NORWICH – After a highly successful campaign, the Chenango United Way is celebrating the fact that this year it will be able to fund more than 81 percent of the programs requesting money this year.

The CUW campaign ended Dec. 31, and when all the donations were counted and verified, the organization had easily surpassed its goal of $465,000. During the campaign, $475,772.22 was raised in Chenango County. Combined with the allocations from other United Ways, which totaled $35,872.63, the total amount raised in the drive was $511,644.85.

“Given the economy, we are pleased with the results and hope we can continue next year,” said CUW Executive Director Elizabeth Monaco.

Last year, United Way raised $488,876, but because of the a high number of organizations requesting a good deal of money, only 18 of the 32 programs that submitted requests were funded.

This year, organizations were asked not to submit multiple program requests, so a fewer number was received. However, with a more successful campaign this year, the CUW was able to fund 18 of the 22 programs requesting money. And because of the additional revenue, programs were funded at a higher amount than last year. Programs received at least 60 percent of the funds requested.