United Way of Dane County

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Supporting 73,000 neighbors in Dane County

United Way of Dane County mobilizes the caring power of our community so all can thrive. From advancing health and education to strengthening livelihoods and local resilience, we connect people to possibility.

Imagine a future where families are healthy and strong, where all children can learn and succeed – and where everyone’s needs are met. This is the future we are committed to creating through our Plan for Community Well-Being – a plan built with our community, for our community.

Our vision for a brighter future focuses on improving individual and family well-being so that everyone in Dane County can lead healthy, successful and secure lives. When you look at what makes United Way of Dane County really work, it goes beyond the numbers – it’s the collective spirit of caring to solve whole problems. Through our network of caring connections, we’re able to address big-picture issues no one person or organization can solve alone. Every dollar donated to United Way is a powerful catalyst – multiplying six times over to create lasting, meaningful change, right here in Dane County.

At United Way of Dane County, we come together to close gaps and open opportunities in our community. And with our Plan for Community Well-Being and your support, we’ll transform measurable outcomes into life-changing support for our neighbors in these four areas:

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Youth Opportunity

Home visits • Childcare • Tutoring

Helping young people realize their full potential

Every young person deserves the opportunity to thrive. At United Way, we help children get off to a good start and empower youth to reach their full potential by breaking down barriers to success. We advance early childhood education, literacy development, access to a high-quality K-12 education, college and career readiness and family engagement – fostering a future where every young person can realize their dreams.

Children who start kindergarten-ready and finish high school are more likely to have the skills required to be successful in post-secondary education, an increasingly complicated job market and society. Adults with higher education levels are more likely to gain employment with family-sustaining wages.

  1. Build family well-being by intentionally and simultaneously working
    with children under five and the adults in their lives together.
  2. All students succeed academically, and graduate high school
    prepared for higher education, career and community.

Childcare and Early Childhood Development

  1. Increase access to high quality, culturally relevant early care and education experiences particularly for BIPOC families experiencing poverty.  
  2. Build caregivers (parents and early care and education teachers) understanding of healthy child development through family and community outreach (outside of childcare, i.e. home visiting). 
  3. Connections to community resources and programs: remove barriers to accessing family support services that allow families to access the resources and services they need to overcome the experience of poverty (collective impact).
  4. Support/influence policy changes that will deepen early learning and development outcomes for children. 

In School, After School and Summer Learning, Literacy Development, Family Engagement and College and Career Readiness (K-12)

  1. Facilitate access to additional learning opportunities to enhance students’ mastery of academic content.
  2. Build students’ social/emotional and non-cognitive skills.
  3. Ensure students’ behavioral health and wellness.
  4. Foster connection, belonging, leadership and academic success with youth at risk of disconnecting.
  5. Recognize family engagement as a key component to improve student successes and outcomes.

We’re investing in strategies and programs that help support quality childcare and early childhood development – creating connections with families and young children – because we know that parents are our children’s first teachers.

We also support and lead programs that help prepare youth for the classroom and life beyond, through tutoring, mentoring and social-emotional learning (like empathy and confidence).

  1. Increase percent of third graders in Dane County reading proficiently at or above grade level.
  2. Increase percent of Dane County students who graduate high school.

Financial Security

Family Homelessness Reduction • Jobs Skills Training • Re-entry Support

Building financial stability and strength

At United Way, we believe that everyone should have the opportunity to live in an affordable, safe, stable home and for homeownership to be an achievable goal for every family.

  • Our Family Homelessness and Affordable Housing strategies ensure that families can maintain housing and avoid evictions as they work toward financial security.
  • Our Job Readiness & Workforce Development strategies help underemployed individuals gain full time employment at $18/hour with benefits in order to achieve financial security.

When more individuals have jobs earning family-sustaining wages and safe and affordable housing, they are less stressed and more able to provide for themselves and their families – better positioning our entire community and our economy to thrive.

More people are on pathways out of poverty.

Family Homelessness Prevention and Affordable Housing

The Family Homelessness and Affordable Housing strategies ensure that families can maintain housing and avoid evictions as they work toward financial security.

  1. Support Quality Case Management for families at risk of or experiencing instability in their housing.
  2. Increase investments in Housing First Programs.
  3. Invest in Eviction Prevention.
  4. Financial coaching specifically partnering with BIPOC-led organizations already providing financial coaching programming and support services.
  5. Invest in home ownership programs.

