Program areas at UWGN
The community impact funding program provides funding support to 159 nonprofit agencies in cheatham, davidson, dickson, hickman, houston, montgomery, stewart, robertson, and williamson counties, tn. These programs serve low-income individuals and families, vulnerable children and adults by providing measurable changes in behavior or condition in three focus areas- education, financial stability and health. Highlights of program outcomes in these areas are: education 95% of pre-k children enrolled in the read to succeed early literacy program assessed kindergarten ready. Financial stability- 8,879 families benefitted from free tax preparation and received more than $8.4 million in tax refunds and eitc credits. Health more than 26,315 individuals improved physical or mental health through physical activity, case management, or chronic disease self-management.
During the annual United Way campaign, some donors choose to directly designate some portion of their gift to a specific non-profit agency or United Way in another community. Designated gifts are aggregated and are then paid to the agencies or organizations as they are collected, subject only to a modest administrative fee to help support the cost of the United Way campaign. The designated gifts are distributed to the recipient agencies without restriction, for use as determined by the agency. To be eligible for designated gifts, agencies must be tax exempt under section 501(c)3, have a health and human services focus, and have a presence in the Middle Tennessee community.
United Way administers two federal grants awarded to state and local health departments through the health resources and services administration (hrsa) and the center for disease control (cdc) that are focused on hiv care and prevention. The ryan white/care grant focuses on providing core medical (medical case management, mental health, substance abuse, oral health care, etc.) And support services (non-medical case management, food bank/home-delivered meals, transportation, etc.) To individuals living in the state of Tennessee. Over 2,900 are served annually. The cdc/hiv prevention grant focuses on providing prevention and education services to target populations at high risk for hiv/living with hiv. Over 1,700 individuals are reached through specific prevention interventions designed for the target populations.
In march 2020, United Way of Greater Nashville activated its restore the dream fund to assist those affected by the devastating tornado that ripped through Nashville. Not but a week later, covid-19 was declared a pandemic, and in partnership with the mayor's office, uwgn led the covid-19 emergency response fund, fundraising for over $5.1 million and distributing all dollars out to those who were affected by the virus. We then partnered with the city of Nashville and the financial assistance network, distributing $10 million in cares act funding for rent and utility assistance. This work closed out in 2023 deploying rent, mortgage and utility assistance for those still feeling the effects of the pandemic. In december 2023, the Middle Tennessee area was hit with tornadoes, once again calling our partnership with the mayor's office and disaster response into action. We opened up a tornado response fund which will carry into 2024 for deployment for those individuals and families affected.
The Nashville alliance for financial independence (nafi) is a coalition of professionals helping working individuals and families build assets for long-lasting financial independence. Nafi provides professional development to more than 50 local nonprofits on topics related to finances and convenes multi-sector partners to effectively problem-solve to change community conditions. Free federal income tax preparation is offered through volunteer income tax assistance (vita) sites specifically aimed at households earning $70,000 or less. This service ensures filers claim all their eligible credits. In 2023, vita sites helped 9,309 families collect over $10.3 million in total federal refunds and save millions in filing fees. In partnership with the mayor's office, uwgn operates the city's financial empowerment center (fec). The center provides free one-on-one financial counseling and teaches clients how to open safe and affordable bank accounts, establish and increase credit scores, reduce debt, and increase savings. Common goals and metrics were established in partnership with the mayor's office and sustainability for the work has continued through the city and United Way operating a cost-share model. Since its inception, the fecs have assisted and helped over 10,330 clients reduce debt by over $28 million and increase savings by over $3 million through more than 29,000 individual counseling sessions. In 2019, uwgn became the intermediary for Middle Tennessee to recruit, train and monitor grantees through snap employment & training. This program is a federal program that passes through the tn department of labor and workforce development. In 2023, 991 snap employment & training participants were served, 589 participants obtained an industry credential, and 700 participants are now gainfully employed with median wage earnings of $19.51 per hour throughout uwgn's nine-county service area. Mostly all participants enrolled in workforce training programs had no income and/or no reportable income prior to participation.
