EVOLVE Business and Professional Magazine November 2019 | Page 26

FOCUSED ON THE FUTURE
Two months after Courtney
Edgcomb stepped into her executive
role at United Way, Rene Bell Adams
was installed as chair of the United
Way board on which she had served
for six years. “Our main task this year
Rene Bell Adams
will be working to develop a strategic
plan for the next three years, and laying
the groundwork for the United Way of the future. . . Specifically,
it is our job to illustrate the good that United Way does for the
community.”
United Way’s three focus areas are health, education and family
financial stability. “A community that helps its members gain
strength in all of those areas can move forward with great strides.”
Short term, that includes creating a community that is engaged
in what United Way is doing. “One of my big goals for our
organization is to seek out ways to lead fundraising into the future,
for long-term success. You are actually solving problems in the
number of people helped year over year, and proving you’re
making measurable differences.”
Because the way millennials give is different from the giving
patterns of previous generations, the challenge is: “How can we
capture millennials’ hearts and minds, and let them see that their
investment is worthwhile?”
The traditional United Way giving model for the Greatest
Generation, Boomers, Generations X and Y, has been at the
company level, with a paycheck contribution. “Millennials don’t
want to be dictated to by their company. Also, they want to be
involved, to roll up their sleeves and get their hands dirty when
they are giving of their time and their money.” It’s an exciting time,
Adams said, and a challenging one, figuring out the diversified
ways non-profits will raise money now and in the future. “The
thing that makes me feel the best about our community as a whole
is that we can all be part of the solution to making our community
better day by day.”
said Adams, noting the differences in the way giving differs by
generation.
Eleanore Osborne is a writer and editor who lives in
Daytona Beach.
“The Community Impact Model for raising money has been
around for years,” and is, “a crucial tool for not-for-profits striving
MIKE PANAGGIO
CO-FOUNDER, DME DELIVERS
AT THE TOP OF HIS GAME
Mike Panaggio is best known in the community as the CEO
of DME, which he founded in 1984 after a successful career
as a commodities broker in upstate New York. DME is a
major force in the direct marketing professions. But today,
Mike has pivoted to his other passion, sports. He and his
brother founded DME Sports Academy in Daytona Beach
and they have been busy training athletes from across
the nation and around the world. That adds an interesting
dynamic to economic development and Team Volusia, of
which he is a Board Level investor.
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