Campaign Goal Attainable with Flurry of Holiday Season Giving
By Mike Field

With less than three weeks to go in the 1994 Johns Hopkins United
Way Campaign, pledges and con-tributions amounting to more than
90 percent of the $556,000 goal have been received, and officials
are cautiously optimistic they will meet their target before the
end of the year.
     "Historically, we tend to receive large cash contributions
in the weeks immediately preceding Christmas," said Judy
Peregoff, United Way administrator and director of the Office of
Faculty, Staff and Retiree Programs. "We are slightly ahead of
last year s figures to date, so I am still hopeful we will reach
our goal."
     In 1993 the Hopkins United Way Campaign exceeded its goal by
raising $529,169. 
      Alfred Sommer, dean of the Hopkins School of Hygiene and
Public Health and the university s campaign chair for 1994,
addressed university administrators, staff and United Way
solicitors at a thank-you breakfast last week. In his remarks he
noted that there was a lot more enthusiasm generated right from
the beginning of the campaign, in large part because three times
as many employees as last year had volunteered to be solicitors.
     "Being a solicitor is not an easy task, but it is so
important to the campaign s success," he said. "People want to
give, and they appreciate a reminder. The solicitors provide
that, going out of their way to make the important one-on-one
appeal to co-workers. So, in the final days of the campaign, keep
on reminding," he urged them.
     This year s effort, with a goal 5 percent above last year s,
has resulted in more than 500 new contributors to the program,
said Peregoff, further evidence that the adverse publicity
surrounding financial irregularities at the national United Way
organization has begun to subside. Contributions to the program
declined significantly in 1992 after allegations of impropriety
at the national level surfaced.
     "We re still rebuilding," said Peregoff, who noted that the
Hopkins effort is on behalf of the United Way of Central
Maryland, a totally separate entity, incorporated in Maryland and
run by a volunteer board of directors of which Dr. Richardson is
a member. It is important to differentiate between the national
and local United Way organizations. "Non-profit organizations
typically have overhead and administrative costs of about 25
percent or more," she said. "United Way of Central Maryland s
costs are only about 13 percent roughly half the national
average and we are extremely proud of that."
     The local organization typically uses about 7 percent of the
money it receives to pay for fund-raising costs, 4 percent for
administrative costs and about 2 percent for programs
administration. Less than 1 percent is earmarked as dues to the
national United Way organization.
     This year, the Hopkins United Way campaign is raising money
to help support 59 community agencies and over 130 funded
programs in the Central Maryland region. The programs address the
full range of human needs within eight broad categories:
community support, emergency assistance, health care, family
services, services for te elderly, services for people with
disabilities, youth services, and adult training and employment
programs. 
     "If there is a human problem, there is probably a United Way
agency attempting to address it," Peregoff said.
     In addition to financial contributions, many individuals
also donate time to their favorite United Way charity.
     "One of the ways we are able to help keep overhead low and
ensure that as much money as possible is spent on services is
through the extensive use of volunteer labor," Peregoff said.
"Last year, more than 20,000 volunteers helped our United Way to
efficiently fulfill its mission of matching resources to needs."
     For many people confronting personal hardships, the United
Way of Central Maryland is the first place they turn for help.
     The organization operates a 24- hour/seven-day hotline
providing information and referrals for all manner of
difficulties. The hotline can be reached at 685-0525. It serves
the region as a clearing-house for human services and offers
individuals in crisis a round-the-clock source of help.
     As the 1994 Hopkins United Way Campaign winds to a close,
Peregoff and campaign divisional coordinators and solicitors are
busy writing letters and making personal reminders to many people
who have contributed in the past, but may have simply forgotten
to fill out their pledge cards this year.
     "Everyone likes to meet goals, but in the long run that s
really not the point of all this," Peregoff said. "I believe it s
important that we at Hopkins, both individually and as an
institution, make a significant contribution to our community. As
one of the region s largest employers we have to assume a
leadership role in this regard."
     Everyone in the university community is welcome to join in
the effort, she said. "It s still not too late. If you haven t
filled out your pledge card, there s still time."