TAUW LEGENDS: Rob martinovich
The TAUW Legends video series preserves the voices and stories of those who shaped our first century of service. As part of our Centennial celebration, Jesse Boudiette, president of Propeller Consulting and Centennial Committee member, sat down with Rob Martinovich, who chaired our 2018 annual fundraising drive.
Join us in continuing Rob’s legacy of compassion and community impact. Your gift today in honor of Rob helps write the next chapter of our story, ensuring that future generations will have access to the same life-changing services that have touched so many lives over the past century.
interview highlights
Jesse Boudiette: Talk to me a little bit about how you first got involved with the United Way.
Rob Martinovich: Well, initially, when I worked for Phillips Petroleum and later DCP Midstream, my involvement was limited to financial contributions. But when I joined ONEOK in 2007, I had the chance a couple of years later to join the ONEOK Foundation. This was a group that discussed and allocated funds to organizations in the communities we served. That experience really opened my eyes to all the work being done locally, and it got me excited about becoming more active as a volunteer.
Jesse: Some people may not realize the amount of effort that goes into understanding and addressing community needs. What are your thoughts on the work that happens behind the scenes at the United Way?
Rob: I think that’s absolutely key to United Way’s success. The community investments panel, for instance, is incredibly rigorous. It’s a metric-driven group that closely evaluates each of our nonprofit partners, looking at their progress over the past year, how well they’ve met their goals, and how they responded to unexpected challenges. They’re also evaluating how these organizations have managed volunteer hours and funds. ‘Are they moving forward in the direction they need to be to ensure continual improvement?’ Sometimes, unfortunately, tough decisions have to be made. If a partner agency has consistently failed to meet requirements over a few years, they may be let go from the United Way network. But ultimately, this process should reassure our donors, showing them that there’s a critical vetting process on the front end. By the time we set our campaign goals, we can be confident that those dollars will be in good hands and used responsibly.