Economy puts pinch on United Way cash

United Ways across the region are reporting better-than-expected returns from their 2002 fund-raising campaigns, even though some fell short of their goals.

In Larimer County, 2002 marked the first collaborative campaign for the United Way of Fort Collins and the United Way of Loveland, Berthoud and Estes Park. This year’s combined effort — a trial run before a planned merger for the 2003 campaign — failed to reach the $5.5 million goal. Still, the groups brought in 1 percent more than in 2001, raising $4.14 million.

“We had an extremely lofty goal that made some assumptions about where the economy…