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United Way Distributes First Round of COVID-19 Grants
March 31st, 2020On March 16, United Way launched our COVID-19 Community Response Fund with generous support from key corporate sponsors and leadership donors. In just two weeks, sponsors and donors answered the call, contributing more than $1.5 million in both match pool dollars and contributions toward the emergency assistance fund. We will distribute 100% of the fund in two-week cycles to meet the evolving needs of our nonprofit partners. Through a short and nimble grant application process, we’ve identified 17 nonprofits to receive the first $373,000 from the fund this week. These emergency assistance grants, ranging from $8,000 and $50,000, will help our network of nonprofits continue their difficult work on the front lines of this crisis in a variety of ways including: Increased food distribution: With school closings and families losing incomes, more people are in need of food, and nonprofits are stepping up to meet that need. United Way is assisting nonprofits such as Directions for Youth and Families, NNEMAP, Freedom a la Cart, Lutheran Social Services and LifeCare Alliance with funding to safely provide food to expanding vulnerable populations. Supporting education: Families began pulling children out of early child care centers even before centers were required to close. The…
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United Way and Human Service Chamber of Franklin County release report on COVID-19 impact on local nonprofits
March 26th, 2020Significant disruptions have already been felt in operations and revenue throughout the nonprofit sector. Understanding how the COVID-19 pandemic affects the operations of local human service nonprofits is an important step in determining where support is needed most. United Way of Central Ohio and Human Service Chamber of Franklin County have partnered to quickly survey the local nonprofit community. The results of our first survey are included in this report. Download the report here: COVID-Nonprofit-Survey_March2020j Future surveys will be conducted to track how needs may change and expand. Results will be shared with public officials, stakeholders, donors and other decision-makers to provide important data as community responses are developed and implemented. Survey results show that many local nonprofits are already experiencing significant disruption because of COVID-19. Lost revenue from canceled fundraising events and fee-for-service operations are among the factors that have led to initial reductions in staff—and more reductions are anticipated.
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United Way Responds to COVID-19 with Community Response Fund
March 15th, 2020.United Way of Central Ohio and a coalition of partners have set up the COVID-19 Community Response Fund, and are working with local nonprofits to identify critical needs and gaps in resources. This fund is accepting online donations at liveunitedcentralohio.org/responsefund. All donations will receive a 50% match thanks to our generous corporate partners. Example: Your $100 gift will be matched with an additional $50. The fund will address critical community needs, including access to food and household essentials, child care, and keeping the community’s safety net strong as this crisis continues. Due to the wide-reaching impact of COVID-19, nonprofits in central Ohio that serve residents in need find themselves under-resourced to serve a growing demand for critical services. Safeguards will be put in place to ensure these emergency funds are disseminated with urgency and used to support those who are disproportionately impacted by COVID-19. Thanks to the support of these generous sponsors, the match pool is already more than $350,000 and continues to grow: ADS AEP Foundation Barnes & Thornburg Big Lots Cardinal Health The Crane Group Encova Fifth Third GBQ Grange Insurance Huntington IGS Energy Innosource Martyn and Lynne Redgrave Medical Mutual Nisource Charitable Foundation/Columbia Gas Osteopathic Heritage Foundations…
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Rise Together Innovation Center: RFP for Search Firm
February 19th, 2020The Rise Together Innovation Center has launched a search for a Search Firm to help hire an Executive Director to lead its work of coordinating long- and short-term efforts to mitigate poverty and improve economic mobility, family stability and equitable access to opportunity across Franklin County. The Center is responsible for convening community partners, aligning systems and implementing the Rise Together Blueprint to Reduce Poverty in Franklin County, in addition to vetting other big ideas. United Way of Central Ohio is proud to be serving as the fiscal agent of the Innovation Center. Reporting to the Innovation Center Board of Directors, the Executive Director will have overall strategic and operational responsibility for the Center’s staff, programs and execution of its mission. Click here to download a pdf of the Innovation Center’s Executive Search Firm RFP: Search Firm RFP 061020 (1) Rise Together Overview The Franklin County Commissioners began an initiative in 2018 to analyze the causes of poverty that are unique to central Ohio and the resources that are available in our community, and also to create a plan to more effectively bring those resources to bear on the problem with a community-wide, systematic approach. They assembled a steering committee of subject matter experts and community members from all walks of life, hosted conversations…
