United Way Aims High, Pledges Broader Role

United Way of Orange County has set a fund-raising goal of $20.5 million during its 1989 campaign and has pledged to take a more active role in drawing public attention to specific issues, officials announced Wednesday.

A more aggressive position on issues is needed to respond to the upsurge in health and social problems that have accompanied county economic and population growth, officials said.

“This year is critical for the organizations supported through the United Way campaign,” said 1989 campaign chairman Ronald L. Merriman, managing partner of KPMG Peat Marwick Main & Co. “Our response to these problems must begin now if we are to close the gap between services available to people and the growth of problems.”

United Way provides money for 121 health and social service organizations with proceeds from the campaign.

Mostly through payroll deductions, the organization last year raised $18.6 million, an 11% increase over the 1987 total. Despite increases in overall giving in recent years, the campaign has not met its goal in each of the last four years, falling about $600,000 short last year.

Officials said they are somewhat concerned that county corporations still contribute far less per capita than comparable areas. The national amount raised per capita, for example, averages about $17, while the rate in Orange County averages $8.

Officials attribute the gap to such varied reasons as the multitude of business areas in the county, rather than a single defined “downtown,” and a relatively youthful economic base that has not established a tradition of giving to charity.

To help meet new funding goals, the campaign this year will target the Asian and Pacific business communities and high-income individuals, groups that have been untapped in the past, officials said.

The local campaign will also focus on such key issues as substance abuse, child care and health care, which were identified as priorities in a community survey.

The survey of service providers, community leaders and more than 1,000 county residents was the first to sample community opinion since a similar one in 1985.

Service providers ranked child care, drug abuse, housing assistance and low-cost housing as top priorities, in that order.

Community leaders counted drug abuse, transportation, low-cost housing and temporary shelter as foremost concerns.

Among the general public, however, drug abuse, homelessness, child care, health care, acquired immune deficiency syndrome and race relations emerged as the most pressing concerns.