United Way of Tarrant County today announced more than $13 million in funding for 2018-2019, including almost $1 million for its new Systems Change funding model, which is part of the organization’s new strategic plan.
Community, corporate, government and foundation donations to United Way of Tarrant County make it possible for the organization to invest resources toward our community’s most pressing issues. Community investments include $6 million toward donor-designated gifts; $2 million for Safety Net programs, which is a network of services offered to the community through the United Way of Tarrant County system of partners; and $3.7 million Scalable Community Change, which funds programs targeted at communities rather than individuals, and Women UnitedÒ programs. Each initiative works to solve distinct needs for the community.
Systems Change: An almost $1 million initiative in its inaugural year, Systems Change shifts a portion of funding to focus on the root causes of social issues and put universal solutions into motion for ongoing problems that impact large populations. Coalitions, task forces and strategic partnerships were invited to submit a proposal for funding to support collective action resulting in systemic change.
The grants awarded are:
- Workforce Enhancements in Healthy Aging and Independent Living – $151,162
- Stay the Course – Tarrant County – $200,000
- Early Learning Alliance – $60,000
- Healthy Tarrant County Collaboration – $205,500
- Regional Superintendent Literacy Initiative – $180,000
- Community Response to Homelessness in Early Childhood – $173,334
“Our Systems Change funding reflects a new era for United Way of Tarrant County,” said TD Smyers, president and CEO of United Way of Tarrant County. “As part of our new strategic plan, we will focus more on providing funding that brings together resources and coalitions to do more than just manage issues. Our goal with Systems Change is to solve issues for large populations, while maintaining the same level of funding for Safety Net and Scalable Community Change. We’re shifting our focus from ‘how many people did we help’ to ‘how many people no longer need help.”
Donor-Designated Gifts: Directed $6 million to United Way partner agencies based on designations from individual donors to the charities of their choosing. Donor designated gifts are not subject to fees with 100 percent of the donation going to the selected agency or cause.
Safety Net: Safety Net is a $2 million program encompassing a network of services offered to the community through the United Way of Tarrant County system of partners. This funding provides economic and life security to those temporarily in need, and remains the foundation upon why the United Way of Tarrant County was formed in 1922.
Scalable Community Change: Awarded $3.7 million, Scalable Community Change funds programs targeted at communities rather than individuals, and scaled appropriately to bring widespread, positive change to a specific social problem. This funding includes significant programmatic work done by United Way of Tarrant County agencies designed to dramatically move the needle on specific issues.
Women’s Fund: This fund awarded more than $42,000 this year to three key projects: scholarships for young female students at the Young Women’s Leadership Academy, career development scholarships for women at the Women’s Center interested in pursuing careers in high demand fields and scholarships for women at Camp Fire First Texas who are pursuing a Child Development Associate (CDA) credential. Women United® is a United Way of Tarrant County Giving society focused on igniting the power of women. This community-focused group of women has raised more than $6 million for United Way of Tarrant County during the past nine years.
