What We Do

Before COVID-19, one-third of all Franklin County residents could not meet basic needs and even more were a crisis away from falling into poverty. Today, we know low-income families are bearing the brunt of the pandemic. Over half of Ohio’s low-income households reported a loss of employment income over the past year. While students in low-income households faced more barriers to remote learning, including lack of broadband access and available equipment. 

United Way of Central Ohio is focused on fighting poverty by investing in the most effective partners that get results. This network of more than 90 local nonprofit partners provide opportunities and resources in two critical areas:

  • Basic Needs

    Ensuring people in crisis get food, shelter and assistance.

  • Student Success

    Helping children succeed from cradle to career.

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Basic Needs

Ensuring people in crisis get food, shelter and assistance.

did you know?

1 in 3 central Ohioans lacks the income to meet basic needs without assistance.

2,000 young adults in central Ohio are homeless.

partners

  • Affordable Housing Alliance of Central Ohio
  • American Red Cross of Greater Columbus
  • Catholic Social Services
  • Charitable Pharmacy of Central Ohio
  • CHOICES for Victims of Domestic Violence
  • Clintonville-Beechwold CRC
  • Columbus Urban League
  • Community Development for All People
  • Community Kitchen
  • Community Shelter Board
  • Equitas
  • Furniture Bank of Central Ohio
  • Gladden Community House
  • HandsOn Central Ohio
  • Homeport
  • Huckleberry House, Inc.
  • Legal Aid Society of Columbus
  • LifeCare Alliance
  • Local Matters
  • Lutheran Social Services of Central Ohio
  • Mental Health America of Franklin Ohio
  • Mid-Ohio Foodbank
  • NNEMAP
  • OhioHealth I AM
  • OSU Moms2B
  • The Salvation Army
  • Serving Our Neighbors Ministries
  • Stable Families
  • Star House
  • YMCA of Central Ohio
  • YWCA Columbus

Achieving Results:

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Student Success

Helping children succeed from cradle to career.

did you know?

The poverty rate and the unemployment rate for people who do not have a High School diploma is twice as high as for people who have graduated.

72% of disadvantaged preschoolers in Franklin County struggle to learn the skills needed for kindergarten.

partners

  • Action for Children
  • Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Ohio
  • Boys & Girls Clubs of Columbus
  • Central Community House
  • Childhood League Center
  • City Year
  • Columbus Early Learning Centers
  • Columbus Speech & Hearing Center
  • Columbus Urban League
  • Communities in Schools of Central Ohio
  • Community Development for All People
  • Communities Properties Impact Corporation
  • Directions for Youth & Families
  • Dominican Sisters of Peace
  • Ethiopian Tewahedo Social Services
  • Gladden Community House
  • Godman Guild Association
  • Groundwork Ohio
  • Junior Achievement of Central Ohio
  • Kaleidoscope Youth Center
  • South Side Learning & Development Center
  • St. Stephen’s Community House
  • St. Vincent Family Center
  • Stable Families
  • The Center for Healthy Families
  • The Salvation Army
  • YMCA of Central Ohio
  • YWCA Columbus

Achieving Results:

Together, We Fight Poverty.

1DIVINELINE2HEALTH – HILLTOP DROP-IN CENTER UWCO 2024 Investment $15,000
Organization Description:

1DivineLine2Health serves as a safe house for pregnant womxn, transwomxn, and runaway youth. We are on the streets, alleys, homeless camps and abandominiums. We have two safe houses, a community garden and the Love Bug Street Outreach program that covers the four hot zones of human and drug trafficking in our city. We operate the first full-time Drop-In Center in the county located on the Hilltop that serves trafficked womxn, their children and transwomen. Our Drop-In Center is a haven where they shower, eat a warm meal, rest, have their wounds cleaned, get linked to services and participate in activities. We provide nonperishable food, first aid, clothes, shoes, hygiene kits, and condoms. We transport people to hospitals and recovery sites when needed. We partnered with Franklin County Public Health as a mobile Narcan distributor to our street family. Our mission is to end human suffering locally and globally through the power of Love that brings people to serve the underserved in our community like our Love Drop-In Center.

