Join United Way of Pierce County in the Fight to End Poverty!

UWPC Investment Information for Nonprofits

United Way of Pierce County (UWPC) leads strategic initiatives that bring partners together to tackle some of the most complex social issues affecting individuals and families in our community. Community Impact Investments are guided by data collection on local conditions, conversations with the community about issues and solutions, and guidance by donors, volunteers and partners about where our resources can make the greatest impact.

We invest financial resources from our Community Impact Fund through the Community Impact Investment processes. The Community Impact Fund is made up of unrestricted donor contributions made to United Way of Pierce County. By purposefully investing donor gifts in strategies designed to meet community needs, we seek to achieve measurable progress in our goal of breaking the cycle of poverty. Funding decisions are made by trained volunteers who represent the diverse interests of the community and who are committed to creating opportunities for a better life for all. The Community Impact Investment volunteers evaluate applications from potential grantees and make funding recommendations to the UWPC Board of Directors.

For the 2020-2022 United Way of Pierce County Investment Process, UWPC will be looking to invest in high-impact organizations working to move the needle by lifting individuals and families out of crisis toward stability and eventually self-sufficiency.

We understand that it takes multiple organizations and varied resources to solve the complex challenges facing our community. While the work of each and every organization is important, no single entity can achieve the community-level impact required to ensure Pierce County's children and families have the supports necessary for success. For this reason, the 2020-22 Community Impact Investments process places a priority on strengthening our combined impact via collective action with a focus on the following values:

    • Human-centered delivery of services
    • Removing barriers to navigation and access to services
    • Integrating service provision to put individuals and families on the path to self-sufficiency
    • Focusing on the 'whole person' and/or 'whole household'
    • Collaborating to meet a variety of community needs more effectively
    • Creating and maintaining an inclusive environment designed to promote equitable access to resources and services
    • Focusing on sustainability and leverage of existing resources
    • Measuring and evaluating progress using the UWPC Self-Sufficiency & Well-Being Matrix

The following are Community Impact Investment priorities for ALL investment opportunities:

    • Invest in partners who demonstrate a desire to network and partner to better serve the 'whole person' and 'whole household'. This includes formal collaboration, information & data sharing, barrier removal, 'warm handoffs' for clients and integrated service delivery.
    • Invest in partners focused on diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) and client-centered service design and delivery to ensure that where someone lives or their nationality, sexual orientation, religion or race does not dictate outcomes for individuals and families.
    • Invest in 'Communities of Opportunity' - or high-need, low-access communities - toward the goal of moving 15,000 households out of poverty and into self-sufficiency. 

United Way of Pierce County (UWPC) will support results-oriented projects and programs designed to lift individuals and families out of poverty. For the 2020-2022 Community Impact Investment process, UWPC will employ several investment strategies focused on those neighborhoods and communities most in need of support.  

UWPC's 2020-2022 Community Impact Investment Opportunities

Community Impact Investments

United Way of Pierce County will continue to invest in community partners based on their alignment with our priorities of ensuring a strong foundation of basic needs services to move households from crisis to stability and of breaking down barriers to self-sufficiency. UWPC seeks to partner with those organizations who: 1) have demonstrated a willingness to collaborate both with United Way and with others; 2) are open to continuous learning and improvement; 3) participate as engaged partners in investment cohorts; and 4) have demonstrated transparency with United Way staff regarding both successes and challenges.

These three-year investments (1 year, renewable up to 3 years) are designed to develop and support a stronger network of nonprofits leading the way in reducing poverty and increasing stability for individuals and families in our community by employing a 'whole person' or 'whole household' approach. Those organizations funded during the 2017-19 Community Impact Investment cycle meeting the criteria above and seeking funding to continue their currently funded program/project will be invited to reapply via a simplified request for proposal (RFP) process. Currently funded organizations seeking funding for a different program/project will be required to complete a slightly more involved RFP process. Those not currently funded through the 2017-19 Community Impact Investment cycle will be required to complete a full RFP process.

 

Franklin Pierce School District Two-Generation Collaboration

United Way of Pierce County seeks to invest in capacity for partners to provide, within the Franklin Pierce School District boundaries, networked services within the three pillars of the two-generation approach (family focused, child focused, parent focused) and the five categories of self-sufficiency (to include crisis stabilization/basic needs, economic development/financial literacy, parent engagement, family health & well-being, and social capital). This process will be based on needs assessment data from Franklin Pierce families and will be developed in tandem with committed partners at the table with an emphasis on learning and changing conditions for children and families. 

These three-year investments (1 year, renewable for up to 3 years) are designed to build an intentional collaboration using The Aspen Institute's Two-Generational Approach by developing and supporting a stronger network of organizations leading the way in reducing poverty and increasing stability for individuals and families within the FPSD footprint by employing a 'whole person' and 'whole family' approach.

 

Neighborhood Networks

United Way of Pierce County has an interest in funding neighborhood collaborations focused on lifting families out of poverty in two high-need, low-access areas:

  • Key Peninsula area
  • Springbrook/Woodbrook/Tillicum area

Investments will be tied to specific outcomes that meet the needs identified by neighborhoods represented, while also advancing the goal of lifting 15,000 households out of poverty by 2028. These three-year investments (1 year, renewable up to 3 years) are designed to support neighborhood collaborations in developing and supporting a stronger network of community partners and residents leading the way in reducing poverty and increasing stability for residents of these neighborhoods.