United Way of Central Oklahoma
Programs and results
What we aim to solve
Our mission is to connect people and resources to improve the well being of those in our community. Our research department identifies emerging needs and service gap areas in central Oklahoma, which we use to determine our strategic initiatives, collaborate with other community organizations, and educate the public. As examples: Nearly 1 in 9 Central Oklahoma workers lost their jobs or were laid off last year. In 2020, United Way Partner Agencies provided 60,754 adults and youth with shelter, food, or material goods. Additionally, homeless prevention assistance was given to 10,991 households and 4,084 households received career development, job placement, and adult and financial literacy services. To meet the critical mental health needs as a result of the pandemic, 598,735 central Oklahoma neighbors received access to counseling, crisis intervention, suicide prevention and/or substance abuse treatment through United Way Partner Agencies last year.
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
Annual Fundraising Campaign
United Way of Central Oklahoma works with businesses, organizations, and foundations to raise funds for our annual campaign. Hundreds of community-minded organizations host a workplace campaign for United Way and/or contribute corporate donations. Donations raised by the campaign help fund 151 local programs administered by 73 Partner Agencies.
Volunteer Center
The United Way of Central Oklahoma’s Volunteer Center connects volunteers with meaningful opportunities at local nonprofit organizations. Annually, the Volunteer Center presents a Day of Caring series featuring days of community wide service: Day of Caring and Day of Action. During Day of Caring held in early October, teams of volunteers work together to make a difference in the community through projects held at our Partner Agencies. Last year, the Volunteer Center connected nearly 1,300 volunteers with opportunities to serve in the community.
Community Investment
The annual Community Investment process allows United Way to remain transparent and accountable for dollars raised during the annual campaign. Partner Agencies provide accountability of their allotted funds by reporting community impact as evidenced by their clients who achieved the established outcomes, total number served, and cost per result calculations. Donor volunteers evaluate these measures as well as additional analytics including: the number of individuals in the service area affected by the issues being addressed; the number of individuals anticipated to participate; previous year client served demographics; financial audit; IRS form 990; agency operating budget; list of partners/collaborative organizations; and end-of-year reports including number of lives changed. Using this information, donor volunteers make their funding recommendations to the United Way Board as well as report to Partner Agencies constructive commendations/recommendations for continued improvements.
Where we work
Accreditations
Charity Navigator 2020
Awards
Affiliations & memberships
Association of Fundraising Professionals - Oklahoma Chapter 2012
Edmond Chamber of Commerce 2016
Greater Oklahoma City Chamber 2016
Oklahoma Center for Nonprofits, Standards of Excellence Program Graduate 2016
United Way Worldwide 2016
External reviews

Our results
How does this organization measure their results? It's a hard question but an important one.
Number of overall donors
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Related Program
Annual Fundraising Campaign
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Holding steady
Context Notes
2016 included the Combined Federal Campaign donors.
Total dollars received in contributions
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Adults
Related Program
Annual Fundraising Campaign
Type of Metric
Other - describing something else
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
2016 was the last year to include the Combined Federal Campaign in the United Way campaign.
Total number of volunteer hours contributed to the organization
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Related Program
Volunteer Center
Type of Metric
Other - describing something else
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
2016 included the Combined Federal Campaign.
Number of advisory councils the organization is a part of
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Adults
Related Program
Annual Fundraising Campaign
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Holding steady
Context Notes
United Way staff are actively involved in 30 community initiatives working with stakeholders to find solutions to specific health and social service problems that are not otherwise being dealt with.
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?
Goal I: Invest in programs based on research-driven analysis.
During United Way of Central Oklahoma's annual community investment process, volunteers receive "Trends in Community Needs," a research brief prepared by UWCO's research department. The brief identifies issues relating to the most prevalent needs in our community. Volunteers use the research brief, as well as referral data from Heartline 211's community helpline, to guide their review and discussions of UWCO's funded programs and make informed recommendations based on their analyses.
