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Community Investment

Together, we’re making a better difference. 90 years. That’s how long Heart of West Michigan United Way has been dedicated to the communities of West Michigan. As we celebrate our 90th anniversary, we’re also celebrating all that is better—way better.

Our focus remains on the children. Providing programs that assist our children early in life and stay with them as they grow means lasting changes for all of us. And it means a more focused approach with the agencies we work with year after year. Healthier families. Improved scores. Safer streets. Most of all, a better West Michigan. Together, it gets way better.

What does United Way do? All of United Way’s work is about community impact.

Our Work Includes

Community leadership: We lead the community in understanding and eliminating the cause of community problems so we can improve the quality of life for people in West Michigan.
Collaboration: We bring together donors, volunteers, labor, businesses, government, agencies that provide services, the faith-based community, education, and people who need services.
Fundraising: We are grateful for the support of nearly 40,000 donors who contribute their personal and/or company resources to the work of Heart of West Michigan United Way.
Volunteer Recruitment: While financial contributions are essential to the work of United Way, we also know that volunteers are critical to making a difference. We help match volunteers with positions in our community.
Programs and Services: In addition to funding programs, we operate United Way’s 2-1-1 information and referral program, the Kent County Tax Credit Coalition, and the FACTS reading tutor program.
Fund distribution: We work in collaboration with more than 60 local nonprofit agencies that provide direct services to families and individuals. More than 80 volunteers review and make recommendations for program funding.
Management and Accountability: We are committed to ensuring contributions are invested in the most effective way possible to provide maximum results.

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Focused Impact

The work of Heart of West Michigan United Way includes focused impact in the areas of early childhood development and literacy. We are working to influence community attitudes, networks, neighborhoods and systems to create lasting changes in our community.

In Early Childhood Development, we house and are part of the Early Childhood Development Commission, a community collaborative whose goal is every child in Kent County will be ready to succeed in life and school.

While there are several strategies to achieve success, United Way is especially focused on quality early care and education.

Our community’s Literacy goal is to ensure that every individual is able to read, write and speak, and compute and solve problems at a level of proficiency necessary to function on the job, in the family and in society. United Way houses and is part of the Greater Grand Rapids Reads community collaborative. We are especially focused on closing the achievement gap between urban and suburban students through neighborhood- and school-based mentoring programs. We are also committed to improving the adult literacy rate.

Agency Impact

Heart of West Michigan United Way influences the lives of individuals and families through the work of agencies that provide direct services to people in our community. Agencies apply for funding every three years. A new funding cycle begins July 2007.

More than 80 community, business, nonprofit and government representatives serve on one of five United Way Community Investment Councils that review and evaluate program proposals from local agencies. They make funding recommendations to United Way’s Board of Directors, comprised of business and community volunteers.

DON’T STAND FOR IT. STAND FOR BETTER.

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