UNITED WAY OF NORTHERN NEVADA AND THE SIERRA

Get Involved. Change Lives. Live United.

Reno, NV   |  www.uwnns.org

Mission

Since 1942, United Way of Northern Nevada and the Sierra (UWNNS) has invested in our 13-county region by bringing people together to give, advocate, and volunteer. Our mission is to unite communities to improve lives. Our vision is to create opportunities for children, families, and individuals to realize their full potential. Be a part of the solution in northern Nevada!

Ruling year info

1963

President & CEO

Blake Pang

Main address

639 Isbell Road, Suite 460

Reno, NV 89509 USA

Show more contact info

EIN

88-0059327

NTEE code info

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

Fund Raising and/or Fund Distribution (S12)

Children's and Youth Services (P30)

IRS filing requirement

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

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Communication

Programs and results

What we aim to solve

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

United Way of Northern Nevada and the Sierra (UWNNS) 's mission is to link the community's will and resources to improve lives. UWNNS has over a 75-year history of serving its 13-county region, including northern Nevada and the Lake Tahoe Basin area. In 2014, UWNNS transformed its business model, moving from an organization that distributes funds to an organization that impacts significant community change through collective impact. This process resulted in UWNNS identifying early literacy and learning as it's signature focus. One of the first predictors for success in later school years is a student reading proficiently at the end of third grade, and less than 50% of our third graders are reaching that level. The statistics are more alarming for Nevada children living in poverty, with more than 75% of them not reading proficiently. UWNNS is focused on closing this gap and ensuring children in our region have the tools and resources to read at grade level.

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?

Strengthening Families

UWNNS' "Strengthening Families" initiatives include providing service referrals in partnership with Nevada 2-1-1, the SingleCare prescription discount program, and free online tax preparation through MyFreeTaxes. These programs, available for free across our 13 county territory, are helping families meet their basic needs so that they can focus on their “bigger picture,” like doing well in school.

Population(s) Served
Adults
Parents
Families
Children and youth

• Building Home Libraries - The most successful way to improve the reading achievement of children experiencing poverty is to increase their access to books.
• Preparing Students for Kindergarten - With a grant from the Nevada Department of Education, we will bring Nevada Ready! State Pre-K to private early learning centers in northern Nevada with a focus on our rural areas. We are providing children experiencing poverty with high-quality preschool experiences to help prepare them for kindergarten and to read at grade level by the end of third grade.

Population(s) Served

Why 3rd grade? Third grade is a pivotal milestone in a child’s education and an early predictor for future success and high school graduation. Currently, in northern Nevada, only 1 in 3 of our 3rd graders are reading at grade level, with lower statistics for children experiencing poverty.

United Readers - In-school one-on-one and small group mentoring
In the first year (2020-2021), 72% of students improved their reading skills an entire level.

Literacy Kits - age-appropriate books along with activities and materials for local children to get to take home and learn

Population(s) Served
Children and youth
Children and youth

Where we work

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.

Less than 50% of northern Nevada children are reading at grade-level at the end of third grade; this is a critical milestone as children move from learning to read in third grade to reading to learn. United Way Northern Nevada and the Sierra seek to improve outcomes for our region's children.

UWNNS is addressing our region's early literacy crisis by leading collective impact efforts by investing internal programming to meet unmet needs, funded partners who deliver quality literacy programs, and managing the collaborations efforts through the Northern Nevada Reading Coalition. These investments support children and their parents, families, and other caregivers throughout northern Nevada. UWNNS's emphasis is on serving children eight years of age or younger.

Our operating plans help us to effectively meet our goals:

*Community Impact/ Collective Impact: Make investments and form partnerships to measurably improve people's lives through focused efforts that address priority community needs, achieve desired results.

*Education / Engagement/ Community Action: Individuals are engaged in a personal, relevant way creating passion and connection to UWNNS' signature issue; this leads to volunteerism and advocacy.

*Resource Development: Donors are linked to signature issue(s) through a portfolio of compelling and diversified investment opportunities.

*Accountability: Highest level of fiduciary responsibility through organizational alignment, governance, policies and processes, budget management and accountability.

UWNNS has actively encouraged partnerships to explore creative alternatives and solutions. In additional to program problem solving, the group has also discussed sustainability issues, ways to leverage in-kind resources, and strategies for attaining matching funds. Moving forward, it is anticipated that the learning cohort will further enhance and expand opportunities through its 'group thinking'.

Additionally, with the launch of the Northern Nevada Grade-Level Reading Coalition, UWNNS' funded partners are joined by over 30 partners in the community to expand opportunities for collaboration and innovative programming. The membership of the Coalition has grown by 59% in 2018 and continues to expand.

Financials

UNITED WAY OF NORTHERN NEVADA AND THE SIERRA
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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

Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? Learn More about GuideStar Pro.

UNITED WAY OF NORTHERN NEVADA AND THE SIERRA

Board of directors
as of 01/05/2023
SOURCE: Self-reported by organization
Board chair

Mr. Jesse Murray

NV Energy

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 10/11/2022
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

No data

Race & ethnicity

Gender identity

 

Sexual orientation

Disability

Equity strategies

Last updated: 10/11/2022

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.
  • 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.
Policies and processes
  • 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 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.