Address:

PO Box 247561, Columbus, Ohio 43224

Phone:

614.928.3006

ACADEMY FOR URBAN SCHOLARS UWCO 2024 Investment $65,000
Organization Description:

The Academy for Urban Scholars (AUS) is a brick-and-mortar statewide educational and employment leader for under-represented, under-served, and disengaged community members. AUS adheres to its internal motto of “Honda builds cars, We build people” through intensive door-to-door community outreach, high-quality instructional practices and staff, relentless fundraising efforts, and extensive community partnerships. AUS exists solely to ensure that its clients receive the best opportunities their communities can provide. Established in 2011, the AUS Personal Development Model has been created to address a wide variety of systemic challenges that lead to intergenerational poverty, discriminatory educational and training practices, and stymied personal development. Our Model is designed to re-engage learners of all ages, provide intense supportive services, mentoring, workforce training, and successful work placement opportunities. We serve adults and youth from economically disadvantaged communities that demonstrate high unemployment, limited educational success, have significant gang involvement, a high-risk of unplanned pregnancy, and extensive criminal activity and incarceration.

Address:

899 E. Broad Street Columbus, OH 43215

Phone:

614.754.7511

Action for Children UWCO 2024 Investment $160,000
Organization Description:

There are just 2,000 days between a child's birth and the day they enter Kindergarten--and those days are among the most important to a child's development. When parents, caregivers and teachers are prepared and supported, these moments enrich a child's life, promote healthy development, and ensure that he or she feels safe, loved, and prepared for a bright future. Since 1972, Action for Children (AFC) has worked to transform the lives of children during those first 2,000 days by supporting, empowering and advocating for the adults who make the biggest impact on children’s lives—their parents, caregivers and teachers. When children are nurtured by strong families and vibrant communities and when they have access to quality early learning experiences, they are better prepared for success in school and in life. To support this vital vision, and as the local child care resource and referral agency, Action for Children's services include: free child care referrals and access to community resources for parents and families; parenting education classes, seminars, home-visiting programs and workshops; professional development, coaching, and technical assistance for early childhood programs and practitioners; and child care resources and data for workforce development, public awareness and advocacy. AFC's service area includes Columbus and Franklin County as well as Delaware, Fairfield, Licking, Madison, Pickaway and Union Counties.

Address:

78 Jefferson Avenue (43215)

Phone:

614.224.0222

Twitter:

Act4Kidz

Affordable Housing Alliance of Central Ohio
Organization Description:

The members of the Affordable Housing Alliance of Central Ohio are 28 non-profit and for-profit organizations that represent the full spectrum of affordable housing activities in Franklin County, from homeless and housing services, to housing development and housing finance. Working together, we are advancing solutions to address the affordable housing challenge, which will support economic progress and strengthen the community.

Address:

215 N Front St, Suite 600, Columbus, OH 43215

Affordable Housing Trust for Columbus and Franklin County UWCO 2024 Investment $25,000
Organization Description:

The Affordable Housing Trust for Columbus and Franklin County (AHT), established in 2001, is an independent, nonprofit lender that works with the private, nonprofit and public sectors to develop affordable housing opportunities within the City of Columbus and Franklin County. In February 2016, AHT became a certified Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI).

Address:

175 S. 3rd St., Suite 1250, Columbus, OH 43215

Phone:

(614) 228-6488

African American Leadership Academy UWCO 2024 Investment $NA*

The African American Leadership Academy is designed to expand the number of African American leaders in central Ohio who excel in their professions and engage in community service. The Academy enlarges the definition of success and redefines the description of leadership to include doing well at work to do more good in the community. To that end, it assembles a group of Fellows who have the likelihood of significant accomplishments in both of those arenas. The Academy selects individuals who are ready to grow and to engage in preparation for that kind of success and that kind of leadership.

