The United Way of Prince Edward County has increased its annual fundraising goal to $50,000 to distribute to its 20 partners across the community. The United Way’s all-volunteer board of directors set the goal at its first meeting of the new fiscal year on Aug. 1, according to a press release.

In increasing the goal, longtime board member Rhonda Arnold said United Way wanted to stretch its wings.

“Fifty thousand (dollars) is a little lofty, perhaps, but we’ve got confidence in our community and, of course, we hope to get some competition going between the colleges, perhaps,” said Arnold, a branch manager for Citizens Bank & Trust Co. in Farmville.

“We had a good initial discussion of our broad plans for the year and decided to set our fundraising goal at $50,000 based on our success this past year,” Rucker Snead, the group’s president, said in the press release.

Last year, the United Way passed its goal of giving out $45,000, ending up distributing $47,000 to its members. According to the release, it was the first time in years United Way made its goal. The year before, they gave out $36,000.

A large part of the campaign comes from individual donors, said Lonnie Calhoun, the group’s vice president.

“That’s where we get our greatest support,” Calhoun said.

According to the release, last year’s largest donation was $3,000; the smallest was $10, with donations averaging about $143.

The group said its fundraising efforts for the new campaign are about to begin with letters expected to be sent out in mid-October soliciting potential donors.

The letters are the United Way’s major fundraiser — bringing in about a quarter of the funds it raised, $12,335 last year, said Snead, director of Hampden-Sydney College’s (H-SC) Wilson Center for Leadership in the Public Interest.

A T-shirt sale at the college turned into a major contributor to last year’s fundraising success, bringing in close to $9,000.

“That was a key piece,” Snead said.

United Way officials said it is hoping students at H-SC and Longwood University will engage in some friendly fundraising competition this year.

“That could be huge,” Snead said.

Arnold agreed, saying the T-shirt sale at H-SC “really boosted” fundraising efforts.

The group may try again this year to initiate a restaurant week, where a portion of sales are disbursed to the United Way, this time working with the Farmville Area Chamber of Commerce.

According to the release, and “as part of a broader initiative, the group is putting an emphasis on education, health and income and now hopes to work closer with its partners to help them promote their causes, and have those groups promote the United Way.”

“If we do things the same way, we may do good things as individual groups, but if we work together we may address some of the root causes,” Snead added.

The group makes contributions to a wide variety of organizations with missions to support citizens in Southside Virginia, including the Boy and Girl scouts, Meals on Wheels, Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, FACES, Virginia Legal Aid Society and Heartland Horse Heroes.

“Oh, my goodness. A little bit of everything,” Arnold said of funds helping the community, including Piedmont Senior Resources, the YMCA, Tri-County Life Learners. “We are supporting groups that meet lots and lots of needs in our community, to the seniors citizens to the youth in our community by supporting PEFYA and Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts.”

Calhoun said residents should be more apt to notice the United Way’s presence as the group seeks to rebrand itself.