After decades of charitable generosity in the Valley of the Sun, the 1990s have brought new challenges which require a re-assessment of priorities. Facing continued and rapid population growth, and continuing efforts to reform and restrain public spending on many levels, Valley of the Sun United Way initiated a strategic planning process in 1996 to identify guiding principles and key issues for the future.

In late 1997, Valley of the Sun United Way, with funding support from Honeywell, Inc., asked the Morrison Institute for Public Policy to identify the most critical public issues facing the community and to determine where United Way could have the greatest impact with its investments by targeting its funding and support. To do this, the Institute conducted 49 one-on-one interviews with opinion leaders from the business, government, and non-profit sectors in the Phoenix Metro area, held one focus group with a subset of the interviewees, and reviewed a large body of published research and surveys in Arizona and the U.S.

This report recommends four principles to guide the allocation of United Way dollars for the next few years:

• concentrate on children and families for investment;
• stress prevention and early intervention;
• favor projects which strengthen or expand the reach of existing proven, realistic programs while recognizing the need to also "seed" new, innovative strategies that show promise; and
• focus on programs that serve children and families who have the greatest need.

To assist United Way policymakers and practitioners put the principles into practice, this report also provides a rationale for emphasizing prevention and for targeting dollars for children under five, young adolescents, single parents, low-income households, individuals and families attempting to transition out of welfare, and all working families for some issues (child care, parenting skills, and non-school hour programs).

In addition to guiding fund allocation, the four principles—invest in children and families, invest in prevention, invest in proven programs, and invest in the under served—can provide a simple message to communicate United Way's purpose and results to current and future contributors.