New Leader takes over United Way

A leadership change has taken place at one of the county’s largest non-profit organizations, but it’s someone who is no stranger to the agency. 
Kim Schaufenbuel has moved up from assistant director to executive director of the United Way of Steele County. She replaces Evelina Giobbe, who retired at the end of 2014 after 11 years as the organization’s director.
Schaufenbuel expects to utilize her freshman year as a learning year to understand all the ins and outs of non-profit administration. She is stepping in to the organization after it surpassed its fundraising goal by bringing in just over $667,000. “The finances are fantastic,” she said. 
Asked what people should expect from her leadership, Schaufenbuel replied: “There’s not much to change here. As a new director, I don’t foresee many major changes.”
She brings a variety of sales and relationship building experience to the organization. Schaufenbuel spent eight years selling for a surgical company and she worked at Wenger Corporation in Owatonna for a short time. 
“I’m not a stranger to asking for money,” she said, “and building the trust that allows people to feel comfortable to work with me and the organization.”
The new director said she decided to try non-profit work after becoming quite dissatisfied working in a corporate environment. “They’re constantly focused on the bottom line,” Schaufenbuel said of corporate work. 
Schaufenbuel realizes there is still a bottom line with the need to balance the budget at the United Way, but she said it’s different. “In the end, we help the community—children and families. We help people and that’s the underlining theme to what we do here,” she said.
In order to help people, Schaufenbuel will be relying heavily on community support. “We have lots of vibrant, well run organizations in this county,” she said, adding it’s her plan to make sure the support of those groups is maintained. 
One of Schaufenbuel’s strategies will be to tell the story of the United Way consistently and frequently. 
“The real story is the success of the agencies we support,” she noted. “We’re not successful unless they are successful.”
The United Way, which supports 19 organizations across Steele County, is in the process of implementing a strategic plan of how it can help those groups. 
“We have a huge opportunity to do good in the community,” Schaufenbuel said, adding the strategic plan is the United Way’s road map on improving the quality of life throughout the county.
Schaufenbuel, a native of Fort Madison, Iowa, has a degree in music education from Wartburg College. She has lived in Des Moines and the Twin Cities and calls Owatonna “a happy medium.” She is a frequent performer at the Little Theatre in Owatonna.
Giobbe has started a consulting business that will focus on grant writing, evaluations and capacity building for non-profits. Giobbe will provide technical assistance to the new director as she eases into that role. And Schaufenbuel welcomes Giobee’s expertise.
After all, Schaufenbuel said Giobbe is the “institutional memory for this organization.”