Valley of the Sun United Way
At United Way we are fighting to break the cycle of poverty for every child, individual, and family in Maricopa County.
Programs and results
What we aim to solve
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
Valley of the Sun United Way
Since 1925, Valley of the Sun United Way has unified diverse partners, donors, business supporters, nonprofits, government and faith-based communities to build a stronger Valley for us all. Because of our 90,000 donors, 400 business supporters and 5,000 volunteers we can help break the cycle of poverty together. No other organization unites as many people to fight poverty in as many ways.
There’s no one way to break the cycle of poverty. That is why United Way isn’t a single issue organization. We pull together the most promising organizations across Maricopa County that provide comprehensive support in three key portfolio areas: Fight for Kids, Fight for Families and Fight for Neighborhoods.
In partnership with 140 exceptional local programs, United Way invests your gift to address the multiple causes of poverty in the Valley with a track record of measurable success
Education
We close opportunity gaps to ensure children read at grade level by 3rd grade and youth are prepared for educational success and employment.
We support more than 50 programs and services provided by school, nonprofit and community partners who focus on building and strengthening literacy, increasing online learning and providing supportive services for families and teachers. The below Coalition members focus on our Mighty education goals and develop strategies to create impact. When informed by the Coalition and their Action Teams, we change course as needed to stay focused on the right programs and solutions to reach our bold goals for Maricopa County.
Arizona Charitable Tax Credit
Your support provides vital essentials such as masks, sanitizers and diapers, as well as emergency rent, utilities and other financial assistance that maintains family stability.
Housing & Homelessness
We ensure all can have a safe home to call their own.
We are increasing investments in services and programs that not only address immediate needs, but also prioritize social determinants and wraparound services that prevent and assist those experiencing homelessness or housing insecurity. The below Coalition members focus on our Mighty housing and homelessness goals and develop strategies to create impact. When informed by the Coalition and their Action Teams, we change course as needed to stay focused on the right programs and solutions to reach our bold goals for Maricopa County.
Healthcare & Food Access
We remove barriers to ensure everyone in our community is healthy, with a focus on access to food and healthcare. Good health, including access to healthcare and nutritional food, is foundational to success in school, work and life. Yet, in Arizona, food insecurity increased since COVID-19, especially among children and senior adults. In fact, 1 in 5 children and 1 in 7 seniors don’t have enough to eat. Access to quality healthcare is also a barrier.
Workforce Development
We will open pathways to better paying jobs.
Workforce Development means increasing resources to help individuals raise their income and create sustainable careers. It means connecting business and education to improve work-based learning opportunities, apprenticeship and mentoring. It also means working with Valley business associations, educational institutions, and other partners to develop long-term strategies to increase the number of workers with high-paying, in-demand jobs.
Where we work
External reviews

Photos
Videos
Our results
How does this organization measure their results? It's a hard question but an important one.
School Readiness
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Type of Metric
Outcome - describing the effects on people or issues
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
# of parents and caregivers that complete education sessions =1935 in 2020. % of parents and caregivers that gain knowledge from School Readiness Kits =93% in 2020.
Rental Assistance - Ending Homlessness
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Low-income people, Homeless people, Extremely poor people, Working poor
Related Program
Housing & Homelessness
Type of Metric
Outcome - describing the effects on people or issues
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
Case managers helped families successfully fill out applications for rental assistance. Families were provided with financial assistance to pay overdue rent in Maricopa County, AZ.
Emergency Food Distribution - Ending Hunger
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Economically disadvantaged people
Type of Metric
Outcome - describing the effects on people or issues
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
Meals were distributed to families at food banks, to students at schools, and through delivery to homebound seniors in Maricopa County, AZ.
Job Training - Financial Stability
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Unemployed people, Working poor, Adults
Related Program
Arizona Charitable Tax Credit
Type of Metric
Outcome - describing the effects on people or issues
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
Provided access to credentials via work-based learning, apprenticeships, internships and career exploration in Maricopa County, AZ.
Tutoring/Academic Assistance
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Adolescents, Children, Preteens
Type of Metric
Outcome - describing the effects on people or issues
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
One-to-one and small group tutoring was provided to improve reading scores and study habits of students struggling academically in Maricopa County, AZ.
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?
Valley of the Sun United Way (VSUW) works with key partners to help us reach our MC2026 Goals
Goals within these areas of focus include:
-Decrease food insecurity by 50%
-Increase the number of individuals with access to affordable healthcare by 100,000
-Reduce homelessness by 50%
-Increase 3rd grade reading proficiency by 25%
-Increase youth age 16-24 engaged in education and employment opportunities by 38%
-Increase preparation of individuals for a living wage job by 33%
-Increase achievement of higher paying employment by 20%
What are the organization's key strategies for making this happen?