People who need help, but don't know where to start can call the 2-1-1 community services help line to speak with a community resource specialist with access to a comprehensive database of resources across our 42-county service area. The 2-1-1 hotline has taken more than 1.5 million contacts since 2004. Top needs frequently identified are food, utilities, rent payment assistance, and tax preparation site information. 2-1-1 also serves as the entry point for people looking for free tax preparation services through the Nashville alliance for financial independence and volunteer income tax assistance sites.
Effective june 1, 2013, United Way of Greater Nashville partners with governor's early literacy foundation and the dollywood foundation to implement the imagination library of Middle Tennessee program in davidson, williamson and sumner counties. Imagination library delivers one high-quality and age-appropriate book each month to children from birth through age five, at no cost to their families, regardless of income. With imagination library complementing the read to succeed program, United Way will be able to display a clear path to literacy for children beginning at birth. In 2023, United Way of Greater Nashville distributed 499,327 books to children in the three-county coverage area.
Three out of four Nashville third graders are not reading at grade level, a challenge Nashville has wrestled with for more than two decades. United Way serves as the lead convener for a community collaborative call raising readers Nashville (formerly blueprint for early childhood success). We are cultivating an environment where all children can grow the reading skills they need to thrive by improving the systems and structures that support Nashville's families and young children. This work empowers United Way's early childhood initiative, read to succeed (rts). Rts unites early childhood professionals to align knowledge, skills and best practices for lifelong academic success and well-being for children and families. Rts partners with local childcare centers serving vulnerable populations to reduce risk factors for children and families to prepare for success in kindergarten. Rts serves over 800 students where 93% of three- and four-year-olds are at developmental level. Before the start of this program, only 33% of four-year-olds in these centers tested at average or higher on kindergarten readiness assessments. In the spring of 2022, 90% and 92% of three- and four-year-olds met their literacy and social-emotional benchmarks for kindergarten readiness, respectively. Read to succeed has demonstrated a success rate of 90% or higher since 2007. United Way implements a complementary program to rts to support first-through-third-grade students, raise your hand (ryh). Ryh is a state of Tennessee approved tutoring program that provides tutoring services in the Middle Tennessee region. Ryh supports early literacy intervention of first through third graders, matching tutors with students who are performing below grade level in reading and math. Volunteers tutor in classrooms after school and during summer. In spring 2022, metro Nashville council approved and awarded United Way of Greater Nashville over $5.3 million in american rescue plan act funding to increase low-income families' access to quality childcare a longstanding crisis across Greater Nashville. United Way continues to leverage metro Nashville funding to stabilize twelve (12) childcare center providers that serve low-income families on a sliding scale, representing a population of families served that live at or below 200% of the federal poverty line, and those enrolled in the Tennessee department of human services ("dhs") smart steps childcare assistance program ("smart steps"). This funding supports all ten (10) read to succeed sites and two (2) additional community-based childcare centers, incentivizing providers for the first time to serve more families in this demographic. These funds help to fill the gap between the true cost of high-quality childcare and what parents can afford to pay and the state's increasing yet inadequate reimbursement rate. After nearly 20 months, United Way has deployed nearly $3 million to eradicate the financial loss absorbed by centers annually.
The majority of program assistance included here is one-time gifts of basic needs items, books, school supplies, infant care items, etc. To partner agencies of United Way of Greater Nashville. During our quarterly days of action, both monetary contributions and in-kind items are collected for the specific purpose of highlighting one of our impact areas (education, financial stability, or health). Volunteers join in the efforts to raise money, supplies, and awareness for those partner agencies serving the community in that specific impact area. The proceeds, in the form of in-kind items, are then distributed directly to those agencies.
In 2014, with seed funding from the siemer institute, United Way of Greater Nashville launched the family collectiveoriginally the family empowerment programto address homelessness, connect families to sustainable opportunities and disrupt cycles of poverty. With over 25 partners in 5 counties, we are working together to rebuild systems to prevent and end family homelessness. Uwgn uses funding from the siemer institute and the department of human services to administer this program, serving more than 3,000 families since inception in jan 2019. More than 1100 families have been housed or were prevented from homelessness. The initiative provides an array of wrap around services that offers continuous support for families to move from crisis to thriving. It utilizes United Way community partners and access points such as schools and community centers to locate coaches/case managers throughout the city. The program also provides free one-on-one financial counseling through the Nashville financial empowerment center, a United Way partnership with the mayor's office to help participating families become financially stable.