The Greenwich United Way, in partnership with Fairfield University, begins its quinquennial survey of community needs this week. Conducted every five years since 1981, the goal of the survey is to produce results to develop data-based, impactful solutions to ensure quality outcomes. The Needs Assessment survey can be accessed and completed here and all Greenwich households will receive an email request to complete it.
The seven-minute Needs Assessment Survey asks respondents to identify which types of human services should be prioritized in Greenwich and how the community currently addresses those needs. The Greenwich United Way deems participation critical, as responses help facilitate lasting solutions to combat unmet needs. The organization is asking residents to complete the survey within the next three to four weeks.
“The 2025 Greenwich United Way Needs Assessment is our blueprint to uncover the human services needs that we will address in the next few years. The participation of Greenwich residents is greatly needed as survey responses help us determine where we focus our programs and funding to ensure Greenwich remains a premier place to live, work, raise a family and retire,” said David Rabin, CEO of Greenwich United Way. “Our mission is to uncover unmet health, education and self-sufficiency needs, raise awareness and support, and together with community partners, deliver lasting results. A thorough, diverse Needs Assessment is integral to honing our focus and successfully addressing the town’s most critical needs.”
The 2020 Needs Assessment can be accessed here. Its findings initiated the Greenwich United Way’s work on the Greenwich Hospital Adolescent Intensive Outpatient Program (IOP), which opened in the fall and began taking teen patients in January; it led to the development of the Early Education Scholarship Program, which grants financial assistance for preschool to more than 125 families in need every year; and it highlighted the need to create more awareness of SNAP benefits, which led to approximately 150 additional families receiving the food assistance that they are entitled to.
While the assessment was conducted during the pandemic, which significantly altered the challenges facing Greenwich, the challenges reflected in the assessment were, according to the Assessment of Human Services & State of Greenwich Statistical Report Executive Summary, “in the context of a community with fiscal resources and social capital that can be brought to bear, including the Greenwich United Way.”
The Greenwich United Way began working in conjunction with the Center for Social Impact at Fairfield University in 2020, which led to the most comprehensive results since the Needs Assessment’s inception and involved the most respondents ever, yielding data and input from all areas of Greenwich.
“The mission of the Center for Social Impact is to connect the university’s knowledge and creativity with the expertise and vision of our community partners to address pressing local priorities. Through these partnerships, faculty bring their scholarship to bear on real-world challenges, and students gain meaningful opportunities to apply their learning while deepening their understanding of civic responsibility and lifelong engagement,” said Melissa Quan,
Director of Fairfield University Center for Social Impact. “This work is truly reciprocal, and we are honored that the Greenwich United Way has entrusted us with this important project.”
By collaborating with Fairfield University, the Greenwich United Way is able to drill down into the Needs Assessment results and focus on data specific to individual neighborhoods in Greenwich, rather than being limited to overly general, town-wide metrics. The functionality that the partnership enables is especially important in a town like Greenwich where, for example, a neighborhood with the highest average income level is bordered by a neighborhood with the lowest average income level in town.
All Greenwich residents are asked to complete the survey to help facilitate the most impactful programming in town. The short survey is available at https://fairfield.iad1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_5bf6OraQiX4IA3I
