United Way of Central Ohio appreciates the work of the Funding Review Advisory Committee (FRAC) and the many community leaders who dedicated their time to evaluating sustainable funding strategies for our community. Through the FRAC report, the committee has given our sector an opportunity to reflect on our shared identity and priorities.
Across central Ohio, families who are working hard are finding it more difficult to achieve stability. For many, the margin between getting by and falling behind has grown dangerously thin. That reality shows up in profound ways, shaping a child’s readiness to learn, a parent’s ability to remain employed, and the long-term strength of our workforce and economy. The question before us is not simply how we fund services, but whether we are willing to align our resources, systems and our collective will around solutions that match the scale of the need.
United Way believes that kind of alignment is possible through collective impact and shared services. That belief is what led us to establish the Community Impact Center in partnership with Nationwide, where 17 nonprofit partners have come together in a shared space that encourages collaboration and coordinated services. It also is what brought us to the creation of UNISON, which provides nonprofits with shared operational services such as human resources, financial management and grants administration to help them focus more of their time and resources on serving the community.
Our Success by Third Grade movement was established using a collective impact model. As the backbone organization, we are aligning educators, service providers, businesses and community leaders around a common goal, knowing that a child’s ability to read on grade level is deeply connected to stability at home, including access to safe, affordable housing. Housing stability, financial security and access to essential supports are deeply interconnected and require a coordinated response.
The FRAC recommendations present thoughtful options for consideration, shaped by ongoing community dialogue, analysis and public engagement. United Way is not prescribing a single solution, but we are committed to ensuring that any chosen path delivers real, measurable outcomes for families, fewer households in crisis, more children succeeding in school and a more resilient central Ohio. This moment demands more than acknowledging our challenges; it calls for shared resolve that turns intention into action and action into lasting change.
