United Way of Greater Cincinnati

Our overarching goal is to break the cycle of poverty for families in Greater Cincinnati. To do that, United Way continues to close in on its Bold Goals for our region -that by 2020, at least:

90% of our region's labor force will be gainfully employed

85% of children will be prepared for kindergarten

85% of youth will graduate from high school prepared for the next step

45% of adults will have an associate's degree or higher

70% of the community will report having excellent or very good health

95% of the community will report having a usual and appropriate place to go for health care

We all share common needs that must be met in order to thrive as individuals and families:

Financial Stability, Quality Educational Experiences, Basic Needs, Physical & Mental Health.

Ensuring all four are met is essential to break the cycle of poverty for families in Greater Cincinnati.

FINANCIAL STABILITY: we create solutions that help families access well-paying jobs, critical work supports and financial services to successfully manage changing financial needs and build economic security.

QUALITY EDUCATIONAL EXPERIENCES: we define solutions that support educational experiences with long-term impact for all individuals, from high quality early education for the youngest generation through post-secondary job training for adults.

BASIC NEEDS: we help families meet their basic needs and weather temporary set-backs like a job loss or emergency car repair.

PHYSICAL & MENTAL HEALTH: we develop solutions that provide access to physical and mental health services for individuals throughout their lives so that families can thrive.

Families have unique needs at different times in their lives. Since families come in all shapes and sizes, a family-centered approach helps us to break the cycle of poverty and recognize the undeniable connection between parent’s and children’s success. We meet families where they are and ensure whole family solutions are available across a variety of partners and services. Together we can do more than any one of us could do alone.

United Way is recognized as a regional leader and convener with the breadth, history, and skills to mobilize our community toward helping people measurably improve their health, education, and financial stability. We have been serving this community for 100 years. We are a local leader in performance measurement, and the collaboratives we lead are nationally recognized for best practices. For more than a decade, we have aggressively focused on measurable impact to make a difference in the quality of life of our region.

Our United Way is one of the strongest in the country, having the third highest per capita giving among the top 50 United Ways in the USA. We receive a 3-star rating from Charity Navigator and unqualified opinions on our audits. We are committed to the highest standards of accountability.

- 1,300 families were supported by 12 UWGC leading partners to deeply understand poverty and measure family progress

- 98 agencies improved their services through Family Centered Innovation Network - United Way capacity building efforts

- United Way Success By 6 Expanded the 'Me and My School' kindergarten transition program to 24 Northern Kentucky schools.

- Increased the number of Cincinnati Public School children ready for Kindergarten to 58%

- 5 state public policies were enacted, promoted or modified to enhance early childhood success

- United Way’s Partners for a Competitive Workforce reached the milestone of over 15,500 individuals trained since 2008 for jobs in high-growth career pathways.

- 86% of those served by Partners for a Competitive Workforce completed training and 80% obtained employment

- In calendar 2019, so far more than 20,500 families in Greater Cincinnati received over $22 million in tax refunds, thanks to the United Way of Greater Cincinnati’s Regional Volunteer Tax Assistance (VITA) Collaborative

United Way also tracks community-level indicators to determine the impact we achieve. Every two years, we release the State of the Community Report which tracks social-economic indicators over time. Data are continuously updated through the Facts matter portal www.factsmatter.info

- United Way volunteers gave more than 69,000 hours to local services

- United Way of Greater Cincinnati secured a 3-star Accountability & Transparency rating from Charity Navigator