GREENFIELD — United Way of the Franklin & Hampshire Region has named two local business leaders as co-chairs of its 2026 fundraising campaign.
Eric Mills, vice president of sales and marketing at Mayhew Tools, and Matt Garrity, president and CEO of Florence Bank, have accepted the responsibility and will lead the charge in the next calendar year.
“One of the things I like about just United Way in general [is] … the money stays here,” Mills said of his support of the nonprofit. “It helps this community.”
“Our support of the United Way of the Franklin & Hampshire Region is an important component of our annual planned giving and aligns perfectly with our mission, vision and values [at Florence Bank],” Garrity said in a statement. “I’m honored to serve as co-chair of the 2026 annual campaign and look forward to partnering with other local business leaders to support the United Way and their efforts to strengthen and support valley communities.”
United Way raises money for dozens of partners in a local network of social service agencies. The agency also uses a community-driven process to identify the greatest needs in the region and to decide which social service agencies are best positioned to address those needs, and then it allocates resources accordingly through grants. The United Way chapters of Franklin County and Hampshire County merged on July 1, 2021.
The fundraising campaign unites local businesses, nonprofits and individuals in an effort to address the area’s biggest challenges. This year, United Way is focusing heavily on bolstering access to healthy foods, supporting early childhood development programs and curbing the youth mental health crisis.
According to Geoff Naunheim, executive director of the United Way of the Franklin & Hampshire Region, the local chapter has moved away from having a “campaign goal,” but he noted he would love to “smash last year’s total.”
“We came in just shy of $1.2 [million] in revenue from our corporate, employee and individual donors,” he said.
“Nonprofits are being asked to do more with less right now, and we are asking our donors to consider increasing their community support this year as a part of our ‘Double Down’ campaign. Many donors are heeding our call. We’ve seen significant increases in support from our community banks,” Naunheim continued. “We’ve even seen some individual donors as much as triple their support.”
Naunheim also mentioned that Florence Bank has doubled its corporate donation this year.
Garrity, who grew up in Lee, has been president and CEO of Florence Bank since December 2022. He holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in business administration from Ohio University and has experience in both retail and commercial banking. Prior to joining Florence Bank, he served as executive vice president and chief lending officer at Premier Bank, a 76-branch bank serving customers in Ohio, Michigan, Indiana and Pennsylvania.
A Longmeadow resident, Garrity is active in the Pioneer Valley community, serving on the board of Northampton Dollars for Scholars, and has volunteered at the Food Bank of Western Massachusetts, Pioneer Valley Habitat for Humanity and the Northampton Survival Center, among other local organizations.
Mills brings at least 30 years of experience leading high-performing teams and driving top-line growth across competitive markets. Before entering the business world, Mills served six years in the U.S. Army and National Guard. He also earned a bachelor’s degree in business with a concentration in accounting from Westfield State College.
Mills said his job has taken him around the world and he has always been proud to call this area his home, where local United Way donations stay.
“That’s really something I can stand behind and value,” Mills said.