Battered women. Families strapped for cash and in need of everything from gas to food.

They are among those helped by the Area Wide United Way.

For the charitable group and the 31 non-profit agencies it supports, compassion comes with cash.

Raising money -- nearly $900,000 last year -- and allocating the bulk of it to 31 different agencies and organizations from the Salvation Army to the Boy Scouts is the main mission of the Area Wide United Way.

Nancy Jernigan, executive director, said the United Way board doesn't dole out cash lightly.

For 2003, the United Way funded agencies combined are seeking $779,223, or more than $200,000 more than was allocated this year.

Jernigan doubts the agencies will get everything they've asked for.

The Salvation Army, for example, is asking for $80,000, $15,000 more than its current allocation.

This year, the United Way has allocated $665,389 for charitable groups from the money raised last year. The figure includes $89,889 in money earmarked for one-time grants to groups and projects that aren't on the annual funding list. About $17,000 of the money budgeted for grants has been allocated including money for a volunteer center to hook up volunteers with agencies that need them.

Another $160,000 in donations goes to operate the United Way office on Broadway and pay its three-member staff.

Jernigan said 15 to 17 cents of every dollar raised goes to administrative overhead.

The United Way board used to make the funding decisions by itself. But now agency funding requests are reviewed each April by committees of United Way volunteers and board members. Committees range from as few as five members to as many as 11, not counting staff.

The review process, spread over eight days, began last week and concludes Thursday. This is the fourth year for this funding process.

Jernigan said her office welcomes volunteers for the 10 review committees. The funding request process is more than a matter of money. It's also educational, she said.

"It educates people about programs and services," Jernigan said.

It also provides accountability, she said. Representatives of agencies seeking funding from United Way come before the committees to discuss their written funding requests.

Maj. Robert Gauthier of the Salvation Army argued his case for funding at a committee meeting last Wednesday in Southeast Missouri State University's Dempster Hall.

Gauthier wants $70,000 for the Army to spend on general assistance and disaster relief and another $10,000 for its youth programs. The Salvation Army wants to expand its youth programs in its gymnasium, including a program to educate children about the dangers of drug and alcohol abuse.

Gauthier said the Salvation Army in Cape Girardeau provided food, clothing, emergency transportation and other "basic necessities of life" to about 20,000 people last year.

'Very compassionate'

The Salvation Army operates on a budget of more than $659,000 a year with much of that money coming from its Christmas fund drive and other regular donations. In 2003, only 12 percent of its projected funding would come from the United Way, budget figures show.

Gauthier said the United Way has been good for his faith-based agency. "By and large, the United Way is very compassionate," he told a funding review committee.

United Way board member Narvol Randol served on that review committee, which looked at three different agencies during its three-hour session.

"We know who we will fund, just not how much we will give them," Randol said.

Cheryl Robb-Welch, who directs the Safe House for Women Inc., showed up to press her request for $28,000, the same amount the agency received last year from the United Way.

The agency provides a toll-free crisis line, counseling and shelter for battered women and their children. The money requested from United Way amounts to only about 10 percent of its $271,000 budget.

Despite the needs, she said, she couldn't justify asking United Way for more money. The Safe House for Women gets most of its funding from grants and tax money.

Documenting results

In recent years, the United Way has pushed the agencies to document the results of their programs as a further accountability measure. Robb-Welch said that it's a little bit harder for her organization when the crisis hotline deals mostly with abused women who at least initially won't give their full names.

But Jernigan said later that agencies need to be held accountable for how they spend United Way donations. The funding process is organized to do that, she said.

Ultimately, the funding requests get reviewed by an allocation committee of 11 members of the United Way board.

Dan Muser, Cape Girardeau city parks and recreation director, currently chairs the committee which makes recommendations to the entire United Way board.

The 28 voting members of the board make the final decisions on doling out the money. Those decisions are made in December after the annual fall fund-raising campaign is completed and board members know how much money is available.

Muser said the board takes a detailed look at the organizations and agencies United Way funds. "We look at the financial condition, how much funds could come from other sources," he said.

The fund-raising drive lasts only a few months each year. But the planning and budgeting process is always ongoing, he said.

mbliss@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 123