United Way of the Wine Country
United We Rise
Mission
For over 50 years, United Way of the Wine Country has been working to support sustainable improvements to systems and services that benefit all residents in our shared communities. We proudly serve families and individuals living and working in Sonoma, Mendocino, Lake, Humboldt and Del Norte counties and remain deeply committed to improving family financial stability by serving as a vital link between residents, nonprofit organizations, businesses and government leaders. #UnitedWeRise #UnidosAscendemos
Ruling year
1968
President & CEO
Lisa Carreno
Main address
975 Corporate Center Parkway
Santa Rosa, CA 95407 USA
Formerly known as
United Way of Sonoma-Mendocino-Lake
EIN
94-1669646
NTEE code
Fund Raising Organizations That Cross Categories includes Community Funds/Trusts and Federated Giving Programs) e.g. United Way (T70)
Community, Neighborhood Development, Improvement (S20)
Other Youth Development N.E.C. (O99)
IRS filing requirement
This organization is required to file an IRS Form 990 or 990-EZ.
Sign in or create an account to view Form(s) 990 for 2020, 2019 and 2018.
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Communication
Programs and results
What we aim to solve
For over 50 years, United Way of the Wine Country has been working to support sustainable improvements to systems and services that benefit all residents in our shared communities. We proudly serve families and individuals living and working in Sonoma, Mendocino, Lake, Humboldt and Del Norte counties and remain deeply committed to improving family financial stability by serving as a vital link between residents, nonprofit organizations, businesses and government leaders. #UnitedWeRise #UnidosAscendemos
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
Earn It! Keep It! $ave It!
United Way of the Wine Country's Earn It! Keep It! $ave It! provides FREE tax preparation for individuals, families, seniors whose household income is $66,000 or less. Over the last five years, United Way of the Wine Country’s FREE tax support has helped local families get back $66M in tax refunds.
211
United Way of the Wine Country supports 2-1-1 in Sonoma County and is working hard to full expand this resource to our entire service area. This FREE telephone, text, and web-based information and referral service connects Sonoma County residents with health and human resources, including during times of disaster. When you need help or have questions about access to service, simply dial 2-1-1 and a team of multilingual specialists is ready to support your needs, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. You can also connect with a real person through two-way texting. Just text your zip code to 898-211 and get connected to the help you need 24/7.
Where we work
External reviews
Photos
Our Sustainable Development Goals
Learn more about Sustainable Development Goals.
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?
United Way of the Wine Country envisions a day when all families are empowered to gain access to the resources and opportunities they need to achieve financial stability and contribute to the well-being of our shared communities.
What are the organization's key strategies for making this happen?
In that effort, our mission is to improve financial stability for all families throughout our service area by activating local businesses, inspiring individual investment, advancing community collaboratives, and influencing public policy.
More specifically:
GOAL #1: Support family financial stability through programs and grant-making.
GOAL #2: Deepen relationships with local businesses by modernizing Workplace Giving.
GOAL #3: Increase individual giving through targeted engagement including Giving Groups.
GOAL #4: Advance community collaboratives that support family financial stability.
GOAL #5: Influence local and state policy decisions that support family financial stability.
What are the organization's capabilities for doing this?
Our staff, along with funding and program partners, have collaborated across the following activities:
* Focus on efficiency and safety by expanding EKS Drop Off Model piloted in 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
* Take ownership of Mendocino 211 in FY 2021 and Lake County in FY 2022 while continuing to fund Humboldt 211.
* Expand grantmaking through increased workplace RUM, corporate gifts, and federal or state sub-grants.
* Establish emergency response fund to make immediate relief grants in the event of future disasters.
* Develop, implement and support virtual Workplace Giving product, collateral, and partner support.
* Enrich employee and individual donor engagement through Giving Groups, Pride United and Women United.
* Reimagine and reorganize website to highlight our focus as fundraising service and community grant-maker.
* Redefine and implement new Board Development to align with DEI grant-making goals and strategies.
* Expand and diversify Public Policy Committee membership to be more representative of communities we serve.
What have they accomplished so far and what's next?
Over the past two years, United Way of the Wine Country has increased Workplace Giving partners due to our improved product and service support. Simultaneously, through improved donor engagement thanks to our new Giving Groups, Pride United and Women United, we have already awarded and have budgeted to award more than $100,000 in grants to community-based agencies in support of those communities.
Over the last five years, our free tax preparation service has brought back more than $66MM in refunds to individuals and families across our five-county region. At the same time, in response to seven natural disasters, including fires, floods, and the Covid-19 pandemic, along with correlating economic downturns, United Way of the Wine County has awarded more than $20MM in relief and recovery funding.
We look forward to improving our practices and collaborative engagement to work even more efficiently and effectively with our community funders, partners, and share communities!
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 identify and remedy poor client service experiences, To identify bright spots and enhance positive service experiences, To make fundamental changes to our programs and/or operations, To identify where we are less inclusive or equitable across demographic groups, To strengthen relationships with the people we serve
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What significant change resulted from feedback?
United Way of the Wine Country recently redesigned our entire organizational efforts around fundraising and grant-making in conjunction with support for two programs, including free tax preparation and 2-1-1, to specifically improve family financial stability throughout our five-county region. Prior to this pivot, we were supporting programs that donors and partners were most inclined to fund, for example, a third-grade literacy program called Schools of Hope. While the SOH program certainly impacted third graders in a positive way, we needed to provide more upstream support and tie our actions to more strategic fundraising and investment. Through community outreach, we learned to better spend our time, energy, and political capital to help our friends and neighbors make ends meet.
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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?
It is difficult to get the people we serve to respond to requests for feedback, It's critical to support privacy and respect personal preferences, particularly as we recognize DEI.
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
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- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
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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 the Wine Country
Board of directorsas of 01/12/2023
Tina Sheldon
American AgCredit
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
The organization's leader identifies as:
Race & ethnicity
No data
Gender identity
No data
No data
Sexual orientation
No data
Disability
No data
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