United Way of the Bay Area

United Way Bay Area occupies a unique position among nonprofit organizations. We cover a wide region, yet we strive to operate on a very local level in all eight counties in the Greater Bay Area. We see our regional presence as a strength and strive to take advantage of our regional presence to tackle the interconnected issues that affect all of us. UWBA is also unique in that our donors, supporters and volunteers come from all eight counties of our region. The challenge ahead of us is powering regional impact in a strategic, thoughtful, authentic and impactful way, given the needs and opportunities that outstrip our resources. By 2025, UWBA will be strongly engaged in all eight county communities, receiving input from representatives, and making program and partnership decisions based on a clear understanding of the unique needs of the region.

United Way Bay Area’s strengths lie in our innovative programs and initiatives designed to meet
current and urgent needs in our region. We design, launch, iterate, modify and expand or end programs and initiatives based on what we learn from data and insights from those most affected by our programs. We also know that our initiatives alone cannot dismantle systems – we need to pair our programs with impactful public policy advocacy to see systemic change. Over the next three years, we will revamp our existing program offerings with a stronger lens toward equity, how we incorporate our new housing justice work, and how we ensure we have the tools to do the right research to support them. By 2025, United Way Bay Area programs, initiatives, and policy advocacy will be fully aligned, informed by data, focused on racial equity, and therefore have deeper impact on dismantling the root causes of poverty and building equitable pathways to prosperity for those who need them most.

We plan to meet the greatest needs in our community, which requires engaging and inspiring the public to join in and support our work. In order to do this, we need to ensure that UWBA has the ongoing resources to invest in our initiatives and operate the programs on which so many in our communities rely. All United Ways, and particularly UWBA, know that in order to do this, we need to modernize our financial and funding models, continually connecting with more diverse individuals and institutions across the region in more impactful and inspirational ways. Because of our supporters, UWBA has been here for the community for the past 100 years. Achieving these financial growth and sustainability goals will help ensure we’re on the right track to be here for the next 100 years. By 2025, United Way Bay Area will attract greater resources from more diverse and sustainable sources, in order to invest in immediate and long-term strategies to disrupt poverty.

The four pillars of our strategic plan are Community Impact, Regional Impact, Financial Growth and Sustainability, and Operations and Culture. Each pillar is defined by a set of focus areas, and the goals we have set to address those issues.

UWBA’s strengths lie in our innovative programs and initiatives designed to meet current and urgent needs in our region. We design, launch, iterate, modify and expand or end programs and initiatives based on what we learn from data and insights from those most affected by our programs. We also know that our initiatives alone cannot dismantle systems – we need to pair our programs with impactful public policy advocacy to see systemic change. This first pillar therefore focuses on how, over the next three years, we will revamp our existing program offerings with a stronger lens towards equity, how we incorporate our new housing justice work, and how we ensure we have the tools to do the right research to support them.

UWBA occupies a unique position among nonprofit organizations. We cover a wide region, yet we strive to operate on a very local level in all eight counties in the Greater Bay Area. We see our regional presence as a strength and strive to take advantage of our regional presence to tackle the interconnected issues that affect all of us. UWBA is also unique in that our donors, supporters and volunteers come from all eight counties of our region. The challenge ahead of us is powering regional impact in a strategic, thoughtful, authentic and impactful way, given the needs and opportunities that outstrip our resources.

UWBA has bold plans to meet the greatest needs in our community, which requires engaging and inspiring the public to join in and support our work. In order to do this, we need to ensure that UWBA has the ongoing resources to invest in our initiatives and operate the programs on which so many in our communities rely. All United Ways, and particularly UWBA, know that in order to do this, we need to modernize our financial and funding models, continually connecting with more diverse individuals and institutions across the region in more impactful and inspirational ways. Because of our supporters, UWBA has been here for the community for the past 100 years. Achieving these financial growth and sustainability goals will help ensure we’re on the right track to be here for the next 100 years.

Any organization is only as good as its people, especially in the social impact sector. And our people can only do their best work when we ensure they have the systems, processes, policies and supports in place so they can thrive. Like many organizations, UWBA seeks to tackle racial injustice and systemic inequities – but that work must not solely focus outside our walls. We must focus internally as well. United Way Bay Area’s employees, leadership, volunteers and supporters must all work together to create not only a sense of inclusion and purpose, but a sense of belonging.

