United Way of Southwest Colorado (partnered with United Way Worldwide) initiated a 10-year program designed to achieve the following goals by 2018:

1. Improve education
2. Help people achieve financial stability
3. Promote healthy lives

In order to improve education, our goal is to cut the number of high school dropouts. High school dropouts are 12 years in the making, usually starting early childhood education behind schedule. United Way's model focuses on supportive communities, effective schools and strong families — strategies and approaches rooted in research. Tackling the education challenge requires reframing education on a birth to 21 continuum.

We want to help people achieve financial stability and get 1.9 million working families (half the number of lower-income families who are financially unstable) on the road to economic independence. To address the obstacles that prevent hard working families from getting ahead financially, we launched the Financial Stability Partnership™, an initiative that promotes community-change strategies to help families meet their basic needs, while gaining the financial capability to plan for, and accomplish, their long-term financial goals. Over 300 United Ways and their local community partners are engaged in activities and initiatives to help build the financial stability of families in their communities.

We want to promote healthy lives, and increase by one-third the number of youth and adults who are healthy and avoid risky behaviors. Achieving our goal requires us all to become more aware of health risks and the potential effects they have on ourselves and others, starting from before birth. Working to change policies and practices, such as extending health care coverage, will enable more people to live healthier lives.

By utilizing our core strengths — a national network, committed partners and public engagement capacity — we firmly believe that we can achieve our goals.

Community Partner Agencies are pre-qualified to be the recipients of donations made to United Way of Southwest Colorado. Indicators that our goals are being achieved are reflected in their efforts that positively impact our local community.

We continually monitor our progress by meeting with our partners on a regular basis with regard to the community impact projects and goals.