United Way of Greater St. Louis sets fund-raising record

ST. LOUIS – United Way of Greater St. Louis’ 2014 fund-raising campaign achieved record results.

United Way celebrated its campaign victory at Ballpark Village Tuesday night, where 2014 campaign chair Scott Schnuck announced that the community has helped United Way exceed its $72.5 million goal by raising $73,000,075.

“It’s really inspiring to know that we live in a community that is willing to step up to the plate to help people in need, no matter the circumstance,” said Schnuck, who is also chairman of the board at Schnuck Markets, Inc. “This year, we witnessed an outpouring of generosity from everyone in our region – on both sides of the river, from our labor unions, from companies big and small, and households in 16 counties – to make this campaign successful. I thank everyone for their contributions, large and small, to help local families live better.”

In addition to Schnuck, Mike DeCola, CEO of HBM Holding, served as co-chair of this year’s fundraising campaign. Schnuck and DeCola joined United Way board chair, Steve Maritz, and president and CEO Orvin Kimbrough to thank more 600 campaign volunteers and contributors who attended the campaign victory celebration. This year, thousands of volunteers worked on United Way’s campaign, including employee groups, labor unions, businesses, corporations and government employees. More than 2,500 companies ran campaigns and more than 150,000 individuals contributed to United Way’s campaign success in the 16-county region of Missouri and Illinois.

United Way’s regional thank-you receptions are as follows. At that time, the respective campaign leadership will announce the results for their division campaign.

· United Way’s Southwest Illinois Division, Thursday, Dec. 4, at Lewis and Clark Community College-Hatheway Cultural Center in Godfrey.

· United Way’s Tri-Cities Area Division, Thursday, Nov. 20, at Ravanelli’s in Granite City.

· United Way’s Illinois Division, Thursday, Dec. 11, at the Four Points – Sheraton in Fairview Heights.

By the numbers

The St. Louis Regional Business Council, which represents more than 100 area firms, raised more than $11.1 million this year.

Fourteen companies, their employees and participating labor unions were recognized for combined team gifts of more than $1 million each this year. Team gifts combine the gifts and pledges of employees with the company’s corporate contribution.

At the $5 million or more level in team gifts were the employees of Edward Jones. Edward Jones became the first company to invest $5 million to United Way’s annual campaign.

At the $4 million or more level in team gifts were employees of: Monsanto Company.

At the $3 million or more level in team gifts were employees of: Enterprise Holdings, Inc., and Anheuser-Busch Companies, Inc.

At the $2 million or more level in team gifts were employees of: Ameren, Emerson, and Wells Fargo. ​

At the $1 million or more level in team gifts were employees of: BJC Healthcare; The Boeing Company; Centene Corporation; MasterCard Technologies and Operations, MasterCard Worldwide; Nestle Purina PetCare Company; Schnuck Markets, Inc.; and World Wide Technology, Inc.

Money raised in this year’s campaign will help one out of every three people in this region by building a foundation for a good quality of life through basic needs, financial stability, education, health and strong communities. United Way supports more than 170 local nonprofit agencies.

To give to United Way of Greater St. Louis, call (314) 421-0700 or go online to www.HelpingPeople.org/give.