Some Ottawa charities fear they will lose their United Way funding as a result of the group's new focus on specific goals and measurable results.

The United Way of Ottawa has decided to target nine goals, in three areas:

• Helping children succeed academically.
• Helping disadvantaged groups engage with the community.
• Turning lives around.

Michael Allen, president and CEO of United Way Ottawa, said the new strategy, publicly released this week, will ultimately benefit charities that receive United Way funding.

'Reality of the marketplace'

The United Way is focusing on measurable results to ensure programs are actually delivering, said Lawrence Greenspon, who heads the United Way committee that hands out money from the organization's fundraising campaign. "Becoming more focused, we believe, is absolutely key to success in raising more money for their [charities] good work," he told CBC Radio's Ottawa Morning on Friday.

He said the goals were the result of four to five years of consultations among different stakeholders, including donors.

"They're looking for a sense of result…a return on their investment," he said. "It's just a reality of the marketplace and the competitiveness that we face."

The United Way is focusing on measurable results to ensure programs are actually delivering, said Ottawa lawyer Lawrence Greenspon, who heads the United Way committee that hands out money from the organization's fundraising campaign.

"When an agency says we want to do this, the United Way says, 'All right, we'll help to fund you, we want to make sure you're doing that...and if and when you do achieve that, that's great but if you don't we want to know why."

Some groups may stop qualifying for funding

Marion Wright is chair of the Alliance to End Homelessness, one of several umbrella groups for non-profit organizations that appeared Thursday before the City of Ottawa's protective services committee to express concerns about the goals. Allen also appeared to provide the committee with a verbal update on the United Way's new approach.

Frank Reid said programs for people with disabilities that aren't targeted at employment won't be funded. 'The kind of clientele we work with, they will never necessarily be employed,' he added. (CBC)Wright said member agencies that have homelessness prevention programs for people about to be evicted onto the street have been told they will no longer qualify.

"Well that means there would be no services," she said. "We would be most likely to have more families fall into homelessness...and already the numbers in Ottawa, especially for families and children, are exceptionally high."

She said there is currently a lack of clarity for organizations that rely on United Way funding right now.

The United Way Ottawa responded Friday that in fact, homelessness prevention programs will still qualify for funding under one of the organizations stated goals, decreasing chronic homelessness through prevention and supportive housing.

Frank Reid is on the board of Citizen Advocacy, an agency that matches people with disabilities with volunteers who can help them access medical and legal services. He is concerned that the only new United Way goal concerning people with disabilities is to increase their employment by 51 per cent.

"If you haven't got a program that's oriented toward setting people up to get future jobs or be employed, you're not going to be funded," he said. "The kind of clientele we work with, they will never necessarily be employed."

The United Way says no final decisions have been made about which groups will get funding and the strategic goals are still under discussion. Allen said the organization will speak over the next year with the agencies it funds to see how they can contribute to the goals and frame that information for donors.