United Way introduces Emerging Leaders United, a Giving Group aimed at Working Young Professionals in the Region

United Way of North Central Florida has  announced that the affinity group Young Leaders Society has a new name: Emerging Leaders United.

Emerging Leaders United (ELU) is a group of community-focused, up-and-coming professionals ages 24-44 who are making positive and long-lasting change in the North Central Florida region. ELU connects members to United Way and the community through professional development, educational opportunities and volunteering/networking events.

“This is a vibrant and young region,” said UWNCFL President Deborah Bowie. “With many working young professionals now choosing to make Gainesville and the surrounding communities their home, we thought re-framing the donor group to include a wider swath of young professionals would help better define its mission. Not to mention, some people wondered if the former name – Young Leaders – might be confused as a group for college students.”

Members of the ELU are selected based on their annual gift to United Way. To join, an annual gift of $250 (less than $21 a month) or more is required. All donations via the ELU are designated to the agency’s Community Investment Fund, which awards grants to health and human services agencies within the six-county footprint of United Way of North Central Florida. Currently, the fund supports 26 programs across 19 local organizations.

The fund is critical because local agencies are able to leverage the grants they receive from state and federal grants by an average 3-to-1 match, Bowie said.

The ELU, along with the agency’s Women’s Leadership Council, are strategic initiatives created to support local agencies, she said.

To find out more information about Emerging Leaders United, please visit www.unitedwayncfl.org/emergingleadersunited or contact Britt Pearson at [email protected].