Bill Hanbury

Bill Hanbury is president and CEO of United Way of the National Capital Area.

Profile November 2010 Bill Hanbury

Years in position: 18 months
Years in philanthropy: 16 years—in my two previous positions the corporations I ran had 501(c)3 nonprofit foundations.
Where is home? The Shaw neighborhood WDC
Years in DC region: 10th year

How did you get started in philanthropy?
While in Milwaukee, Wisconsin I was the president of The Spirit of Milwaukee Foundation, a 501(c)3 nonprofit. This organization was an entity of the Milwaukee Convention and Tourism Corporation and was responsible for promoting arts, culture and history.

What's your favorite part about your job?
Building bridges is fundamental to what United Way is all about in the National Capital Area. We are a region of extraordinary resources, but for all the bounty, there are some serious problems that need to be resolved. United Way is the bridge between these tremendous resources in our communities and the compelling needs. Homeless shelters, food banks and affordable healthcare services—the safety nets of our society—have been unable to keep up with the demand for services. That's where United Way steps into the breach.

Biggest challenge you've faced:
Out of necessity United Way has been required to retool its business model, build new internal employee competencies and face a difficult fundraising environment. In varying degrees over the last 18 months we've been successful at addressing each of these important challenges.

Biggest/most exciting project you worked on in the past year:
Our collaboration with ABC's Extreme Makeover: Home Edition was a wonderful opportunity for this United Way to reach new audiences and to show the value that we can bring to a large community project of this nature. With over 3,000 volunteers and 50,000 meals served, United Way has made permanent friends in two high need communities.

"When I'm not working, I'm..." When I'm not working, I'm first and foremost staying connected to my family. With three children in their 20s, Valerie and I have to run very hard to keep up with each of them. When I'm not working on United Way or family, I'm working on a bike trying to keep myself in shape. Thank God for Haines Point on summer evenings.