United Way of the Desert and Inland SoCal United Way team up for golf tournament after challenging year

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United Way of the Desert, which serves the Coachella Valley and Morongo Basin, and Inland SoCal United Way, serving Riverside and San Bernandino counties, are holding a joint golf tournament Saturday, May 1.

The fundraiser will be held at Morongo Golf Club at Tukwet Canyon in Beaumont.

“What makes it a unique event is that it is a combined event,” Kim Starrs, vice president of external affairs for Inland United Way, told Desert Magazine. “It’s a very large footprint when you put the two organizations together.”

It’s been a challenging year for United Way and other nonprofits as the COVID-19 pandemic changed both the funding models and the roles the agencies play.

While some traditional programs have been on hold during the pandemic, others have emerged for United Way, Starrs said.

“We’ve been able to leverage our relationships and skills at emergency response to partner with local municipalities to help roll out their rental assistance programs,” she said. “We have also been working with different philanthropic partners to provide direct relief for COVID assistance. So while our funding for regular programs is on hold because the programs themselves are on hold, we’ve really been able to ramp up support for the community for COVID relief.”

For nonprofits, shifting missions and shifting revenue are nothing new, Starrs said.

“That’s been the story of nonprofits in general--we are very responsive to what the environment is,” she said.

It hasn’t been easy.

“I think about our 211 call center,” Starrs said. “At the beginning of the pandemic, we had a 400% increase in call volume. Our suicide line had a significant increase in both the volume and severity of calls. We answer calls 24 hours a day, seven days a week, ensuring that resources are available.”

United Way is now helping seniors schedule appointments for COVID-19 vaccinations.

”Our community resource advisers have been there every single day, all around the clock,” she said. “It’s really been incredible.”

The annual United Way galas that were major fundraisers have been canceled during the pandemic. The golf tournament will be a much safer way not only to raise funds but for the two United Ways, which have a shared mission, to make connections, Starrs said.

“They have so much in common; it will be really cool for folks to come together for a common cause in a socially distanced way to raise some money for our communities,” she said.