II. BACKGROUND
The United Way Strategic Plan calls for "...high quality needs assessment
information...to guide ... organizational decision-making, particularly resource
development and allocations." This document provides an update to the 1990 Needs
Assessment and succeeds the Funding Emphases with Interim Priorities for Fiscal Year
1994-95 (FY95). The purpose has been to determine which needs are greatest, what action
must be taken to meet community needs, and which areas of need will receive funding
priorities. The 1993 Needs Assessment and FY95 Interim Priorities Report will be succeeded
with refined Needs Assessment data and new long-term Priorities for FY96-FY99. Therefore,
this will be a short lived document and serve as a bridge to new Priorities for FY96.
The economic recession of the past few years has resulted in higher unemployment, fewer
allocable contributions and a growth in demand for services from individuals and families.
These pressures drive The United Way and its funded agencies to focus resources upon
service areas of high priority. The Interim Priorities make explicit the value judgments
used to make choices in the allocations process for San Mateo County. The Agency Relations
Committee will apply the updated Needs Assessment data and Interim Priorities with other
information to determine programmatic allocation decisions.
To update the Needs Assessment and Funding Emphases Report, demographic information was
gathered from the 1990 census data and other community reports from agencies and donors
(see Appendix C). Focus groups were conducted to gather qualitative information to
identify perceived needs that exist throughout the County.