Organizers of the annual ISU-United Way campaign set a goal to raise $223,000 this year – and they said that goal is almost reality.

Stan Johnson, ISU campaign chairman, said the goal will be met to raise the money for 33 human-service agencies in Story County.

Though the deadline for the campaign on the ISU campus was Oct. 5, pledges still are being accepted, and the organization continues to process all of the donations, Johnson said.

The latest numbers indicate that $218,657 has been raised so far.

Johnson, vice provost for cooperative extension services, said the goal was not yet reached on the last day of the campaign, because the program is run in a very decentralized manner.

“We want all the various colleges and units within the university to do this when it is convenient for them,” he said. “They each have certain ways of going about the fund raising or certain events they use to promote it that may not always correspond with our pre-set dates.”

Frankee Oleson, director of the United Way of Story County, said the organization overcame its goal of $217,000 last year.

“At this time, the ISU division had raised $155,860 before ultimately raising $217,263 by the end of the campaign period,” she said.

“So the pace of returning contributions is much faster this year.”

Oleson said the money raised so far this year includes $28,193 for the Story County Habitat for Humanity Blitz Build, which was part of the ISU Homecoming celebration.

Johnson said United Way worked to provide more information this year to the units raising money.

“We wanted to show that we have a big stake in the success of these organizations,” he said.

To do this, two teams of volunteers were assembled to attend meetings or luncheons put on by the different colleges and units to provide information about the agencies supported by the campaign.

One group of volunteers was composed of individuals explaining how they have benefited from the agencies supported by United Way, providing a testimonial to the groups. The rest of the volunteers were representatives of the agencies that receive the funding.

“We had these volunteers work with the units, showing them that we do this for the community, but really, we are the community,” Johnson said. “We are providing support for these human service agencies that support us.”

Last year’s campaign also was deemed a success because of broad participation by the faculty and staff, he said. But after a overcoming a few obstacles, Johnson said he expects the same this year.

“Budget issues and a depressed economy may have caused some concern about meeting the goal, but everyone on campus was generous, as they always are,” Johnson said.

There will be a celebration at the Memorial Union Nov. 16 to applaud the success of the campaign and the success of the individuals who contributed.