CEO in 1999. She will continue her association with the group, even if it’s not as CEO, she said.

Wayne Rancourt, United Way board chairman, and senior vice president at Boise Cascade, credits Zive with refining the organization’s focus on three areas of public need: education, income and health.

“We’re looking for someone who will follow what Sally has started, identifying the big issues in the community, making the most efficient use of donations and volunteer time, and getting the right people to the table,” Rancourt said.

From everyone involved and associated with United Way of Treasure Valley, we wish her the best, and look forward to her continued involvement into the future.

A copy of the Statesman’s article is also available on the United Way of Treasure Valley’s website, as is information about the CEO search.

The facility is located on Allumbaugh Street in Boise and will operate under the name “Allumbaugh House.” It will provide sobering services, medically monitored substance abuse detoxification services, and emergency mental health services to low-income, non-incarcerated adults. It’s scheduled to open in March, 2010 under the operations of Terry Reilly Health Services. It is the first project of its type in the State of Idaho and is designed as a prototype for communities in other regions of our State.

Each member of the governing board of directors is charged with providing proportional funding to fulfill the “ramp-up” operational budget. However, during these difficult economic times and budgetary concerns, especially of public entities, a short-fall was identified.

As an important community partner in the Treasure Valley, Wells Fargo Bank Foundation announced last week they have awarded a $5,000 grant to United Way of Treasure Valley to alleviate that short-fall in the Allumbaugh House start-up budget.

Thank you to Wells Fargo’s foundation for their financial help at a critical time in the progression of this community project.

On December 3rd, United Way held an Investment Volunteer Reception at Beside Bardenay to celebrate the kickoff of this process. The event, sponsored by Intermountain Community Bank, was attended by United Way Staff, Board members, and volunteers who will commit their time over the next few months to ensure that these funds are invested in quality programs.

Over 80 volunteers will review grant applications, attend site visits and engage in discussions with non-profit leaders in the Treasure Valley. To see a complete list of programs that have applied for funding, visit 2010-11 Grant Applicants (PDF).

The volunteers’ funding recommendations will be made to United Way of Treasure Valley’s Community Impact Council, which presents the recommendations to the Board of Directors in March, 2010.

“After years of constructive conversation, I’m proud to announce that we now have construction – and as important as conversation can be, in this case construction is what is needed,” Mayor David Bieter said.  “The ground we break today represents a new and necessary addition to our services – not only for those in need in our community, but also for taxpayers who expect those services to be delivered in a cost-effective manner.”

The 9,200-square-foot facility will extend emergency sobering services, detoxification services, and mental health crisis services to Boise Valley residents in need. The facility is planned to provide a sobering station, 12 beds for detoxification and eight beds for mental health crisis.

Construction cost of the facility is estimated at $2.7 million, with an annual operating budget of $1.8 million. The facility will be owned and maintained by the Boise City/Ada County Housing Authority.

Other funding partners include United Way of Treasure Valley, Region IV Mental Health Board, the J.A. and Kathryn Albertson Foundation, Boise City/Ada County Housing Authority, Saint Alphonsus Regional Medical Center, St. Luke’s Regional Medical Center, and the Community Detox Coalition. Additional construction funding was provided through federal funds brought home by Idaho’s Congressional Delegation.

In case you missed it; a coupla highlights.

I am extremely pleased to share that an operator for the Community Detox and Crisis Mental Health facility was announced by the Joint Powers Entity at their August 20th board meeting.  Terry Reilly Health Services (TRHS) was selected from the pool of operator proposals submitted through a competitive public process.  United Way of Treasure Valley’s long relationship with TRHS makes me so very confident in this decision.  The opening of this new facility located on Alumbaugh Street in Boise is scheduled for early 2010.

Our United Way Board committed to this project by adopting the Substance Abuse Prevention and Recovery Initiative over four years ago, and they have remained tenacious in seeing this project through to completion.   On behalf of all of us at United Way, I extend our appreciation to the leadership and financial support of Boise Mayor Dave Bieter and Boise City Council, the Ada County Commissioners, Mayors and City Councils of Meridian and Eagle, the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare, Saint Alphonsus RMC, St. Luke’s, the Community Detox Coalition, and our Congressional Delegation.

Congratulations to the communities we serve and their commitment to making the Treasure Valley a very special place to live for all our residents.

This week we marked a momentous achievement for our community–the announcement of  the signing of a joint powers agreement to build, fund and provide for the operation of a community detox center.

The need for a detox center has long been recognized, but what it took to make the vision a reality seemed too large of a project for any one entity to take on, which is where United Way’s unique position in the community could be of greatest service. As a convener, United Way could pull together our friends in the business community, the human services sector, elected officials and state agencies to come to the table and stay there until we had a plan.

We stayed at that table for almost a decade. The project required intricate funding and operations planning for it to be successful and sustainable. And now, because of that commitment, the visionaries of this vital community service will see groundbreaking in April, 2009 on a 9,200 square foot facility that will begin operation in 2010.

The detox center is a testament to the caring power of this community, and at United Way, we are very proud to be a leader in service to this community that knows what it means to give back. Thanks, Treasure Valley.

Scott Simplot, chair of the Company’s board of directors, kicked off their campaign by discussing his dad:

“My dad was like most of you. When he got a request for money, his reaction a lot of the time was, ‘Oh no, not another request.’ Most of the time, it took him awhile to decide. When he liked something, eventually he’d come around to making a donation. He would say something like, ‘I have no argument with that organization. It is a good way to give back to the community.”

“In this case, the United Way is truly beyond argument. It is THE good way to give back to our community, and I hope our employees will consider participating in the 2008 campaign.”

And give they did.

The Simplot folks’ campaign goal was an 8% increase over last year; good by anyone’s standards. But the Simplot employees took that challenge and ran with it. By the end of their two week campaign they had shattered their previous giving record, well past the 8% goal.

Simplot increased their giving by 25% over last year.

Simplot has always been one of our biggest supporters. And as a long time Corporate Champion, they have demonstrated their commitment to making sure that every dollar that comes from the community campaign goes to work in our community.

But a 25% increase over last year?!?! Now that’s a whole other level.

Thank you Simplot. You’ve done yourself proud.