UNITED WAY OF FORSYTH COUNTY INC
United We Fight, United We Win
Programs and results
What we aim to solve
United Way of Forsyth County is working to create a thriving community by investing in neighborhoods and households with a specific focus on creating equitable communities, improving economic mobility, and ensuring childhood and student success.
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
United Way of Forsyth County Funded Programs
In 2018, United Way of Forsyth County funded over 70 programs and initiatives that helped more than 147,000 people in our community. Through United Way’s support and aligning of resources, these programs, the lead agencies and their collaborating partners are working to ensure each of our neighbors has the opportunity to live a stable and healthy life.
We also fund and support other key initiatives in our community including 211, The Forsyth Promise, Housing Matters, HandsOn of Northwest North Carolina, and our key partnership with Neighbors for Better Neighborhoods. Additionally, United Way staff leads and participates in other community initiatives to ensure we are all working together for a better Forsyth County.
Where we work
External reviews
Our results
How does this organization measure their results? It's a hard question but an important one.
Number of tax returns completed by volunteers
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Economically disadvantaged people
Related Program
United Way of Forsyth County Funded Programs
Type of Metric
Outcome - describing the effects on people or issues
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
Through the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance Program, 3,723 residents had their tax returns prepared for free, avoiding high fees charged by other tax preparers.
Number of nights of safe housing provided to families of domestic violence
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Related Program
United Way of Forsyth County Funded Programs
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Holding steady
Context Notes
Women and children in imminent danger of abuse received over 6,000 nights of safe shelter through Family Services' Safe Relationships/Intimate Partner Abuse Program.
Number of adults with disabilities receiving sufficient social and emotional support
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Related Program
United Way of Forsyth County Funded Programs
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
106 individuals with intellectual or developmental disabilities received support and training at the Enrichment Center to facilitate skill development and increase their independence.
Number of clients who achieve and maintain abstinence from alcohol and drugs
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Related Program
United Way of Forsyth County Funded Programs
Type of Metric
Outcome - describing the effects on people or issues
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
74% of the 703 clients in Insight's Integrated Health Network had increased abstinence from alcohol or drugs.
Our Sustainable Development Goals
Learn more about Sustainable Development Goals.
Goals & Strategy
Learn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.
Charting impact
Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.
What is the organization aiming to accomplish?
United Way of Forsyth County is working to create a thriving community by investing in neighborhoods and households with a specific focus on creating equitable communities, improving economic mobility, and ensuring childhood and student success.
We are seeking:
• To create equitable communities by improving the economic mobility of residents in Place Matters by securing jobs for 1,000 individuals by 2025.
• To improve economic mobility by advancing 2,500 households to a point of self-sufficiency by 2025.
• To increase 3rd-grade reading proficiency from 53 percent to 90 percent by closing the educational equity gap by 2025, resulting in a 90 percent graduation rate.
What are the organization's key strategies for making this happen?
United Way of Forsyth County brings the community and its resources together to solve problems that no one organization can address alone. We convene and connect key stakeholders – residents, nonprofit organizations, the faith-based community, and business and education leaders – and align resources to reduce poverty, advance social equity, and create fundamental and sustainable change.
Every day, we are changing lives through our two investment processes - Community-Wide and Place Matters and other funded programs. United Way of Forsyth County invests in over 70 programs and initiatives with more than 40 local partner nonprofit organizations. These programs are focused on the key impact areas of creating equitable communities, increasing economic mobility and ensuring childhood and student success and helped more than 147,000 people in our community in 2018. Through United Way’s support and aligning of resources, these programs, the lead agencies, and their collaborating partners are working every day to ensure each of our neighbors has the opportunity to live a stable and healthy life.
At United Way of Forsyth County, we go further to create collective impact that provides sustainable change in people’s lives. We believe the innovative way we’re rallying our partners across government, philanthropy, faith communities, non-profits, and the private sector will achieve lasting social change. We are applying this “collective” approach in the areas of education, homelessness, and other critical issues to ensure our community achieves greater success. For example:
• Through United Way’s support of The Forsyth Promise, we are working to ensure every child in Forsyth County receives the best education possible.
• Through Housing Matters, which is led, funded, and staffed by United Way of Forsyth County, we now have the resources to house all homeless veterans and we are working to create the capability to end chronic homelessness in Winston-Salem and Forsyth County.
• Through Place Matters – United Way’s innovative resident-led strategy to focus investments within 13 neighborhoods in northeast Winston-Salem – we are improving how we work to create lasting, positive change by developing solutions with residents who live in and experience their neighborhoods every day.
Additionally, and crucially, through our ongoing engagement, marketing, and fundraising efforts, we work to leverage the resources of our entire community to reach our community goals. We provide opportunities where any individual, business, or organization can make a difference, whether it is volunteering time, donating money, organizing a Day of Caring, sponsoring or attending one of our events, or becoming involved in our Women’s Leadership Council, Young Leaders United, Tocqueville Society.
What are the organization's capabilities for doing this?
United Way of Forsyth County has over 40 staff members working in areas such as resource development, marketing and engagement, administration and finance, and community impact. Our staff works collaboratively with each other and other stakeholders to develop, implement, and improve all our strategies.
Our staff has expertise in a variety of community issues and strong relationships with stakeholders from across the entire community. We proactively identify needs, gaps, and solutions that need support, and we are also able to see the “big picture” and partner with other groups to solve complex issues that no one organization can address alone. Additionally, United Way staff members lead and participate in other community initiatives to ensure we are all working together for a better Forsyth County.
