United Way Of King County

Programs: Strengthening the community: united way of king county is committed to changing our community for the better in fundamental lasting ways by enhancing the ability of individuals to care for one another. We are able to play this role because of the trust the community has in united way of king county's expertise, efficiency and results. We understand our community, its people and its challenges. In addition to expertise, united way of king county stands for efficiency. We put 98 cents of every donated dollar into community programs. Achievements: 33,000 volunteers connected to service projects. United way of king county is a central hub of volunteering in our region with its innovative on-line volunteer matching tool. 17,450 free tax returns filed bringing $24 million in federal refunds back into our community. 500,000 lives are affected by donor and volunteers in king county through united way each year. 1. 3 million visits to food banks helping people meet their basic food needs. 550,000 summer meals delivered to hungry kids, surpassing 1 million meals in two years.

ending homelessness: everyone should have a permanent home and the support they need to stay there. But what happens when they don't? United way of king county and our partners are there. We make homelessness rare, brief and one time by supporting shelters and permanent housing with on-site counseling and health care services, plus connections to skills training and work opportunities, to make the housing situation truly permanent. It's all to ensure that everyone has a consistent, safe place to call home. Achievements: 14,000 people, who lost their homes, were provided with emergency shelter, including shelters specializing in the needs of women and youth. 2,100 new units of supportive housing have been built for people who had been homeless over the past six years. 11,500 people get help with rent, utilities and other needs so they could stay in their home and avoid homelessness.

early childhood learning: every child should start kindergarten ready to learn and thrive. But what happens when parents don't know how, or when to nurture their children between multiple jobs and multiple stressors? United way of king county and our partners are there. We ensure that every child, especially vulnerable kids from low-income families and with diverse cultural backgrounds and limited english has an equal chance to succeed in life, starting with early education. Achievements: more than 9,000 moms and dads learned new skills from parent coaches to help their children develop the social, intellectual and emotional skills for healthy development. 1,000 families benefitted from our parent-child home program, a two year home visiting program teaching parents how to be children's first and best teachers, and dramatically increasing the likelihood of high school graduation for their children. 6,500 families were connected to quality child care for their kids through our provider training to help them be prepared to learn when they enter school.

4d. Other program services: overhead of managing and administering our program services. These count as program services expenses. Thanks to our efficiency and operating endowment begun by the gates family, on average more than 98 cents of every donated dollar goes directly to community needs.