GOLD2023

United Way of Greater Knoxville

Better Lives. Better Communities.

Knoxville, TN   |  http://www.uwgk.org

Mission

United Way of Greater Knoxville brings together resources to improve the lives of people in our community by helping them achieve their potential for self-sufficiency.

Ruling year info

1960

President / CEO

Mr. Matt Ryerson

Main address

1301 Hannah Ave.

Knoxville, TN 37921 USA

Show more contact info

EIN

62-0475748

NTEE code info

Fund Raising Organizations That Cross Categories includes Community Funds/Trusts and Federated Giving Programs) e.g. United Way (T70)

Philanthropy / Charity / Voluntarism Promotion (General) (T50)

IRS filing requirement

This organization is required to file an IRS Form 990 or 990-EZ.

Sign in or create an account to view Form(s) 990 for 2023, 2022 and 2021.
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Communication

Programs and results

What we aim to solve

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

To provide opportunities for self-sufficiency for all Knox County residents.

Our programs

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?

Education

We believe all children have the right to a strong start so they can be successful in life. United Way of Greater Knoxville professionals, along with prominent community volunteers have identified areas in which support is needed to develop success. The education goals we have set will work toward: helping children be ready to enter school, helping children be ready to move to the next grade, and making sure kids graduate from high school and are prepared for college or a vocation.

Population(s) Served
Children and youth

As many as one-third of working Americans do not earn enough money to meet their basic needs. United Way of Greater Knoxville professionals, along with prominent community volunteers, have identified areas in which support is needed to develop success. The income & basic needs goals we have set will promote financial stability and independence by helping: stabilize families in financial distress and achieve long-term financial stability.

Population(s) Served
Adults

We believe health encompasses body and mind. United Way of Greater Knoxville professionals, along with prominent community volunteers have identified areas in which support is needed to develop success. The health and basic needs goals we have set will focus on: maternal health and well being, basic healthcare coverage and prevention, and healthy youth and adults.

Population(s) Served
Adults

Where we work

Videos

Our results

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

How does this organization measure their results? It's a hard question but an important one.

Number of people trained

This metric is no longer tracked.
Totals By Year
Related Program

Income

Type of Metric

Output - describing our activities and reach

Direction of Success

Increasing

Context Notes

Goal of promoting financial stability for at-risk individuals by increasing earning potential through education and career development.

Number of children (0-5) enrolled in high-quality early childhood programs

This metric is no longer tracked.
Totals By Year
Related Program

Education

Type of Metric

Output - describing our activities and reach

Direction of Success

Holding steady

Context Notes

Goal of helping children and young adults achieve their full potential by assuring that they are ready to succeed in school.

Number of elementary/middle/high school youth served who participate in school and/or community-based out-of-school time programs and/or receive individualized supports

This metric is no longer tracked.
Totals By Year
Related Program

Education

Type of Metric

Output - describing our activities and reach

Direction of Success

Increasing

Context Notes

Goal of helping children achieve their full potential by supporting excellent Out of School programs (example: afterschool and summer programs).

Number of youth receiving services (e.g., groups, skills and job training, etc.) with youths living in their community

This metric is no longer tracked.
Totals By Year
Related Program

Education

Type of Metric

Output - describing our activities and reach

Direction of Success

Decreasing

Context Notes

Goal of helping young adults achieve their full potential by providing them opportunities to be productive and engaged.

Number of eligible clients who report having access to an adequate array of services and supports

This metric is no longer tracked.
Totals By Year
Related Program

Income

Type of Metric

Outcome - describing the effects on people or issues

Direction of Success

Increasing

Context Notes

Goal of promoting financial stability and independence by improving the standards of living through access to affordable supportive services and financial literacy.

Number of individuals served participating in physical activity and/or healthy food access/nutrition programs

This metric is no longer tracked.
Totals By Year
Related Program

Health

Type of Metric

Output - describing our activities and reach

Direction of Success

Increasing

Context Notes

Goal of improving health by reducing risk factors for obesity, chronic disease and premature death.

Our Sustainable Development Goals

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

Learn more about Sustainable Development Goals.

Goals & Strategy

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

Learn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.

Charting impact

Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.

United Way of Greater Knoxville aims to strengthen and broaden its partnerships and outreach within the community and grow its capacity for serving our community as a “hub" and a “trusted convener." We seek ways to engage in policy development and advocacy within the community, which extends our impact far beyond our historical role as funder. Through our granting, we look to make lasting change and to improve lives as we welcome new fund competitors and continue to refine our system for evaluating and updating the goals and performance metrics of our organization's three focus areas of Education, Income (Financial Stability) and Health.

