UNITED WAY OF NORTHWEST ARKANSAS INC
UNITED WE FIGHT. UNITED WE WIN. LIVE UNITED
Programs and results
What we aim to solve
UWNWA is investing in programs that focus on ALICE families in our community. ALICE, an acronym for Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed, is a new way of defining and understanding the struggles of households that earn above the Federal Poverty Level, but not enough to afford a bare-bones household budget. For far too many families, the cost of living outpaces what they earn. These households struggle to manage even their most basic needs - housing, food, transportation, child care, health care, and necessary technology. We envision a world where all those who work to keep our local economies running can support themselves and their families. The future success of our communities is directly tied to the financial stability of these fragile ALICE households.
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
Arkansas 211
Arkansas 211: Ever wonder how to find health and community services when you or someone you know needs help? When a human story touches your heart and you want to reach out and give to those in need, where do you turn? Whether you want to give or get help, Arkansas 211 is the confidential, free, 24-hour-a-day and multilingual way to locate hundreds of human services across the state of Arkansas.
Access to community resources 24/7/365
Prosperity Tomorrow: Road Map to Prosperity
United Way of Northwest Arkansas is committed to creating a Road Map to Prosperity that increase opportunities for children and families to live and grow in a thriving, nurturing environment. Thanks to the generosity of the Northwest Arkansas community, United Way is proud to announce that we have awarded 25 grants totaling $2 million for the 2019-2021 grant cycle. The grants will support programs focused on children and families in poverty.
As a mobilizer of community resources, United Way works in collaboration with partners throughout the region to raise funds that support these programs to increase the capacity of children and families to achieve their fullest human potential in three core areas:
1. DEVELOPING SELF-SUFFICIENCY.
Developing Self-Sufficiency programs will ensure the future economic stability of children and families by strengthening workforce readiness skills and increasing the capacity of youth to acquire a sustainable living wage.
2. PARENTS AS FIRST TEACHERS.
The first years of life are critical for healthy brain development and for children to get the boost they need to be ready to learn and thrive. Parents as First Teachers programs will ensure that children, parents, caregivers, and families are working together to strengthen school readiness skills.
3. QUALITY OUT-OF-SCHOOL TIME.
High-quality out-of-school time programs increases academic success, expands exploration of career paths, and results in positive outcomes for children. This funding area focuses on increasing access to high-quality out-of-school time programs that will build the capacity for greater success.
Fill the Bus: School Supply Drive
In partnership with Walmart, BIC, Crayola, and Coca-Cola, Fill the Bus is an initiative that provides a step out of poverty for children in Northwest Arkansas. Fill the Bus is a school supply drive at the ten area Walmart Supercenters and supplies are entrusted to 15 area school districts serving children and their families. This program supports children in our community by helping them start school with confidence and gives them the literal tools they need to succeed.
United Way staff and volunteers will spend Friday, August 7 and Saturday, August 8 filling the bus with school supplies at all the Walmart Supercenters in Benton, Madison, and Washington counties in Arkansas and McDonald County in Missouri.
VITA
The Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program is an in-person resource for individuals earning $54,000 or less. IRS-certified volunteers provide free basic income tax return preparation with electronic filing to qualified individuals. This program is operated by certified volunteers and allows our neighbors the opportunity to file and direct deposit their tax refund for free and ensure proper tax credits are utilized.
Capacity Building for Non-profits
Capacity building is an investment in the effectiveness and future sustainability of a nonprofit. When capacity building is successful, it strengthens a nonprofit’s ability to fulfill its mission over time, thereby enhancing its ability to have a positive impact on lives and communities.
Where we work
Awards
Outstanding Philanthropic Organization 2022
Association of Fundraising Professionals-NWA Chapter
Affiliations & memberships
AIRS 2018
External reviews
Photos
Videos
Our results
How does this organization measure their results? It's a hard question but an important one.
Number of organizations applying for grants
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Economically disadvantaged people
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
Tyson Summer Community Internship Program, Community Investment Grants, and EFSP. 2022 metrics are for Emergency Food and Shelter (EFS) grants.
