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United Way asks Albany commission for $200,000 to launch citywide summer program
Summary
United Way of Southwest Georgia asked the Albany City Commission to approve a $200,000 anchor investment to launch the Albany Summer Collective, a coordinated summer program aiming to serve up to 2,000 students and place up to 40 paid interns. City staff said the city would need a budget amendment to provide the funds.
Orson Burton Jr., president and CEO of the United Way of Southwest Georgia, asked the Albany City Commission on March 3 to commit $200,000 as an anchor investment to launch the Albany Summer Collective, a citywide effort to coordinate summer programming, scholarships and internships for local youth.
Burton told the commission the collective is a $350,000 initiative that aims to provide equitable access for up to 2,000 students, align more than 30 partner programs, offer need‑based fee subsidies and create up to 40 paid summer internships across business, health care, government and nonprofit partners. "I would like for you to approve the $200,000 investment for the summer 2026 as the city's anchor commitment," Burton said.
Burton said the United Way will serve as fiscal agent, provide data collection and reporting, and distribute mini‑grants to roughly 20 nonprofit summer programs ranging from $2,500 to $20,000. He described the city investment as an initial, catalytic contribution intended to unlock additional private and regional funding.
City manager Terrell Jacobs told commissioners that providing $200,000 would require a budget amendment and likely come from fund reserves. "We have the budget for this in the sense of summer positions, but obviously this would be out of fund reserves in relationship to that, which would be a budget amendment to address that," Jacobs said. He said staff would bring back possible funding sources for the commission to consider.
Commissioners asked about program capacity, sustainability and partner commitments. Burton said the United Way expects partner and foundation contributions and is seeking $175,000 from the county and at least $25,000 from the school system; the United Way described its request as the city’s largest anchor share because of the city’s access to particular revenue sources.
No formal city appropriation was recorded at the meeting; commissioners asked staff to identify funding paths and to return with options. Burton said he would be back next week for the FY2026 fiscal‑year budget conversation and requested that the commission designate a city liaison to sit on the program’s advisory council and commit to midyear and year‑end reporting.
Votes at a glance: the commission approved a travel request for the city clerk ($654.15) and a purchase of nine vehicles from the State contract (Wade Ford) totaling $478,230, and adopted two separate resolutions asking the state legislature to amend or extend local enabling legislation for Attica and for Chee Haw Park & Zoo; those resolutions were adopted in a special‑call session.