To fund competing programs and continue to refine our system for evaluating and updating the goals and performance metrics of our organization's three focus areas of Education, Income (Financial Stability) and Health. Semi-annual reports are generated by each program to keep us up-to-date on the outcomes of each program.

Additionally, we are researching more of the Collective Impact model to address systemic issues.

United Way of Greater Knoxville was established in 1922. While our process has changed in terms of open-to-the-entire community and competitive, the timeline regarding committee decisions/board approval/funding process has been in existence for many years. We have nearly 150 volunteers who investigate and engage others in the community to identify problems and work communally to effect solutions.

We have successfully transitioned from a closed funding program, where we used to ask only a certain number of agencies to apply for the same programs, to an open and competitive model.

In the meantime we have emphasized our role as convener and collaborator; and consequently agencies are coming to us with issues, to which we anticipate working together in a Collective Impact process to identify and bring about solutions.

How we listen

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

Seeking feedback from people served makes programs more responsive and effective. Here’s how this organization is listening.

done We shared information about our current feedback practices.

  • How is your organization using feedback from the people you serve?

    To make fundamental changes to our programs and/or operations, To inform the development of new programs/projects, To strengthen relationships with the people we serve

  • Which of the following feedback practices does your organization routinely carry out?

  • What challenges does the organization face when collecting feedback?

    We don't have any major challenges to collecting feedback

Financials

United Way of Greater Knoxville
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Operations

The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.

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Connect with nonprofit leaders

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  • Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
  • Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
  • Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations

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lock

Connect with nonprofit leaders

Subscribe

Build 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 Greater Knoxville

Board of directors
as of 08/04/2023
SOURCE: Self-reported by organization
Board chair

Mr. Clarence Vaughn, III

University of Tennessee

Dale Keasling

Home Federal Bank

Jeffrey Lee

Community Volunteer

Damon Rawls

DRC Business Consulting

Shanna Browning

First Century Bank

Jeremy Jennings

Jennings Immigration Law Office

John McCulley

Moxley Carmichael

Tim Wirtz

PKA Marketing

Todd Skelton

Strategic Acquisitions Group

Matt Ryerson

United Way of Greater Knoxville

Robin Wilhoit

WBIR-TV

Clarence Vaughn, III

Haslam College of Business

Tony Benton

Tennova Healthcare

Tracy Lyash

Community Advocate

Karen Massey

Kreative Events

LaKenya Middlebrook

City of Knoxville

Keith Gray

UT Medical Center

Beth Weissfeld

WBIR-TV

Chris Parrott

First Bank

Donde Plowman

University of Tennessee

Brian Brooks

Eternal Marketing Group

Amie Cohorst

Axle Logistics

Jim LaPinska

Northwestern Mutual

Traci Taylor

Shafer Insurance

John Billings

TCV Trust & Wealth Management

Annettee Lindstrom Brun

Oak Ridge National Laboratory

Frank Rathermel

Denark Construction

Thomas Schmid

Bank of Tennessee

Liz Stowers

Community Volunteer

Jamie Bagwell

First Horizon Bank

Angela Conner

Truist Bank

Dasan Dix

Regions Bank

Gabe Bolas

Knoxville Utilities Board

Tommy Dodson

Leidos

David Fountain

Tennessee Valley Authority

Robert Hill

Community Advocate

Nadim Jubran

InLieu, LLC

Brandon Parks

IMG-Vol Network

Javiette Samuel

University of Tennessee

Board leadership practices

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

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 ? Yes
  • 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? Yes

Organizational demographics

SOURCE: Self-reported; last updated 8/4/2023
info Candid has made improvements to the race and ethnicity options.

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
White/Caucasian/European
Gender identity
Male, Not transgender (cisgender)
Sexual orientation
Heterosexual or straight
Disability status
Person without a disability

Race & ethnicity

No data

Gender identity

No data

 

No data

Sexual orientation

No data

Disability

No data

Equity strategies

Last updated: 08/03/2023

GuideStar 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

Data
  • 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 analyze disaggregated data and root causes of race disparities that impact the organization's programs, portfolios, and the populations served.
  • We disaggregate data to adjust programming goals to keep pace with changing needs of the communities we support.
  • We employ non-traditional ways of gathering feedback on programs and trainings, which may include interviews, roundtables, and external reviews with/by community stakeholders.
Policies and processes
  • We seek individuals from various race backgrounds for board and executive director/CEO positions within our organization.
  • We help senior leadership understand how to be inclusive leaders with learning approaches that emphasize reflection, iteration, and adaptability.
  • We measure and then disaggregate job satisfaction and retention data by race, function, level, and/or team.
  • 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.