Goal II: Increase awareness of our community's greatest needs.
UWCO is one of the only United Ways in the nation with staff dedicated to research. They continuously monitor the needs of the community and identify service gaps in central Oklahoma. Through the data we collect and the research conducted for our Vital Signs publications, we are acutely aware of the gap in meaningful resources that exists for those in need in our community. We share these statistics and stories in the hope that others will commit to creating a culture in Oklahoma that cares for the disadvantaged by taking action.
Goal III: Support innovative collaborations to maximize impact.
While providing critical funding to results-oriented programs at proven nonprofit agencies will always be central to our work, increasingly we find ourselves called upon to address needs even more directly. We work to address social issues identified through our research by convening community stakeholders and collaborating on solutions. In addition to our Partner Agencies, our United Way leads or actively participates in 30+ community initiatives. The WayFinder program and EmbraceOKC are two examples of this work. The WayFinder program provides one-time funding in the form of social innovation grants to local nonprofit agencies. Local nonprofits submit new ideas on how they can address local needs in a new, innovative way that has never been implemented in central Oklahoma. EmbraceOKC is a collaboration between Oklahoma City Public Schools (OKCPS), the Oklahoma City Chamber of Commerce, UWCO, The Foundation for Oklahoma City Public Schools, and the Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services to support behavioral health improvements throughout OKCPS.
What are the organization's key strategies for making this happen?
The annual Community Investment process plays a vital role in ensuring United Way's accountability to its donors. Through this process, the needs in the community are reviewed alongside the effectiveness of United Way funded programs. This evaluation is done entirely by donor volunteers, who attend approximately six meetings and conduct site visits to Partner Agencies between the months of January to September. They review the program budgets, 990's, audits, and measurable outcomes. The volunteers monitor program effectiveness as an important component of determining their funding recommendations. More than 4,000 volunteer hours each year are spent on this process. Based on information gathered, the Community Investment Committee makes funding recommendations to the United Way Board each June for approval to begin funding in July. United Way staff then monitor and track program successes and/or challenges regularly providing data and research to our community stakeholders.
What are the organization's capabilities for doing this?
United Way of Central Oklahoma works with hundreds of community-minded organizations to host workplace campaigns for United Way and/or contribute corporate donations. Donations raised by the campaign in central Oklahoma, United Way of Logan County and United Way of Canadian County help fund 136 local programs administered by 73 Partner Agencies.
The annual Community Investment process allows United Way to remain transparent and accountable for dollars raised during the annual campaign. Following this process, volunteer teams make funding recommendations based on their findings and the program funding requests. These recommendations are then voted upon by the United Way Board of Directors. This process ensures donor contributions are invested in the local community in the most efficient and effective way.
We further strive to foster new leadership and growth through our affinity groups, BoardServe program, and our volunteer center. Our Alexis de Tocqueville Society, Women's Leadership Society, and Emerging Leaders group help to foster relationships and continued stewardship across the lifespan and amongst our most philanthropic-minded supporters. Our Volunteer Center allows for the community to give back while learning more about the safety net built by United Way. And our BoardServe program is a unique program dedicated to improving nonprofit boards by recruiting, training and matching board members with nonprofit agencies in central Oklahoma.
What have they accomplished so far and what's next?
The 2020 United Way Campaign raised $20.4 million through several hundred employee workplace campaigns as well as corporate gifts and thousands of individual donations.
The United Way's Communications Committee facilitated promoting United Way of Central Oklahoma through media outlets with more than $2 million worth of in-kind donations of advertising from our media partners.
For the 2020 community investment process there were 160 volunteers representing 72 workplaces donating an estimated 4,000 hours reviewing applications, budgets, financial reports, as well as attending meetings and site visits.
In 2020, our Volunteer Center matched/placed/referred nearly 1,300 volunteers in our community. Volunteers dedicated to the United Way mission donated 17,000 hours of service to the community.