Total dollar amount of grants awarded
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Economically disadvantaged people
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Holding steady
Context Notes
Tyson Summer Community Internship Program, Community Investment Grants, and EFSP.
Total number of grants awarded
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Economically disadvantaged people
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Holding steady
Context Notes
Tyson Summer Community Internship Program, Community Investment Grants, and EFSP.
Goals & Strategy
Reports and documents
Download strategic planLearn 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?
The goals are to provide a road map to prosperity for children and their families in Northwest Arkansas and to increase the effectiveness of local nonprofits through education and collaboration.
What are the organization's key strategies for making this happen?
1) Change the community's perception about what's possible in the lives of children and families living in poverty and the costs of failing to do so. 2) Take lead in advocating in the community for direct services to the economically disadvantaged. 3) Develop; a collective impact model to establish a common vision and coordinate services across providers, to deliver a spectrum of services to children and families in poverty. 4) Determine methods of assisting agencies in producing more impactful outcomes by leveraging cross-sector partnerships that can influence education, employment, and housing.
What are the organization's capabilities for doing this?
1) Board members with connections into the community. 2) Staff with extensive experience and expertise in collaboration, collective impact models, and capacity building. 3) Relationship with a major retailer that provides access to products and services.
What have they accomplished so far and what's next?
1) Road Map to Prosperity Initiative indicators include outcome metrics from grantees. Data sources include reports from the grantees. Conducted year one of the survey indicators for the grants.
2) Arkansas 211 - The progress indicator is the number of referrals made to clients to connect them to appropriate services. Data sources include call center reports and google analytics. Tracking monthly impact through the number of calls and connections to serves.
3) Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library is a program that provides free books to children. All children under the age of 5 are eligible to receive a book by mail, without any cost to the family, until they reach their fifth birthday. This program will provide children with their own library of books and equip families to
support reading at home. Each child will be better prepared for school and ready to learn in
kindergarten! The first book in the program will be the classic children’s book, The Little Engine That Could, which is a favorite book of singer Dolly Parton. The best part of this program is that this is a free gift for your child! Register your child today to receive a free book by mail each month!
How we listen
Seeking feedback from people served makes programs more responsive and effective. Here’s how this organization is listening.
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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 identify where we are less inclusive or equitable across demographic groups, To strengthen relationships with the people we serve, To understand people's needs and how we can help them achieve their goals
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Which of the following feedback practices does your organization routinely carry out?
We collect feedback from the people we serve at least annually, We take steps to get feedback from marginalized or under-represented people, We aim to collect feedback from as many people we serve as possible, We take steps to ensure people feel comfortable being honest with us, We look for patterns in feedback based on demographics (e.g., race, age, gender, etc.), We look for patterns in feedback based on people’s interactions with us (e.g., site, frequency of service, etc.), We engage the people who provide feedback in looking for ways we can improve in response, We act on the feedback we receive
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What challenges does the organization face when collecting feedback?
We don't have any major challenges to collecting feedback
Financials
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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 NORTHWEST ARKANSAS INC
Board of directorsas of 02/07/2023
Ms. Helena Gadison
Conair Corp.
Term: 2023 - 2021
Mark Ryan
Arvest Bank
David Vaden
Ernst & Young
Chad Chance
Point Financial Group
Helena Gadison
Conair Corporation
Dr. Kim Needy
University of Arkansas
Missy Cole
City of Fayetteville
Dr. Andrew Thompson
First United Methodist Church
Chad Chass
Black Hills Energy
Mike Baker
UPS
Terra Stephenson
District Court Judge, Washington Co.
Jill Wager
Crystal Bridges
Elizabeth Murphy
P&G
Board leadership practices
GuideStar worked with BoardSource, the national leader in nonprofit board leadership and governance, to create this section.
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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? Not applicable
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: 08/18/2021GuideStar 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 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.
- We disaggregate data by demographics, including race, in every policy and program measured.
- 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 have a promotion process that anticipates and mitigates implicit and explicit biases about people of color serving in leadership positions.
- 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.