Metro United Way Raises $27.5 Million

The Metro United Way has topped last year’s fund raising effort with its latest campaign.  The organization raised $27.5 million, a $400,000 increase over last year’s total.The organization did not set a public goal for this year’s campaign.  CEO Joe Tolan said the idea was to help people understand that even with the enormous success of the fund drive, there is always more need. With the economic downturn, more families have been on the edge and continue to struggle.“So we asked folks, if you have the capacity to do more, would you consider giving a hundred and ten percent give a ten percent increase to what you gave before," Tolan says,"and we had more than 9,000 individuals and more than 400 companies step up and say: ‘Yes! I will;’ and that’s where the increase comes from."The campaign ended Wednesday.