United Way for Southeastern Michigan has been selected as one of the 2009 Best-Managed Nonprofits by Crain's Detroit Business. This is a huge honor for us. In a year marked by an exceedingly tough economy, our organization has been faced with meeting increased community need with shrinking financial resources.

Crain's Detroit Business evaluated our business model for 2-1-1 and 2-1-1 On the Go! programming. The selection of Finalists was based on a variety of criteria. Among them: finding ways to do more with less, collaborative efforts and cost-sharing strategies, and modifications in programming that has resulted in the organization being better-able to meet the needs of its service recipients. We excelled in all categories - and the competition was extremely competitive.

To learn more about the 2009 Best-Managed Nonprofits, please read Crain's Best-Managed Nonprofits: Rewarding winning ways. Below is an excerpt from Crain's Detroit Business about our 2-1-1 and 2-1-1 On the Go! programming.

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After launching the 2-1-1 health and human services hot line to provide residents with referrals to local programs and services, United Way for Southeastern Michigan took the initiative further than any of its other national affiliates with its launch of 2-1-1 On The Go.

The local 2-1-1 call center is available around the clock, seven days a week, and is a multilingual, anonymous referral service linking callers to other organizations that can assist them or that could use volunteers.

Four years after the launch of the 2-1-1 call center for residents of Wayne, Oakland and Macomb counties, United Way is able to provide referrals to more than 30,000 local programs and services.

Through the center, United Way this year assisted 371,000 callers looking for social services assistance or even volunteer opportunities, up from 69,147 its first year.

Labels: 2-1-1, 211onthego, basic needs, InTheNews