VSUW employs many strategies, such as:
Tutoring/Academic Assistance: improving child care by training educators and parents; providing early grade literacy support; embedding literacy activities in summer youth programs; and creating a robust cradle to career pipeline so students succeed in school and life.
Homelessness: supporting emergency shelter and diversion efforts; providing housing stability and support to families; providing permanent supportive housing to those experiencing chronic homelessness; and providing events to connect individuals to vital resources.
Hunger: supporting emergency food efforts; providing support to schools to run breakfast programs and provide weekend meals to students in need.
Financial Stability: providing financial coach training to individuals working with clients struggling with poverty.
Community Empowerment: working with communities on solutions that best fit their needs, like school beautification projects, food literacy workshops, and community gardens.
What are the organization's capabilities for doing this?
VSUW has a talented pool of experts in early childhood education, youth development, financial stability, and hunger and homeless services. These experts lead “Community Impact" staff teams that collaborate with partner agencies and initiate and direct VSUW-driven programs to serve the health and human service needs of people across the region.
VSUW's strength is in its collaborative approach. By working in collaboration with more than 400 local organizations, 5,000 volunteers, and tens of thousands of individual donors, VSUW is able to make tremendous strides in its efforts to break the cycle of poverty for our most vulnerable neighbors.
What have they accomplished so far and what's next?
VSUW’s recent accomplishments include:
1- Tutoring - 15,764 beneficiaries of One-to-one and small group tutoring was provided to improve reading scores and study habits of students.
2-Mentoring - Trained and screened adults provide one-to-one mentoring to support youth academically, socially, and/or personally to 5,084 youths.
3- Developmental Screenings - Screenings assessed physical, cognitive and social benchmarks. Referrals were provided as appropriate, based on results to 2,639 children.
4- Job Training - Provided access to credentials via work-based learning, apprenticeships, internships and career exploration to 370 adults.
5- Emergency Shelter - Emergency shelter was provided to 16,756 persons in need of safe place to sleep.
6- Utility assistance was provided to 11,088 families pay overdue utility bills.
7- Rental assistance was provided to 8,633 families in danger of eviction.
8- Emergency Food was distributed to 1,081,692 families at food banks, to students at schools and through delivery to homebound seniors.
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.
Valley of the Sun United Way
Board of directorsas of 03/15/2022
Mr. John Graham
Sunbelt Holdings
Term: 2021 - 2022
Ms. Maria Harper-Marinick, Ph.D.
Hope Levin (H)
Johnson Bank
Jeff Barton (H)
City Of Phoenix
Todd Sanders
Greater Phoenix Chamber of Commerce
Brad Smith
Deloitte
Don Smith
Mike Tully
Horizon Strategic Advisors
Christine Wilkinson
Arizona State University, ASU Alumni Association
Chris Camacho
Greater Phoenix Economic Council
Steve Evans
Chad Geston, Ed.D.
Phoenix Union High School District
Neil Giuliano
Greater Phoenix Leadership
Maria Harper-Marinick, PH.D.
Ken Levine
Laura LoBianco
Lewis Roca Rothgerber Christie, LLP
Nina Mullins
Salt River Project
Avein Saaty-Tafoya
AST Consulting LLC
Ed Zuercher
City of Phoenix
Robyn Arnell Brenden
Ruben Alvarez
Molera Alvarez, LLC
Kevin Cooper
Enterprise Holdings
Tracy Bame
Freeport-McMoRan Foundation
Lee Ann Bohn
Maricopa County
Geoffrey Burbridge
USAA
Lisa D. Cagnolatti
ASU, W.P. Carey School of Business
Matt Feeney
Snell & Wilmer
Daniel Froetscher
Arizona Public Service Company (APS)
Latasha Causey
Bell Bank
Lisa Riley
Wells Fargo
Elissa Kelly
Nationwide E & S/Speciality
Drena Kusari
Lyft
Waring Lester
UPS
Patrick Strieck
BMO Harris Bank
Dave Long
Edward Jones
Chris McCurdy
PetSmart
Monica Villalobos
Arizona Hispanic Chamber of Commerce
Jeff Meshey
Desert Financial Credit Union
Robin S. Reed
Black Chamber of Arizona
Daniel G. Wani
US Bank Private Wealth Management
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? No
Organizational demographics
Who works and leads organizations that serve our diverse communities? Candid partnered with CHANGE Philanthropy on this demographic section.
Leadership
No data
Race & ethnicity
No data
Gender identity
No data
No data
Sexual orientation
No data
Disability
No data