"From Insurance to United Way"

If we haven't had the chance to meet yet, my name is Carl Tims, and I'm honored to serve as the new President and CEO of United Way of Central Georgia.

I'll be upfront about something: leading a nonprofit was never part of my plan.

I spent 30 years at GEICO, retiring as a Vice President after leading teams across the Southeast and Midwest parts of the country. You probably know GEICO from its commercials: the gecko, or my personal favorite, the hump-day camel. But behind the ads, my work had one constant focus: the customer. How do we reduce premiums? How do we improve service? How do we make coverage more affordable and accessible?

But as I retired shortly after the pandemic, something started to shift in our industry.

As the country was coming out of the pandemic, premiums inched upward. But when inflation really hit in 2022 and 2023, premiums took off. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that auto insurance alone has risen nearly 75% since COVID. But it didn't stop at insurance. Groceries, childcare, and housing have all seen compounding price increases that far outpace wage growth, putting real and growing pressure on middle-class families.

Here's where the data gets sobering: CNBC recently reported that late-stage mortgage delinquencies, payments 90 or more days past due, rose nearly 20% in a single month. Missed mortgage payments are typically a last resort, meaning the financial stress leading up to that point is even deeper than that one number suggests. Average credit card debt has surpassed $7,886 for the first time, and Federal Reserve economists note that more Americans are behind on car payments than at any point since the Great Recession.

What began as a nuisance has become a crisis, and it's pushing families who were doing everything right to the edge of poverty.

That's why I'm here.

When George McCanless asked me to join United Way as Chief Operating Officer in 2023, I saw an organization positioned to do something real about this. Now, as CEO, I'm more committed than ever to our mission: helping 10,000 struggling ALICE families (Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed) move toward lasting financial stability over the next decade.

These are working people. They're not asking for a handout. They need a hand up, and that's exactly what United Way of Central Georgia provides. Every dollar raised here stays here — helping a single parent rebuild their lives at the Brookdale Resource Center, a struggling child get the reading support they need through Read United, and a family gain the financial tools and confidence through our financial literacy courses to chart a more stable future.

I didn't plan on this chapter. But I'm glad I'm in it, and I'm glad you're here too.

Carl A. Tims
President & CEO
United Way of Central Georgia