NORWICH – With just one day left to go in its annual fundraising campaign, the United Way of Chenango County is facing a bleak finish to what’s likely to be its worst campaign turnout in nearly 20 years.

“We have a few outstanding donations, but we are looking at raising a total of a little more than $402,000,” said Chenango United Way Director Elizabeth Monaco.

The Chenango United Way set sights on a $456,000 goal this year, approximately $12,000 more than was raised during its 2013 campaign. The most recent campaign got off to a strong start in September; but money donated in recent weeks has become less and less, said Monaco, and the agency is pondering how it will assist the 28 community programs and 18 food pantries and soup kitchens in the county that requested funding to help keep their doors open.

The campaign reaches its end tomorrow at noon. Last-minute donations can still be made by calling the United Way at 334-8815, or visiting www.chenangouw.org.

Each year, the Chenango United Way administers funds collected during its campaign to local philanthropic programs and nonprofit organizations in the county that improve life for local residents, particularly in the fields of education, income and health.

The agency received a total $629,000 in funding requests from multiple organizations this year. “With what we have raised, we will only be able to fund about half of our requests,” Monaco said, also noting less support from the United Way piles on top the burden of recent state and federal funding cuts experienced by many local agencies. “Some of them really need local support to make other grant opportunities work.”