New Inland Empire United Way chief takes job among tough times

Sunday, March 14, 2010

By PETER FISCHETTI
Special to The Press-Enterprise

Gregory Bradbard had been on the job for only four days when he was asked about the challenges he faced as the new president and CEO of the Inland Empire United Way.

"Yes, it's a tough time for fundraising," he said, "but it's also time for people who are doing well to do whatever they can for those who aren't doing so well."

The organization serves an area that includes Chino, Upland, Rancho Cucamonga and other cities in the Pomona Valley; Redlands, Yucaipa, Loma Linda and other cities in eastern San Bernardino County, and desert communities, including Blythe, in eastern Riverside County.

There's no secret formula for raising money in difficult times and in an area hard hit by unemployment, Bradbard said.

"It's really about building relationships with the community. It's working with individuals, foundations, corporations. United Way has such a wide base that small contributions add up."

One of his priorities is to encourage companies to implement a payroll deduction plan for employees who can choose where their contributions are directed. Options for directing donations include a particular area, such as education, or a particular qualifying organization.

While most of the money raised is distributed to outside nonprofits, the Inland Empire United Way has its own programs, including 2-1-1 San Bernardino County, a service that provides referral resources to the community. By dialing 211, a resident needing information on local non-emergency health and social services receives help from a real person, rather than a series of recordings, 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Even with limited promotion, Bradbard said he was impressed that calls to 211 have averaged more than 5,000 a month.

For Bradbard, 35, his new position is a homecoming of sorts.

He will be working in Rancho Cucamonga, not far from where he grew up in San Dimas, and is in the process of moving his wife, Jacquelyn, and their two daughters from Mission Viejo to the Inland Empire.

"I have friends and families here, and United Way is very community focused, so it's important to live in the area we're serving," he said.

Bradbard, who earned a B.A. in psychology and social behavior from the University of California, Irvine, has a background in providing services for needy families and children.

For the past eight years, he was CEO of Court Appointed Special Advocates of Orange County, a nonprofit organization that trains community volunteers to serve as mentors and advocates for severely abused, abandoned and neglected children.

Prior to that, he was executive director at Irvine Public Schools Foundation which provides resources to ensure music, art, science and technology programs be maintained in Irvine schools. Previously, he was director of development for Families Forward, an organization devoted to serving low-income and homeless families.

Bradbard said he was attracted to the United Way job for the opportunity to play a role in "making a greater impact in the community and breaking the generational cycle of poverty."

And the United Way board of directors, said its co-chair, Dan Byrnes, was attracted to Bradbard for his "skills, experience and passion to be a great fit to lead Inland Empire United Way and engage the community."

More information about the Inland Empire United Way is available at its website, www.ieuw.org.

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