One of our newest innovative programs is our WayFinder grant program. Sparking new approaches to solving our community's biggest challenges, UWCO founded the Wayfinder Innovation Grant in 2019. Now in the third year of the program, Wayfinder encourages local nonprofits to design creative programs addressing health and human services needs in the central Oklahoma community. In 2021, three nonprofits were selected for funding through the WayFinder Innovation Grant: Goodwill's virtual reality forklift operations training utilizes a virtual and non-traditional training format to teach technical, digital, and soft skills needed to operate forklifts. NewView Oklahoma's mobile low vision clinic will help remove barriers to eye care by offering free exams to a variety of underserved populations and communities in central Oklahoma. Youth & Family Services intergenerational living program at Intrada will create structured, intentional opportunities for low-income seniors, other vulnerable adults and independent living program youth to connect through shared activities at an affordable housing complex.
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 collecting feedback from the people you serve?
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How is your organization using feedback from the people you serve?
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With whom is the organization sharing feedback?
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Which of the following feedback practices does your organization routinely carry out?
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What challenges does the organization face when collecting feedback?
Financials
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Operations
The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.
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
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 Central Oklahoma
Board of directorsas of 06/08/2022
Mrs. Sherri Lance
Gaming Capital Group
Term: 2021 - 2023
Michael Carolina
Oklahoma Center for the Advancement of Science & Technology
Jim English
Lopez Foods & Dorada Foods
Lee Symcox
First Fidelity Bank
Shane Wharton
Love's Travel Stops & Country Stores
Matt McGuire
Heritage Trust Company
George Young
Holy Temple Baptist Church
Mark Wood
Ernst & Young LLP
Jerome Holmes
U.S. Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals
Hillary Farrell
Ackerman McQueen
Sherri Lance
Gaming Capital Group
M.T. Berry
City of Oklahoma City
Dave Lopez
Community Leader
Robert Clements
Clements Foods
Sean McDaniel
Oklahoma City Public Schools
Sarah Roberts
Inasmuch Foundation
Bill Schonacher
IBC Bank- Oklahoma
Edmund Martin
Ackerman McQueen
Tim O'Connor
Central Oklahoma AFL-CIO Labor Council
Cynda Ottaway
Crowe Dunlevy
Nick Samarripas
Arvest Bank
Chuck Spicer
Children's Hospital
Mike Turpen
Riggs, Abney, Neal, Turpen, Orbison & Lewis
Kathy Williams
Community Leader
Jim Curry
Oklahoma State AFL-CIO
Clay Farha
B.D. Eddie Enterprises
Jean Leger
OGE Energy Corp.
Jenee Lister
Merrill Lynch/Bank of America
Judy Love
Love's Travel Stops & Country Stores, Inc.
Meg Salyer
Accel Financial Services
Mohammad Farzaneh
Home Creations, Inc.
Sean Trauschke
OGE Energy Corp.
Sean Cummings
Cummings Oil Co.
Roberta Fields
McAfee & Taft
Mark Helm
Dolese Bros. Co.
Michael Laird
Crowe & Dunlevy
Rick McCune
Grant Thornton
Lane Neal
Durbin Larimore Bialick
David Rainbolt
BancFirst
Roy Williams
Greater OKC Chamber
Danny Barth
OKC Thunder
Gary Brooks
Cornerstone Development
Jason Clark
CompSource
Jim Couch
Retired City Manager
Tricia Everest
Community Leader
Jennifer Grigsby
Community Leader
Dave Hager
Devon Energy
Rick Nagel
Acorn Growth
Greg Smith
Northrop Grumman
David Harlow
BancFirst Corporation
Dan Boren
First United Bank
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? GuideStar partnered on this section with CHANGE Philanthropy and Equity in the Center.
Leadership
The organization's leader identifies as:
Race & ethnicity
Gender identity
Sexual orientation
No data
Disability
No data