United Way of Greater Mercer County has selected Sandra Toussaint-Burgher, interim president and CEO, to be the permanent CEO. She became interim CEO in September when Herbert Klein III stepped down in September after six years on the job.
Toussaint-Burgher was previously United Way’s VP of resource development, serving as lead strategist for cultivating revenue streams.
Prior to joining UWGMC, she was director of development for an educational nonprofit in New York, Youth Communication Inc. Toussaint-Burgher has held a number of senior positions at local and national organizations including Special Olympics and Twenty-First Century Foundation.
“On behalf of the board of directors, we are delighted to bring Ms. Toussaint’s leadership to our United Way. Sandra’s vision is exactly what we were seeking in order to move the United Way of Greater Mercer County forward while continuing to help improve our community,” said UWGMC Board President Scott Nelson.
Klein’s tenure was marked early on by controversy over the organization’s approach to dispersing funds to other nonprofit groups. In 2012 the United Way’s revenues had slipped to $4.5 million, less than half of its high point of $10.1 million in 2007. In response Klein cut staff and also cut money to other nonprofit agencies it had previously funded.
Some nonprofit leaders criticized the way Klein prioritized which programs got funding. His data-driven approach — seeking to fund programs that produced measurable outcomes — rankled some longtime activists who thought this method undervalued short-term programs like food assistance and domestic violence shelters. (U.S. 1, December 5, 2012.)
In 2015 the group reported revenues of $3.6 million.
In November, 2016, a former employee of the United Way, Jodi Inverso, filed a suit against the organization claiming it fired her because she was pregnant.
United Way of Greater Mercer County, 3150 Brunswick Pike, Suite 230, Lawrenceville 08648. 609-896-1912, Sandra Toussaint-Burgher president/CEO. www.uwgmc.org.
