United Way CEO Steps Down to Accept New Position
On Friday, November 10, 2017, Charles Hyland, Director of Mobile Area Water & Sewer System and the current Chair of the United Way of Southwest Alabama (UWSWA) Board of Trustees, announced that Clifford Grimes, UWSWA President & CEO, will be stepping down. Effective January 2, 2018, Grimes will assume responsibilities as the Director for Organizational Development, Metro Services for Boys and Girls Clubs of America.
“While change is good,” stated Hyland, “sometimes it comes unexpectedly. This is a phenomenal opportunity for Cliff that allows him the ability to continue his work in philanthropy and be closer to his family located in the Houston, Texas area. On behalf of the United Way staff and volunteers, I would like to express a heartfelt appreciation for the time and service Cliff has provided to United Way and to improving our communities on Southwest Alabama.”
During his two-year tenure, UWSWA has:
- Increased Revenue
- Generated a 9.2% increase, resulting in a $3,767,522 campaign for $318,264 new dollars
- Grew total Revenue by 5.7% to $3,927,422
- Expanded the number of donors to 20,567
- Reduced donor turnover by 2.3%
- Improved its national ranking to 138th out of 1,149 United Ways, ranking in the top 12% of United Ways nationally
- Increased Mobile’s ranking to 9th out of 86 United Ways that are the same size as UWSWA (Metro 3 Organizations)
- Substantially reduced an organizational deficit approaching $1 million, which is on schedule to be eliminated by mid-2018
- Developed an organizational Long Range Strategic Plan that lays the road map for the next 5 years
- Engaged in a strategy to enhance and strengthen UWSWA relationships
“It has been an honor to work with the outstanding staff, board, and volunteers of United Way of Southwest Alabama,” Grimes said. “We have had to make some hard decisions during my two years as CEO, but I leave confident that this United Way will continue to be a fiscally responsible organization that works hard to improve the quality of lives in Southwest Alabama.”
The United Way Executive Committee appointed County Commissioner Merceria Ludgood to chair the Search Committee. Larry Davis, UWSWA Chief Financial Officer, will act as interim CEO effective January 2, 2018, and will fulfil those responsibilities until a new CEO is named.