United Way of Southeast Louisiana

United Way of Southeast Louisiana’s mission is to “Eradicate poverty in Southeast Louisiana” with a bold vision of “Equitable communities where all individuals are healthy, educated and financially stable”. We are laser focused on eradicating poverty to achieve our goals of Stability Today, Prosperity Tomorrow, Personal Wellness and Vibrant Communities.

We take a holistic approach to solving these problems through Collective Impact - which involves businesses, nonprofits, foundations, government, churches, schools and YOU coming together to break down silos, align programs and resources and set shared goals all focused on eradicating poverty in Southeast Louisiana.

The Blueprint for Prosperity is a plan to move people out of poverty in our region and requires a change in the way our entire community approaches the issue of eradicating poverty by creating pathways for prosperity for generations to come. The Blueprint focus on four priority outcomes we are trying to achieve and guiding principles that inform our work: Stability Today: All families have the skills, resources and opportunities to access basic needs Prosperity Tomorrow: All families have the social, educational, and financial assets to create a better future Personal Wellness: People of all ages enjoy a high quality of life and wellbeing Vibrant Communities: All communities are safe, thriving, and equitable United Way SELA and all partners commit to a set of Guiding Principles that guide our work: Connectivity – our efforts are coordinated to create pathways of prosperity that are trusted, culturally appropriate, accessible, and without bias Equity – We strive to lift up all people and to eliminate systemic barriers to prosperity Lived Experience - We amplify the voices of those we are serving and allow their needs and aspirations to guide our work Long Term Commitment - We commit to continuing our work until the cycle of poverty is broken, communities are thriving, and people are living prosperously Shared Responsibility - success requires the unique contributions of the entire community, including individuals, families, schools, nonprofits, the faith-based community, funders, governments, and the private sector. System Change - We embrace our work as holistic and dynamic, impacting people, place, practice, and policy. United Way of Southeast Louisiana strategies include the 4I’s Invest – We invest in programs and collaborations that are focused on poverty eradication and expend resources in line with our outcomes framework and guiding principles. Align Program Grants with the prosperity outcomes framework, population-level indicators, and guiding principles Collaboration Grants, designed to support groups of relevant stakeholders taking a collaborative approach to systems change Inspire – Encourage others to adopt the poverty eradication agenda. We are laser focused on public policy as a means to eradicate poverty, while educating businesses and donors on the importance of tackling the root causes of poverty Inform – Share knowledge and innovative practices - ALICE (Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed) Report, we have changed the narrative on who is struggling in Southeast Louisiana and informing our region and State on our progress through our Prosperity Dashboard that provides a data view of specific poverty indicators. Initiate – Create new collaboration initiatives where there are gaps. United Way SELA launched in 2016 its’ first Prosperity Center to provide financial capability services to residents in all seven parishes. UWSELA serves as backbone for the Grade Level Reading Campaign & Louisiana Prisoner Reentry Initiative

United Way of Southeast Louisiana uses best practices in grant-making and collaboration, and uses the Collective Impact model to bring partners together around common strategies and goals. We fund and convene coalitions of community partners who directly implement strategies that are focused on poverty eradication. By convening community stakeholders, our community co-created our Blueprint for Prosperity, giving voice to the needs of the people in our seven parishes.

We have a strong Board of Directors that are committed and rooted in our community, a staff experts in their field, and community volunteers that guide and provide oversight within committees that lend their expertise and knowledge to advance the strategies and goals to eradicate poverty. United Way SELA currently funds 79 programs and operates a Prosperity Center that provides financial capability services all aimed at eradicating poverty.

Through United Way’s internal initiatives; Grade Level Reading, Louisiana Prisoner Re-entry Initiative, the Prosperity Center, Hands On Volunteer Center, and our funded programs and collaborations, United Way has served residents throughout the seven parishes of Orleans, Jefferson, St. Bernard, Plaquemines, St. Tammany, Tangipahoa, and Washington.

Our funding to program partners yielded the following results for the July 1, 2020 – June 30, 2021 year:
Stability Today
• 9,780 Children had basic needs met
• 414 Individuals acquired the necessary skills or services to overcome barriers to employment
• 78 Individuals secured and maintained stable, living-wage employment

Prosperity Tomorrow

• 1,186 Children achieved mastery in in gross/fine motor, cognitive, self-help, and/or social/emotional skills at the appropriate age
• 191 Students are on track for graduation (via promotion to the next grade)
• 2,740 Students were promoted to the next grade level
• 329 Individuals secured and maintained stable, living-wage employment
• 387 Individuals are now able to acquire basic needs with current income

Personal Wellness

• 3,630 Individuals improved, maintained, or slowed down the deterioration of their mental health
• 1,794 Individuals have quality health insurance
• 80 Individuals participated in physical activity and/or food access/nutrition programs
• 112 Individuals successfully managed their addictive behaviors
• VIA LINK provided 2-1-1 information and referrals to 56,350 callers

J. Wayne Leonard Prosperity Center 2019-2020 Results
One-stop financial stability center offering an array of programming to the citizens of New Orleans including financial education, coaching, credit building and counseling, benefits screening, and income tax assistance.
•$1,500 average increase in savings within six months
•2 ,7 85 tax returns prepared
•$312 average debt reduction
•69 individuals established or increased their credit score with an average improvement of 37 points within three months
•30 financial education workshops
•45 clients opened a bank account (including IDA)
•$3.9 million in asset ownership/purchases through the IDA Project
• 37 Assets purchased – 6 businesses, 24 homes, 7 vehicles,
•319 coaching sessions