HOW WE COLLABORATE: OUR INITIATIVES

United Way is in a unique position to evaluate community needs from a variety of perspectives, in part because of our annual allocations and review process.  Each year more than 75 volunteers come together to learn about the programs that are funded by United Way and how they are addressing current community issues.  In addition to the allocations process, United Way keeps abreast of community indicators, data, and trends to ensure that we are making progress on community issues and identify gaps in services. 

United Way’s goal is to address root causes of issues and prevent them before they become problems.  When a need or gap has been identified, United Way conducts research to identify best practices in communities across the country, then pulls together strategies and partners to help leverage resources and create collaborations to address current community issues.  Often times, a new program or strategy becomes an initiative of United Way, meaning United Way brings awareness to the issue and provides funding as well.   

The following programs are examples of recent United Way initiatives and great examples of effective community collaborations