Founded in 1922, United Way Bay Area (UWBA) envisions an equitable Bay Area where all people have the opportunity and resources needed to live healthy, stable, and robust lives. The organization aims to reach that vision through its mission to mobilize the Bay Area to dismantle the root causes of poverty and build equitable pathways to prosperity. Through initiatives & policy change, we provide immediate and long-term support for employment, housing, financial stability, and access to health and other basic needs.

UWBA’s poverty-fighting programs and initiatives include:
• Housing Justice: A main pillar of UWBA’s mission is to reduce the number of people who are unhoused or housing burdened. The organization supports programmatic expansions and advocacy to address the acute housing crisis in the Bay Area that disproportionately affects communities of color.
• Public Policy: Advocating for public policy is critical to our mission of addressing both the root causes of poverty as well as building pathways to prosperity for families who are currently experiencing poverty.
• 211 Bay Area: A social safety net helpline, operating 24 hours every day to improve the lives of individuals by accessing local health and human services, in over 150 languages.
• SparkPoint Centers: A one-stop shop that allows low-income individuals and families to access a full range of services including financial coaching, benefits enrollment assistance, and budget planning. All Centers are a collaboration of multiple nonprofit, post-secondary institutions and government entities.
• Free Tax Help: A program in more than 100 locations across the Bay Area, we provide free tax preparation for low to moderate income households.
• Youth Opportunity Pathways: We partners across sectors to connect young people to the workforce, as research shows it increases the likelihood that they will be employed and earn family-sustaining wages later in life.
• Labor Community Services: We employ Labor Liaisons to provide direct hardship assistance, high-impact workforce programs including Trades Introduction Program in San Mateo County, and immigration legal services.
• Emergency Assistance Network (EAN): UWBA supports the Santa Clara County network of seven safety net agencies that are preventing homelessness by providing rental, utility, and food assistance. The EAN agencies also provide case management and navigation services to Santa Clara County families.
• Emergency Food and Shelter Program: We convene a board in every county of safety net agencies and run an open application process to allocate FEMA funds to support local food and shelter programs.

Our Housing Justice launched an initial round of grants, designed to fund organizations committed to advancing housing justice in the Bay Area. UWBA distributed $970,000 in Housing Justice grants to community organizations, including $250,000 through our Ambassador-led grantmaking process.

UWBA advocated for housing policies aimed at increasing the development, accessibility, and availability of affordable housing – such as SB9, SB10, AB721, TOPA, COPA – and held a legislative briefing on Emergency Rental Assistance Program (ERAP) and AB 832.

The Emergency Food and Shelter Program (EFSP) and the Emergency Assistance Network (EAN) provided Bay Area households with assistance enabling thousands of families to overcome financial crises and remain in their homes. UWBA provided 1,754 Bay Area families with direct financial assistance for hardships or case management and connection to other local social services agencies.

UWBA advocated for a federal one-time Child Tax Credit payment increase, ensuring the federal budget does not cut essential funding for the Emergency Food and Shelter Program.

Our Free Tax Help sites expanded services both in-person and virtually at 98 locations throughout the region. Our tax sites continued to provide free tax preparation services much further into the year due to extended tax seasons while also providing services for an entirely new client population – those clients who typically do not file taxes but needed to claim critical EIP (stimulus) resources. UWBA met with federal and state representatives resulting in the expansion of the Golden Stimulus, CalEITC and the Child Tax Credit.

SparkPoint Centers continued to strengthen their basic needs support by expanding access to resources and services including distributing food and rental relief. SparkPoint centers moved toward a hybrid model of services to meet clients both virtually and in person to better support access to public benefits and financial coaching services.

Highlights
• $1,3M+ in rental assistance to 595 low- income households across the 8 Bay Area counties.
• 5.2M + in food distributions (equivalent to 4,408,764 pounds of food), 4, 598, 836 meals, and 151,930 shelter bed nights provided which UWBA, EFSP, EAN and partner agencies helped to provide.
• $53M+ in state and federal tax refunds for 29,694 Bay Area residents from Free Tax Help tax returns
• 13,091 individuals received basic needs services through SparkPoint centers, with 2,722 individuals and families receiving free financial coaching. Despite economic hardships, 78% of clients made progress towards their financial goals in FY22.
• 49,576 211 calls and texts responded and 57,169 website inquiries providing Bay Area residents with a total of 109, 673 referrals.
• 423 individuals placed into job through SparkPoint, Youth Workforce, and Labor Community Services, combined, including 25 youth who were placed in jobs or internships and 30 individuals placed in pre-apprenticeship programs.