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Franklin County Columbus Counts: 2020 Census Grants Application
February 14th, 2020The Franklin County Board of Commissioners is providing funding to support local, community-based organizations in getting out the 2020 Census count in Columbus and Franklin County. The Commissioners’goal is to ensure every resident in Franklin County is counted, especially individuals from traditionally hard-to-count (HTC) communities. This funding will be distributed to local community-based organizations in Franklin County through a mini-grant process for the purpose of reaching traditionally HTC communities. Each local organization will receive a grant to implement Census activities that educate and organize their HTC communities around the Census. Application Timeline RFP Published and Application Period Open – February 10, 2020 at 9 a.m. Deadline for application questions – February 17, 2020 Application Deadline – February 24, 2020 at 12 p.m. Notification of Funded Grant Partners – March 6, 2020 Download the grant application here: Franklin County Counts Grant Application (2) Download the instructions for applying here: Guide_FC Columbus Counts Application (2) Ready to apply? Sign in or register on E-CImpact following these instructions: Agencies not already using E-CImpact must create an account: 501c3 nonprofit agencies with an EIN can self-register here: https://agency.e-cimpact.com/login.aspx?org=37145F Note: You must have an EIN number to self-register. Follow the prompts on the…
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Meeting Basic Needs for Neighbors in Crisis
February 12th, 2020United Way funds a network of 26 local nonprofit partners who provide 32 programs in the critical area of Basic Needs. Meeting the basic needs of individuals and families is the first step in helping them progress down a path to success. Together, with the help of our donors and partners, we’ve provided food, shelter and assistance to thousands of people in crisis in 2019. Read our one-page Basic Needs Results Report now: UWCO Basic Needs Results Report – Feb 2020
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Helping Our Community’s Children Succeed
November 4th, 2019United Way of Central Ohio is focused on fighting poverty by investing in the most effective partners that get results. In the critical area of Student Success, we’re investing in more than 38 local programs that provide opportunities to our at-risk kids and youth, from cradle to career. These programs have been highly successful in helping prepare young children for kindergarten and in helping youth graduate from high school. Click here to see how your donations helped thousands of children succeed in the 2018-2019 school year.
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Don’t Pay High Fees. Tax Time Can Prepare Your Taxes For Free.
December 19th, 2019You may qualify to have your taxes prepared for free if you earned $56,000 or less in 2019. Starting January 21, call 2-1-1 to find out if you qualify and make an appointment at one of the more than 40 Tax Time sites in Franklin County. You’ll save on fees and Tax Time preparers can help you find valuable tax credits including the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC). You may qualify for a refund even if you don’t think you owe taxes. To find out if you qualify for the EITC, click here. If you you would prefer to prepare your own taxes online for free, visit myfreetaxes.com. What to bring to your appointment at a Tax Time site… Identification documents: Photo ID for you and your spouse Social Security cards or ITIN letters for everyone, including you, your spouse and any dependents on your tax return Other documents to bring: W-2s for all jobs you, your spouse or any dependents worked in 2019 All 1095, 1098 and 1099 forms you received for 2019 A copy of last year’s tax return The account and routing number of your bank account for direct deposit of your refund Your childcare provider’s…
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ABC6 Stories Highlight Work of United Way and Partners
October 30th, 2019Thank you to ABC6 and Maria Durant for featuring four stories throughout October showing United Way of Central Ohio’s work in our community. Sponsored by our partner Fifth Third, the segments were wonderful examples of how our more than 80 nonprofit partners are creating opportunities for people to succeed every day. To watch any of the four ABC6 segments, click on the links below: Community Development for All People (Strong Neighborhoods) Stable Families (Basic Needs) Childhood League Center (Student Success) Women’s Leadership Council’s E3 program (Good Jobs) We’re grateful to the families and volunteers who shared their stories, to our nonprofit partners, and to our donors who help make central Ohio a better place to live, work and play. United we fight. United we win. To learn more and to join the fight, click here.
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Building Skills Needed for Employment
August 6th, 2019Your donations to United Way of Central Ohio’s Community Impact Fund support a network of more than 80 nonprofit partners in our community. These poverty-fighting nonprofits are working hard to help people meet basic needs, achieve student success, find good jobs and build strong neighborhoods. United Way makes certain that your donations are getting concrete, impactful results and helping our community thrive. Click here to see how your gifts have helped your neighbors find and keep good jobs.
