SALISBURY — As Rowan County United Way prepares to launch its new funding model, Executive Director Jenny Lee says the agency is looking to invest in programs that are sustainable with or without its money.

Starting in January, the United Way will switch to a community impact model, which will provide a two-year grant to specific programs. In the second year, funding will be cut by 10%. That’s to ensure the program is sustainable, Lee said. The change came as the United Way looked to maximize the impact of its funding and increase efficiency.

And to prepare for funding applications, United Way will have mandatory pre-qualification training at 2 p.m. May 8 and 9 a.m. May 9. A pre-qualification window will start May 10. The full grant application period starts June 19.

Grant applicants that are successful will receive their first funding on Jan. 1.

“Whatever program can meet the community needs we’ve identified, those will be the types of programs that will be awarded funding,” Lee said.

Those include substance abuse, mental health, healthy lifestyle behaviors and basic needs. Of the four categories, identified in a 2018 assessment, basic needs will represent the smallest number of programs to which funding is allocated.

It’s a change from United Way’s previous funding model in which the same member agencies were funded for many years. Now, Lee said, United Way will “focus on outcomes.”

And, if an agency serves 500 free meals, it may also need to provide an educational workshop on nutrition in order to receive funding, Lee said. Volunteers will help United Way evaluate the performance of grant recipients, she said.

Lou Adkins, one of those volunteers, said she believes the model will be “a catalyst to get some good programs going.” She’s specifically interested in seeing start-up programs for mental health.

“I was so thrilled when the United Way decided to do this,” Adkins said. “I’m very enthusiastic. I think this is a positive step.”

Adkins, whose son is mentally ill and receives services in Winston-Salem, said parents who have a family member dealing with a mental illness often don’t have anywhere to turn. She hopes to see a local program that’s a “mental health clearinghouse” for both patients and other programs.

“I’ve been involved with the system for 40 years, and it’s about as bad as it’s ever been since 2001,” Adkins said. “This is an opportunity to get the services we need.”

Lee said the pre-qualification period — May 10-24 — will be for organizations to submit basic information, including tax-exempt documents and financial reports.

The full grant application period ends July 31. Lee said United Way will ask for proposed programs to prove they can be sustainable and provide measurable outcomes.

“We believe in getting to the root of the issue and not just the surface,” she said.

For more information or to register for one of the training sessions, call United Way at 704-633-1802.

Contact editor Josh Bergeron at 704-797-4248.