March 10, 2006 (Cleveland, Ohio)
The 2005 United Way of Greater Cleveland Campaign surpassed its fundraising goal, raising $43,825,886, announced Henry L. Meyer III, United Way campaign chairman and KeyCorp chairman and CEO at United Way's Annual Meeting March 10 at the Renaissance Cleveland Hotel. Nearly 1,200 people attended the meeting to celebrate United Way's contribution to the community.

"This accomplishment can only happen when a caring community comes together, as they did in this campaign. United Way is the best way to invest in the health and human service safety net in our community, and Clevelanders know this," Meyer said. The fundraising success of United Way this year is the result of the hard work of outstanding volunteers who served on the United Way Campaign Cabinet. These community leaders led the way and provided opportunities for the community to participate in the campaign.

"This is a great sign, a great win for all Clevelanders," Alexander M. (Sandy) Cutler, the outgoing chairman of United Way's Board of Directors and chairman and CEO of Eaton Corporation said. "This is an illustration of the high level of caring that exists in this community, and we are very grateful to our volunteers and donors for their exceptional contribution to our community."

Among the largest workplace campaigns in 2005, four were over $1 million: KeyCorp ($3.9 million); National City ($2.85 million); Eaton Corporation ($1.35 million) and The Cleveland Clinic Main Campus ($1.07 million; entire health system more than $1.5 million).

Cutler was honored for his two years as United Way board chairman. Under his leadership, United Way has made many important improvements including beginning a multi-year funding process for community partners, adding six new United Way community partners and initiating the core services planning process. At the Annual Meeting Sandra Pianalto, president and CEO of the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland and Steven R. Borstein, financial advisor with Cedar Brook Financial Partners were named United Way's Volunteers of the Year. Pianalto chairs United Way's Community Investment Division and Borstein chairs United Way's Investment Committee. Both are board members. Together, they have led the Board of Directors in investing more than $125 million over the last five years into quality core safety net programs and have helped lead United Way's Core Services Planning initiative.

Steven A. Minter, executive in residence at Cleveland State University, was congratulated for his service as co-chair of the Community Vision Council (CVC). His leadership facilitated the creation of the CVC, a collaboration between The Cleveland Foundation, United Way and other partners. Mr. Minter has also served on the Executive Committee of United Way of Greater Cleveland's Board of Directors.

At the board meeting prior to the Annual Meeting new officers, Executive Committee and Board of Directors members were elected. Meyer, the 2005 campaign chairman was elected as United Way's chairman of the board. Another new officer is Rosalind Thompson, chair, Human Resources/Equal Opportunity Committee and chief team officer, Dots, Inc. New Executive Committee members include Steve D. Bullock, principal, The Bullock Group; Suzanne M. Howe, vice president of electronic payments, Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland; and Eleanor B. Steigman, community volunteer. New Board of Directors members include Jeanne Halladay Coughlin, president, The Coughlin Group; Todd F. Clossin, president and CEO, Fifth Third Bank of Northeastern Ohio; A. J. Hyland, president and CEO, Hyland Software Inc.; The Honorable Frank G. Jackson, Mayor of Cleveland; James F. Kirsch, president, Ferro Corporation; Stanley R. Miller, executive director, Cleveland Chapter, NAACP; Patrick S. Mullin, managing partner, Deloitte and Touche LLP; Stephen J. Ong, vice president of supervision and regulation, Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland; Michael Schwartz, Ph.D., president, Cleveland State University; Frank Whalley, vice president, UPS; The Honorable William S. Young, commissioner, Geauga Board of County Commissioners.

At the Annual Meeting the 2006 campaign chairs were named: Robert J. King, Jr., managing partner, Western Reserve Partners LLC and Robert H. Rawson, Jr., partner-in-charge, Cleveland, Jones Day.

United Way of Greater Cleveland is a leading convener and funder of partnerships focused on solutions for our community's health and human service priorities. United Way invests in our community through more than 175 programs managed by 130 United Way partner agencies throughout Greater Cleveland.

For more information, please contact David Levey, communications manager at dlevey@uws.org or 216-436-2122.