United Way of Siouxland's mission is to enhance Siouxland's capacity to care for one another by working together through effective partnerships and leveraging resources. A strong community has a system of quality non-profit agencies that offer health and human services to improve the quality of life for all.
We are working toward making lasting changes in our community by fighting for the Health, Education, and Financial Stability of every person in Siouxland. We know that what we do today will impact tomorrow, click here to see our Agenda for Change that serves as a guide to help us on the journey. Decisions for funding are data-based. A partnership with Source for Siouxland and United Way of Siouxland ensures the data collection continues.
On May 12, 2022, United Way of Siouxland announced a new approach to funding programs that officials say will provide flexibility to respond to the quickly changing needs of Siouxland.
This will move the organization from a funded partner grant process to an open grant process.
CLICK HERE FOR PDF: United Way of Siouxland Launches Revised Funding Model
United Way leaders have spent the last year exploring the new funding process with guiding principles of the importance and accountability United Way brings to a model aimed to maximize the impact of every dollar contributed to the organization’s mission. Research included a review of other United Ways and how their grant processes work, an investment in Source For Siouxland, a local data initiative which will ensure the community has vetted, local data to identify root causes related to community crises, and multiple donor surveys.
The new process allows for a transition period for both current programs and new programs to apply.
CLICK HERE: FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ON NEW FUNDING PROCESS
Implementation will begin later in 2022 with review of community data, followed by a community-wide goal setting process involving community leaders from law enforcement, healthcare, education, businesses, and nonprofit service providers. A letter of intent will be released in early 2024 and the first round of grants will be distributed starting July 1, 2025.
FUTURE TIMELINE FOR OPEN GRANT PROCESS
- Current Agency Funding Awards Begin: July 1, 2022 (Continued funding through June 30, 2025)
- Goal Setting for New Open Funding Process: Jan.-May 2023
- Goals Finalized & Announced to Community for New Open Funding Process: Summer, 2023
- Letters of Intent (LOI) Due: Feb. 2024
- LOI Decisions Made, Applicants Notified if they will Complete Full Application: March 2024
- Full Applications Due: June 2024
- Award Determinations to Applicants (for funding to begin July 1, 2025): Sept. 2024 (Continued funding through June 20, 2028)
As the process continues throughout 2022 and beyond, more information will be available and made public.
Current Annual Community Impact Funding
United Way of Siouxland developed the community impact process with the philosophy that it is supported by the community, for the community. Therefore, these grant awards are determined by volunteer panels made up of donors, content experts, and community volunteers.
The annual grants are used to invest in a wide array of agency programs and services, with a focus on achieving the goals outlined in our Agenda for Change. As custodians of community contributions, strict accountability is expected and required of all annually funded partner programs.
Click here for the current annual community impact funding policy and procedures.
FOCUS Grant
The FOCUS Grants Program is an outreach of our Community Impact funding process. One-time grants, covering a 2-year funding cycle, will be awarded to programs or initiatives working to address a United Way of Siouxland targeted issue. THIS PROGRAM IS CURRENTLY CLOSED.
Small Grants
The Small Grants Program is an outreach of the Community Impact (CI) funding process. These one-time grants, between $1,000 and $5,000 will be awarded to organizations aligned with United Way's priority areas.
United Way Small Grants Program can be used for projects such as:
- Organizational capacity building including strategic planning, governance, and other types of organizational planning and/or development activities
- Program planning and/or development
- Emergency expenses associated with capital expenditures
- Unforeseen capital expenditures necessary to provide services to clients
- Public education and advocacy in alignment with UWS community impact outcomes
Small Grant Eligibility and Instructions can be found HERE.
Small Grant application can be found HERE.