Financial and community reports
Our pledge to you
We know that you think carefully before giving, and we thank you for the trust you express in us through your generous contributions of time and money. Our pledge to you is that we will invest your gift strategically in local agencies and services that will positively impact your neighbors, colleagues and perhaps even your family.
More than 90 cents of each dollar you donate will be invested back into our 16-county region. The decisions about where the money should go are made by community volunteers who tour agencies to get a first-hand look at their programs, governance, finances and more.
2009 accomplishments
From the 2009 annual report
Funding for United Way's traditional community investment:
$51 million was allocated to member agencies
$1.9 million was given in one-time grants
$4 million was used to operate and administer services provided by United Way, such as 2-1-1 and the Volunteer Center
To help people who were negatively affected by the economy:
$220,000 in funding to create the Basic Needs Project to provide direct assistance to people newly unemployed, including child care assistance
Support for the St. Louis Alliance for Homeownership to counsel homeowners at risk of foreclosure and negotiate with lenders
United Way FoodShare food drive that, in just one week, provided more than 80 tons of food to families in need
Start-up funding for GO! Network to address the needs of unemployed professionals in the community
To strengthen agency capacity to deliver quality programs and services:
Increased the number of training opportunities in volunteer management, program evaluation, finance, strategic planning and resource development
Formed a committee to design, direct and monitor capacity-building tools and strategies provided to United Way member agencies to increase their effectiveness and efficiency
Formed or strengthened other partnerships that furthered United Way’s mission of helping people in need, including:
2-1-1 expansion: in cooperation with the state of Illinois, expanded 2-1-1 into the nine Illinois counties we serve
Dollar More and Dollar Help: working with Ameren and Laclede Gas to provide basic needs support to low-income people at risk of losing their utilities
Multicultural Leadership Society and Retirees’ Society: creating a stronger and more diverse community of donors
Des Lee Fellowship and Student United Way: cultivating the next generation of philanthropists by launching programs on four campuses across the region, placing United Way of Greater St. Louis as a national leader in campus engagement
St. Louis Blues, St. Louis Cardinals, St. Louis Rams and Gateway Grizzlies partnerships: sports teams throughout the region help support the community through United Way with player involvement and special game day activities and ticket incentives
We thank you, the true heroes of United Way and this community, for lending your hand in 2009. This year demonstrated once again how caring and compassionate people are in this region. Our ability to help people is a direct result of your generosity and we are grateful for the opportunity to ensure that nearly 200 local, quality agencies receive the support they need to continue doing what they do best: helping people in our community.