Jesse Bailey, executive director of United Way of Greater Yankton, told the Yankton City Commission on Nov. 10 that the nonprofit faces a $150,000 annual funding shortfall after several workplace-giving campaigns declined and an AmeriCorps grant expired. Bailey said United Way maintained 2025 allocation levels to partner agencies at 100% but reduced cash reserves to roughly one month of operating funds.

"To reduce costs, we've scaled our volunteer coordinator position from full time to part time," Bailey said. He added that the organization will proceed with a targeted 2026 fundraising goal of $622,000 and plans a 33% reduction in allocations to partner agencies for 2026 if the campaign target is not met. "We will also be placing a 1 year pause on the Connecting Kids Youth Scholarship Program," Bailey said.

Bailey presented United Way's 2024 Community Impact Report, citing program metrics he described as evidence of community impact: 75,518 rides provided for work, school and medical appointments; 127,584 nutritious meals served; 941 households stabilized through services; and 3,113 individuals completing health and wellness programs. He said United Way invested community dollars into 68 programs across 23 organizations in 2024, and that volunteers contributed 57,650 hours — the equivalent of nearly 28 full-time employees.

Bailey described specific operational responses to the shortfall: eliminating nonreimbursable expenses such as training and travel, maintaining partner allocations through year-end despite reserve depletion, and seeking dedicated sponsorships for internally run programs. He said any funds raised beyond the campaign goal would be split 80% to partner agencies and 20% to rebuild United Way's cash reserves.

Mayor Michael Villanueva and other commissioners thanked Bailey for the update but did not commit city funds during the meeting. When asked by the mayor whether there were questions, Bailey reiterated the need for community support and said United Way would pursue sponsorships and increased campaign efforts to avoid deeper service cuts.

Next steps: United Way will proceed with the 2026 campaign plan described to the commission; the organization indicated allocations and the scholarship pause could be reversed only if replacement funding is secured.