Job Readiness & Workforce Development: Adult education and job training

Helping un or underemployed individuals gain full time employment at $18/hour with benefits in order to achieve financial security.

  1. Support Workforce Development – defined as: Employment Assessment, Case management, Customized training, Job Readiness, Job Placement, Job Development, working with the Employer community and Adult Education.
  2. Invest in Women and Wealth – expanding home ownership, retirement security and small business support for BIPOC women with children.
  3. Re-entry Support – Adult re-entry program for people returning to our community from prison.

We’re investing in strategies and local programs that help more families get what they need to become economically stable. Through partnerships, we connect participants with the resources to earn a diploma and/or go through industry-specific training, and match with employers who support paying family sustaining-wages.

We also invest in effective family homelessness reduction strategies including food access and case management, and much needed housing inventory.

  1. Decrease in number of children under five experiencing poverty in Dane County.
  2. Increase in people living 200% above poverty level in Dane County.
    What a family of three needs to rent a two-bedroom apartment in Dane County.
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Healthy Community

Infant-Maternal Health • Mental Health • Health Care Access

Improving health and well-being for all

United Way works closely with community members to help people overcome barriers to healthy living by working to reduce racial health disparities and increase resiliency and trauma supports – ensuring everyone has the opportunity to live their healthiest life.

While Dane County remains a top place to live, raise a family and retire, for many neighbors, education, income and health inequities and disparities remain consistent. In Dane County, your race and the ZIP code in which you live have a significant impact on your quality of life, life expectancy and health outcomes.

A Dane County absent of racial health disparities in physical and mental health.

Reduce Racial Health Disparities

  1. Increase culturally relevant, reflective, and safe wellness models and programs defined and/or led by BIPOC communities.
  2. Increase capacity in communities to address health disparities for BIPOC residents (example: invest in Fund Health Programs that are community- based and in which disparities are persistent).
  3. Increase community-based health programs that address BIPOC communities. Advance clinic and community linkages to improve health access.
  4. Increase patient and/or family information exchange with desire to expand current levels of linkage across the care coordination continuum.
  5. Increase community-based maternal child health programming for BIPOC communities.

Increase Resiliency and Trauma Supports

  1. Increase culturally safe and responsive trauma and resiliency programs (example: mental health programming) for BIPOC communities.
  2. Cultural adaptation of behavioral or mental health intervention.
  3. Embed culture brokers into care teams for individuals and families disengaged from mental health supports due to racism, power dynamics and distrust.

We’re investing in strategies and programs that aim to reduce health disparities, such as health insurance premium assistance and support from community health workers and doulas. We use community-based approaches and increase the diversity of the health care workforce to improve health outcomes for Dane County community members.

Increase life expectancy in Dane County.
A good measure of the population’s longevity and general health.

Community Resiliency

United Way 211 (24/7 Access to Resources and Service Coordination) Volunteer Activation • Nonprofit Capacity Building • Disaster Response​

Addressing urgent needs today and advancing a better tomorrow

Every community deserves the opportunity to prosper. Through initiatives in crisis response, such as 211 (24/7 access to resources and service coordination), volunteer activation, nonprofit capacity building and disaster response, we are strengthening the foundation of Dane County and working to build a resilient community ready for any challenge.

When in crisis, it is challenging to know where to go for help. And, with so many opportunities to help, it is hard to know where to make the most impact. United Way understands the big picture and can mobilize resources that make a difference through 211, Volunteer Center and work as a convenor and social impact leader.

When our community is hit with an emergency – like severe flooding, a global pandemic or man-made disaster – it’s important to have a unifying force that brings us together to raise resources and rebuild an even stronger community.

  1. Be a leader in social impact, connecting people who need help with people who want to help in efficient and effective ways.
  2. Respond to community emergencies and assist in long-term recovery.

Through our experience innovating to meet community needs, and relationships with hundreds of local nonprofits, businesses, community leaders and you, we’re uniquely positioned to bring our community together to understand problems, co-create solutions and manage accountability for results.  

  1. Increase number of referrals to quality, curated community resources in 211 database.
  2. Increase number of volunteers mobilized throughUnited Way’s Volunteer Center.
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Be one of the ones to change lives today.

Help us close gaps and open opportunities so all can thrive. Every dollar donated to United Way is a powerful catalyst –multiplying six times over to create lasting, meaningful change, right here in Dane County.

The Power of Caring. Working For All.
Donate today!
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