Each year, the Academy’s Advisory Board along with current and past Fellows seek out and nominate individuals to be invited to apply to the Academy. These individuals, ages 25-55, represent the business, non-profit, government, education and entrepreneurial sectors of the central Ohio community. Nominees have demonstrated potential for top leadership roles in both their professional and civic life.

The Academy’s mission is to increase the number of central Ohio’s African American leaders and broaden its awareness of a wider pool of capable and civic minded African American professionals. Maximizing the potential and engagement of all social and economic sectors is essential to the greater purpose of building “best at” and “best to be in” businesses and communities.

For more informations on the African American Leadership Academy, visit their website http://aalacademy.org/.

* United Way of Central Ohio serves as a fiscal agent for this initiative.

AFRICAN AMERICAN MALE WELLNESS WALK UWCO 2024 Investment $40,000
Organization Description:

Founded in 2004, The African American Male Wellness Initiative (AAMWI) was established to improve the health disparities affecting African American men. From our humble beginnings, the AAMWI has grown to become the largest health initiative locally and across the state of Ohio. Accelerated growth of the AAMWI can be contributed to our ability to engage African American men. Every year the initiative engages over 50,000 families nationwide providing health educational workshops, fatherhood training, employment training and free health screenings to over 3,000 African American men. Our educational programming focuses on topics such as mental health, opioid addiction, healthy cooking, work readiness, HIV prevention and financial wellness.

Address:

2780 Airport Drive, Suite 333, Columbus, OH 43219

Phone:

614.754.7511

AFRICENTRIC PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT SHOP UWCO 2024 Investment $50,000
Organization Description:

Africentric Personal Development Shop (APDS) is a behavioral healthcare center that uses the American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM) criteria guidelines and models of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) to provide substance use disorders treatment. APDS is certified by Ohio Mental Health and Addiction Services to provide outpatient, intensive outpatient, medication assisted treatment, and prevention services. APDS provides a comprehensive domestic violence education and intervention program that uses the Duluth Model, Journey to Change, and the APDS Readiness Module for male batterers involved in domestic violence. APDS offers a 9-week SMART 2.0 summer day camp with strong emphasis on social emotional learning and character development for 120 youth ages 6 to 12 years.

Address:

1409 East Livingston Ave. Columbus, OH 43205

Phone:

614.253.4448

AFTER-SCHOOL ALL-STARS OHIO UWCO 2024 Investment $60,000
Organization Description:

After-School All-Stars Ohio provides free academic support, mentorship, and transformative experience to help at-risk children in Ohio succeed in school and life. After-School All-Stars Ohio gives students a safe-haven during the “danger zone” hours of 3pm-6pm—the time of day when youth violence, drug use and other delinquent behaviors are most likely to occur. After-School All-Stars Ohio serves children whose lives are mostly defined by severe deprivation of basic human needs. Those needs include food, health, safety, shelter, and access to information.

Address:

1743 W Lane Avenue, Columbus OH 43221-3341

Phone:

614.257.1678

ALL THAT UWCO 2024 Investment $45,000
Organization Description:

All THAT (Teens Hopeful About Tomorrow) is a non-profit mentoring and enrichment program that provides mentoring to teens in academic achievement, life skill development and career planning. Since 2010, All THAT has established caring relationships with teens in our program and enhanced their ability to make good choices, eliminate the use of alcohol and drugs and assist them in realizing their dreams. We expose them to college and opportunities in skilled trades, enhancing their potential to become high performers in the workforce and their local community. We are an official partner of Columbus City Schools, Columbus Public Health Department, Center for Family Safety and Healing, Franklin County Children Services and MENTOR Central Ohio. ALL THAT currently serves as a supportive space providing tutors and mentors to guide high school students so they can complete their online school work. During these challenging days in our city and in our country, the lives of teens are especially at risk. All THAT is here for them.

Address:

PO Box 27113, 4117 E. Livingston Avenue, Columbus OH 43227

Phone:

614.745.0007

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