UNMC’s United Way campaign goes online

For the first time, UNMC will conduct its campus United Way campaign electronically.

How have United Way contributions benefited UNMC? The American Cancer Society has given approximately $7 million to UNMC for research over the past five years. The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society currently has granted $500,000 and nearly $1 million over the past five years. Approximately $2 million from the American Heart Association currently assists UNMC projects. There are currently three research grants from the American Diabetes Association, totaling nearly $800,000.

Beginning Monday, UNMC employees will be able to pledge online through an efficient, secure system that mirrors the traditional paper pledging system of years past.

“Online pledging is an exciting change for our campaign and gives employees the opportunity to quickly and easily donate to the cause,” said campus chairwoman Barbara Hurlbert, M.D., professor of anesthesiology in the College of Medicine. “Employees will find the eWay Web site user friendly, efficient and accessible any time of day.”

UNMC’s goal is to raise $126,000 for the campaign, said UNMC Chancellor Harold M. Maurer, M.D., who is the United Way vice chairman for Community Health Charities of Nebraska.

“The campaign is a very important project for the city and state,” Dr. Maurer said. “We are hoping for 100 percent employee participation.”

The campaign runs from Oct. 16 through Nov. 3. On Oct. 16, UNMC employees will receive a user name and password in an e-mail message sent to their UNMC e-mail account. A handful of UNMC employees who do not have a UNMC e-mail account will receive pledge cards to fill out.

Employees may access the eWay Web site, as well as a list of frequently asked questions, on the UNMC Intranet at https://donor.unitedeway.org?campaign=06uwm21279.

Once again, employees may direct their campaign contributions, which help support more than 150 health and human service programs across the Omaha-Council Bluffs-Bellevue metropolitan areas. Overall, the United Way hopes to raise $17 million for the community. “It’s such a worthy cause and all the money stays in the community,” Dr. Hurlbert said.

Campaign pledges, which can be made through UNMC’s payroll deduction, are automatically withdrawn beginning in January. Individuals who pledge by Oct. 20 will be eligible for weekly prize drawings. The drawings, which will be every Friday during the campaign, include gift certificates from Borsheim’s, Target, Best Buy, Nebraska Furniture Mart and Westroads Mall. Winners will be announced in UNMC Today.

A “no-pledge” option is available online for employees choosing not to donate this year. Individuals unable to contribute are still encouraged to access the eWay Web site and submit their “no donation” response to be eligible for the prize drawings.

For more information, contact Jill Carson, UNMC’s campaign manager, at 559-4694.