Additionally, United Way of Forsyth County is governed by an active and engaged Board of Directors that is made up of local community stakeholders. Through the Board’s leadership, involvement in various committees, and their advocacy, they provide United Way of Forsyth County with a strong base of community-wide support that allows all of our work to be more effective.
What have they accomplished so far and what's next?
United Way of Forsyth County was founded in 1923 as the Community Chest of Forsyth County. In 1951, the Community Chest became the United Fund of Winston-Salem and Forsyth County. And in 1974, we officially became the United Way of Forsyth County. Over the past 96 years, United Way of Forsyth County has accomplished a great deal to make Forsyth County a better place to live. We have brought our community together to address key social issues. We have raised hundreds of millions of dollars to help local agencies and initiatives help people in need. We have led our community in taking new approaches to solve our most pressing challenges.
In more recent years, we have aligned our work to provide greater impact and shift community trends in the right direction. We are funding programs with stronger outcomes and holding those programs accountable by tracking program outcomes and sharing our data to be more effective. We are increasing our collaboration with new and old partners to align efforts, leverage resources, and be more efficient. Lastly, we are continuously identifying new ways to engage all members of the community with our organization.
Here are a few recent accomplishments:
• In 2018, United Way of Forsyth County funded over 70 programs and initiatives with more than 40 local partner non-profit organizations that helped more than 147,000 people in our community.
• Through United Way’s support of Project Graduation and our other educational initiatives, Forsyth County’s high school graduation rate has risen from 70.7% in 2007 to 84.5% in 2018.
• Through the Ten-Year Plan to End Chronic Homelessness, Winston-Salem & Forsyth County met the challenge of ending veteran homelessness in 2015.
• Through Place Matters, United Way is changing how we work, by developing solutions with residents in 13 neighborhoods. In 2018 five new homes were built in neighborhoods that had not seen new construction in over 50 years (with two more in progress.)
• In 2018, NC 211 received 3,684 requests from Forsyth County residents needing assistance in areas such as shelter, clothing, health care, and suicide prevention. NC 211 is a free, confidential & helps people find services like these 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
• Over 14,000 people donated to United Way’s 2017-18 Annual Campaign.
• Over 1,450 people volunteered to help make our Annual Campaign a success.
• 1,670 people participated in our Women’s Leadership Council and Young Leaders United.
As we look towards the future, we are evaluating how we can:
• Advance equity and opportunity for all residents of Forsyth County.
• Promote innovation for greater impact within the local nonprofit and social services sectors.
• Develop effective digital engagement strategies with our stakeholders.
• Grow our community campaign to engage individuals outside of traditional workplace giving.
• Increase personal connections with the work we do.
• Advocate for issues that positively impact our residents.
Financials
Unlock nonprofit financial insights that will help you make more informed decisions. Try our monthly plan today.
- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights?
Learn more
about GuideStar Pro.
Operations
The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.
Connect with nonprofit leaders
SubscribeBuild relationships with key people who manage and lead nonprofit organizations with GuideStar Pro. Try a low commitment monthly plan today.
- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? Learn More about GuideStar Pro.
Connect with nonprofit leaders
SubscribeBuild relationships with key people who manage and lead nonprofit organizations with GuideStar Pro. Try a low commitment monthly plan today.
- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? Learn More about GuideStar Pro.
UNITED WAY OF FORSYTH COUNTY INC
Board of directorsas of 05/16/2022
Trisha Coleman
Novant
Board leadership practices
GuideStar worked with BoardSource, the national leader in nonprofit board leadership and governance, to create this section.
-
Board orientation and education
Does the board conduct a formal orientation for new board members and require all board members to sign a written agreement regarding their roles, responsibilities, and expectations? Yes -
CEO oversight
Has the board conducted a formal, written assessment of the chief executive within the past year ? No -
Ethics and transparency
Have the board and senior staff reviewed the conflict-of-interest policy and completed and signed disclosure statements in the past year? Yes -
Board composition
Does the board ensure an inclusive board member recruitment process that results in diversity of thought and leadership? Yes -
Board performance
Has the board conducted a formal, written self-assessment of its performance within the past three years? No
Organizational demographics
Who works and leads organizations that serve our diverse communities? Candid partnered with CHANGE Philanthropy on this demographic section.
Leadership
The organization's leader identifies as:
Race & ethnicity
Gender identity
Transgender Identity
Sexual orientation
No data
Disability
No data
Equity strategies
Last updated: 05/16/2022GuideStar partnered with Equity in the Center - an organization that works to shift mindsets, practices, and systems to increase racial equity - to create this section. Learn more
- We review compensation data across the organization (and by staff levels) to identify disparities by race.
- We ask team members to identify racial disparities in their programs and / or portfolios.
- We disaggregate data to adjust programming goals to keep pace with changing needs of the communities we support.
- We have long-term strategic plans and measurable goals for creating a culture such that one’s race identity has no influence on how they fare within the organization.
- We seek individuals from various race backgrounds for board and executive director/CEO positions within our organization.
- We have community representation at the board level, either on the board itself or through a community advisory board.
- We help senior leadership understand how to be inclusive leaders with learning approaches that emphasize reflection, iteration, and adaptability.
- We engage everyone, from the board to staff levels of the organization, in race equity work and ensure that individuals understand their roles in creating culture such that one’s race identity has no influence on how they fare within the organization.