2026 Visiting Allocation Team Orientation — Video Transcript

Hello, and thank you for agreeing to serve as a Visiting Allocation Team member this year.

In this short VAT orientation video, we will provide information and instructions for Visiting Allocation Team members.

At the beginning of each VAT season, United Way of Central Alabama hosts VAT meet-and-greets. Attending these events is completely optional, but we would love to meet you and answer your questions if you choose to drop in.

So, what is a Visiting Allocation Team, and why do we go through this process each year?

Visiting Allocation Teams, or VATs for short, help make decisions about which community programs are a good investment of the United Way dollars raised during our annual campaign.

The allocation process starts with you, the VAT members. Teams make recommendations to the Community Impact Committee, which then sends its final recommendations to the United Way of Central Alabama Board of Directors for approval. These layers of review ensure accountability and transparency throughout the allocations process.

VAT members are an essential part of this accountability. A United Way donor can’t possibly visit every agency. You are the eyes and ears of our donors. You look into the operations of United Way agencies to ensure donor dollars are being used well and making an impact in our communities. Your assessment of the agencies is what the Community Impact Committee uses to guide its funding decisions.

Volunteers are divided into 27 teams. We try to balance the teams so that we get a variety of perspectives on each one. Teams are assigned two to three UWCA partner agencies to visit and review.

You will have a chair. This is a volunteer who has participated in VAT in the past and is familiar with the process. You will also have a UWCA staff member assigned to your team for support throughout the process. Your staff member will provide all the materials you need along the way and will be available when you have a question.

We will communicate with VAT teams and share materials primarily through UWCA’s volunteer website, My Way, at https://myway.uwca.org.

Please be sure that you have signed up for an account on the site and joined the VAT group. Information about your specific VAT team, assigned agencies and site-visit dates will begin to be posted in early September, so please check back at that time for more information.

So, how does this process work? What do you actually do?

In mid-to-late September, you will have a VAT team meeting. To prepare for this meeting, please review the VAT summary reports for each agency before the meeting.

VAT summary reports include administrative information, which provides a general overview of an agency, its purpose and its leadership; a demographics report, which tells you about the people the agency serves; and program profiles describing the specific services the agency provides to the community.

What should you look for in these reports? Here are some of the important questions:

Does the agency have a complete report? Is the agency transparent about its work? Are you able to gain a complete understanding of what the agency does through its programs? Is the agency doing a good job of tracking its results, and is it making a positive difference in the community?

You will receive even more detailed information from each agency’s director and board chair during the agency visit.

At the VAT team meeting, your team will review and discuss each agency’s report and brainstorm any questions the team might have for the agency directors. These questions will be sent to the agency director before your site visit.

Then, in October, your team will have a site visit with each agency. During these visits, you will learn more about the organizations from their agency directors and board members.

Here are some things to look for during agency visits:

Is the agency’s board represented at the meeting? Do the board members appear to be well informed about the agency and engaged with its mission? Did you have an opportunity to hear from clients? Did you receive clear information about the agency and its programs? Do you have a complete understanding of what the agency does? Is the agency meeting needs in the community?

At the conclusion of the agency visits, your team will discuss its findings and rate each agency. After all agencies have been visited and rated by the team, your United Way staff member will prepare a report of your team’s findings and send it to the Allocations Committee.

All VAT teams will work on the same general timeline. We will follow up with you on the VAT page at https://myway.uwca.org and by email regarding specific meeting dates.

You will be assigned to a team in My Way. Reports for each of your assigned agencies and other documents supporting the VAT process will be posted on your team’s page.

In September, you will have your team meeting, where you will review and discuss each agency report and brainstorm questions for the agency directors.

During October, your team will visit each of its assigned agencies and hold a team caucus to discuss and rate the agencies.

The Allocations Committee meeting will take place in December, and the final funding decisions will be made during a meeting of the UWCA Board of Directors.

So, what’s next?

First and foremost, please check My Way. You will be assigned to a VAT team, and the United Way staff member assigned to your team will post reports from each of your assigned agencies.

When you receive your list of agencies, please let your staff member or team chair know if you have any personal or professional conflicts involving the evaluation of one of the agencies. We can then assign you to a different team.

Again, thank you for participating in VAT. We look forward to working with you to make an impact in our community.

If you have any questions in the meantime, please feel free to contact Nick Simms or Shakeitha Tatum.