Name in the News: Norm Baker, Aloha United Way’s interim CEO

Next week, Aloha United Way will wrap up its official 100th annual giving campaign, although in coming months donations will continue to roll in. As AUW begins its second century, its various roles — ranging from fundraiser for other nonprofits, to convener of collaborative problem-solving efforts — continue to evolve.

Hawaii’s United Way chapter is among some 1,100 nationwide focused on “creating community-based and community-led solutions that strengthen the cornerstones for a good quality of life: education, financial stability and health.”

In explaining the framework for funding intake and distribution, AUW’s interim president and CEO, Norm Baker, said: “Think of two funnels,” with the narrow ends touching, and the wide ends at the top and bottom. “We’re in the middle.”

When an individual makes a donation designating funds to one of the chapter’s partner agencies, the money shoots through the funnel.

“We pass 100% of those dollars to the agency,” Baker said.

In cases of undesignated donation,“we basically conduct an RFP (request for proposals) process,” he said.

That starts with a group of more than two dozen volunteers sizing up compelling needs, with another committee overseeing the scoring. Then AUW’s 28-member board makes final funding decisions.

While much of the funding distribution moves at an annual pace, this year AUW launched a three-year grant through its ALICE fund (Asset Limited Income Constrained Employed). “For instance, we’re investing right now in up-skilling minimum wage workers so they can step into far more well-paying jobs.”

A native of Pittsburgh, Baker first touched down in the islands, with his family, in the early 1980s, when he was serving in the U.S. Air Force.

“I had an assignment in Australia, and we had to spend a couple of days in Hawaii because my records were here. We had been on the ground no longer than 12 hours when my kids, playing in a plumeria tree at our hotel, said this is where they wanted to live.”

Now in their late 40s and early 50s, they’re still here, as is Baker’s wife, a retired nurse.

After retiring from the military, Baker held posts at the Chamber of Commerce of Hawaii and the nonprofit Child & Family Service before joining AUW in 2004. For the past eight years, he has served as chief operating officer.

Baker moved into the interim top job this month, after CEO Cindy Adams resigned to become CEO of the Columbia-Williamette chapter in Portland, Ore.

Question: What sorts of services does AUW see the most demand for?

Answer: We work with 300-plus nonprofit partner agencies in the community and therefore see demand across the spectrum. Homelessness, financial emergencies and food insecurity are the most requested needs, and are supported by our 2-1-1 and Safety Net programs.

Q: The 2-1-1 program is a confidential, toll-free referral helpline that connects people with resources across the state?

A: Yes. When somebody in the community has a need and does not know where to turn, the first thing they ought to think to do is dial 2-1-1. The thing I love about it is there’s a human being (rather than automation) answering the phone on weekdays. Our operators talk callers through their problems — even trying to figure out geographically how to get them to the places they need to go to for help.

We have a special senior (phone) line. We have a keiki line. We’re about to introduce a legal line. And online, our 2-1-1 database (www.auw211.org) can be searched for contacts to more than 4,000 services provided by government, nonprofits and some for-profits — for services not available in other ways, medical appliances being a good example.

It’s such an important program from the federal government’s perspective that they have installed a generator in our garage and it powers an AUW office floor solely so we can operate 2-1-1 in the aftermath of large-scale event, like a hurricane.

Q: And Safety Net programs fund immediate intervention for crisis and emergencies?

A: They’re meant to be for people in crisis — in cases in which, if we don’t step in with dollars, then somebody is going to fall through the crack. (The funding goes to AUW partner agencies in categories of food, rent/utility and shelter. There’s also a broad range of Safety Net assistance offered through a “disaster/crisis” category, which is for individuals and families experiencing crisis with the goal of returning to household stability.)

In contrast, the ALICE money is more for long-term prevention. (According to the United Way’s first ALICE Report for Hawaii, issued in 2018, nearly half of all households in the islands are living paycheck-to-paycheck.)

Q: In January, AUW committed to fund 10 local nonprofits through three-year grant of more than $1.5 million annually to collaborate in improving the financial stability in our ALICE population. One of the focuses is stepped-up skills training?

A: There’s all kinds of opportunity where we have industry that needs skilled employees, and they’re willing to reach out and help by doing some training. … One of the nonprofit collaborators (Council Native Hawaiian Advancement) has organized classes in carpentry, electronics and fire and police academy preparation. Many of those in the first class finished it with higher-paying jobs.

Q: What does AUW partner agency status mean, exactly?

A: Any nonprofit that has 501(c)(3) status with the IRS and a 3-year history of revenues in excess of $25,000 a year is eligible (to apply). Being recognized as an AUW partner agency means the organization is financially sound and delivers the services it promises in an efficient and effective way.

We vet all of our partners each year to ensure our donors can have a high degree of confidence and trust that their donation will be well used. As an AUW beneficiary, our partner agencies can spend more time on delivering services the community needs rather than on fundraising, grants and donations.

Q: Do you have a top priority for the 2020 Legislature?

A: The one that’s nearest and dearest to my heart is universal preschool for 3- and 4-year-olds. … The second-largest cost for the ALICE families is child care. On two of our islands — Hawaii island and Kauai — it’s the highest cost. It’s actually higher than rent.

So, if you have (government- funded) preschool … it essentially puts either time or dollars back into the pocket of an ALICE family. More importantly, according to studies that go back 25 years, investing in kids’ preschool and kindergarten and their educational outcomes means you’re going to magnify whatever you’ve spent. … In the long run we have improvement in our workforce and reduction in things like juvenile delinquency and incarceration.

Q: During your tenure at AUW, you have witnessed some life-changing stories. Which one or two strike you as most memorable?

A: The first is a story of hope. A senior at a local high school with immigrant parents was … facing giving up college because his parents needed him to work to support the family. Through AUW intervention (involving a partner agency, Center for Tomorrow’s Leaders), he was accepted at the University of Hawaii with a work-study program that allowed him to contribute to the family’s finances while pursuing a degree. He’s now gaining experience in his field while working on campus, and has a promising future ahead of him.

The second involves a young lady who struggled with substance-abuse issues, eventually lost custody of her children, and was incarcerated for crimes to support her addictions. Following her release, she turned her life around with support from several of our partner agencies and recovered her children. She completed her GED, enrolled in a community college, and, actually, is now a counselor at a nonprofit agency that helped her. … She is assisting people experiencing problems like the ones she overcame.

Q: Looking forward, what’s on the horizon for AUW?

A: We are on the verge of a revolution in the technology we use to communicate with our donors and to support our campaign processing. In the next year we will introduce a fully digital environment. The new donation platform will match a donor’s interests and skills with giving and volunteering opportunities, respectively. .… Also, the processing part of the system will … increase our efficiency. Our goal is to keep our costs down in order to provide more funding for our partner agencies.