United Way Suncoast

Early learning and youth success:conditions - challenges continued to persist for stakeholders engaging in early learning and literacy education. In the Suncoast five-county region, 46% of students entering school are not ready for kindergarten as measured by the state kindergarten readiness (flkrs (Florida kindergarten readiness)) assessment. Pre-kindergarten enrollment has decreased from 80% in 2014 to around 65% today. Childcare costs are a prevalent factor in this area. Meanwhile, when compared to Florida's four large metro regions, tampa bay ranks last in third grade reading scores. United Way Suncoast is working with 36 schools of focus in the Suncoast region to improve reading levels. (continued on schedule o)the focus is on third grade reading scores as this is when learning transitions to reading-based learning.our youth success work builds on the foundational elements of early learning. We support youth success programs focused on college and career readiness skills and on-time graduation for middle and high school students. United Way Suncoast remains committed to supporting this diverse group that ranges in age from 10-24: middle school 10-14; high school 14-18; college 18-24. With a 2023 study revealing that 58 percent of young adults between 16 and 24 are neither enrolled in school nor working, this is an important effort.investments - with 90 percent of brain development occurring between birth and 5 years, and third grade reading representing an indicator of long-term academic success, we know we must continue to focus on these developmental aspects. In the first two years of United Way Suncoast's investment, we have seen notable progress in early learning academic outcomes, including gains in early literacy and grade-level reading. Overall, we invested $1.8 million into improving kindergarten readiness, increasing grade level reading, and removing barriers to education access. Our organization reaped benefits from 36 strategic community partners focused on early learning.in fy2024, United Way Suncoast invested $922,000 in 22 youth success programs. Part of the effort involves inspiring and solidifying the career aspirations of middle school and high students to help put them on a path to post-secondary success. At the same time, we look to support programs that strengthen graduation rates and provide internships and career training. Our goal is to guide our community investments, initiatives, and targets, and provide resources for community and partners to take action independently. Impact - early learning and education remain a dynamic tool - maybe our best tool - to help create generational wealth, lift up families and create a better world for every student. Increasing access and the equity of quality childcare stands as one of the best ways to improve communities. For United Way Suncoast, that improvement is reflected in the fact that nearly 4,000 children between the ages of 0-5 demonstrated age-appropriate communication, vocabulary and/or other early literacy skills or progress. More than 6,000 third grade students achieved the goal of reading on grade level or are set on the path to achieve that benchmark within the next year.our summer care program also enjoyed success, where 83 percent of our students maintained or grew their academic skills over the summer through these programs.in addition, we took on barriers to school readiness by generating food support to 10,451 households through our school-based food distribution partners. We also helped nearly 2,700 students receive support for asthma, dental, vision and hearing loss issues. Through stronger connections with our youth success partners, United Way Suncoast has gained more accurate insights into the impact of our investments in social-emotional growth and educational transitions for middle and high school students. Notably, 3,633 middle school and 865 high school students showed gains in social-emotional skills, setting a solid foundation for personal and academic resilience. Among other positive results: our partners helped more than 8,000 students gain career readiness skills, more than tripled the number of high school students with mentors and increased the number of students who improved their gpa by 39.8%. Furthermore, 322 students enrolled in college with a clear major or career pathway, positioning them for long-term success. These targeted investments continue to empower youth in our community to thrive academically and personally.

Community support services:united we serve (volunteers) - volunteer action is a key part of United Way's mission, and with United we serve, our philanthropic engagement team creates opportunities throughout the year with its monthly engagement opportunities.we started the fiscal year with opportunities to support our local schools and the community jumped to action, collectively donating over 6,300 school supplies that our uws education team has distributed in our five-county region. (continued on schedule o)in october, we welcomed volunteers to stuff the bus in manatee county in a publix partnership that put food on the shelves of the meals on wheels plus food pantry.we created opportunities for volunteers to honor veterans through our annual veterans week of service, distribute meals during the holidays and showcase their care for the community by collecting toys for the holidays.throughout the year, we customized on-site engagement activities for corporate partners to learn about our work and create kits that we distributed to our neighbors.in april, we held our 32nd annual week of caring, the region's largest volunteer initiative connecting hands-on service with organizations and individuals in need. The celebration of community service inspired 386 volunteers to complete 59 projects for 29 organizations. The work extended to more than 1,100 hours, delivering a value of $39,250. Volunteer action is a key part of United Way's mission, and with United we serve, our philanthropic engagement team creates opportunities throughout the year with its monthly engagement opportunities.united we lead - when United Way Suncoast invests in community, it invests in outcomes. We're currently fulfilling a three-year, $18 million commitment to 100 programs that support early learning, youth success and financial stability. With each program we've implemented accountability measures that target objectives. There's no better Way to steward the dollars entrusted to us, and there's no better Way to show our support for our strategic community partners.however, to achieve higher quality community impact, our investment strategy must go further. It must include supporting the development and growth of the people running our partner programs as well as finding ways to eliminate the administrative and knowledge barriers they face. In fy2024, we continued to initiate a visionary pilot program to increase the capacity of nonprofit partners. Using a series of workshops and monthly coaching sessions, we've yielded remarkable results. We've already seen partners leverage our resources to win new grants, reduce inefficiencies, improve internal communication and collaboration, and impact more people more deeply.in addition, we launched our ace grants in fy2024, creating access, building capacity, and ensuring equity. Moving into our second century of service, continuing to build trust, honoring diverse thoughts, and supporting good ideas are essential to creating a foundation for greater impact. The ace grant is an operational investment of up to $20,000 in organizations with an annual revenue of up to $2.1 million. The funding is designed to help unlock barriers to innovation and spark progress. In fy2025, we will look to take the next step, build on these principles, and amplify this game-changing effort.united we emerge - when families can focus on building for the future instead of simply surviving in the present, they can overcome unexpected challenges such as a pandemic, housing crisis, or hurricane. Through our experience, we know that preparing for a storm the day before it reaches landfall may be too late. We also know that we can build up the resilience of our community by ensuring people have access to good jobs, money in their savings, and resources to weather short-term needs. Furthermore, when a major storm hits our service area, each community is impacted differently. This realization has fueled United Way Suncoast's drive to prepare for the challenge of emerging needs, and that drive has never been more important as we start our second century of service. This realization has fueled United Way Suncoast's drive to prepare for the challenge of emerging needs, and that drive has never been more important as we start our second century of service. United we emerge represents this effort, but it's not new to United Way suncoast.disaster resilience is what we do and have done for more than 100 years. After a particularly crippling storm in 1926, our first executive director, ruth w. atkinson, wrote, "there is much yet to do. The herculean task of rehabilitating families, fanning the spark of hope which has all but died in their hearts ... means tampa must continue to serve in every Way possible until flowers bloom again in the desolate waste places; until families are again able to take care of themselves. "this legacy of resilience continued in fy2024 with United Way Suncoast investing more than $600,000 in recovery funds to support relief efforts from hurricanes ian, idalia, and nicole.

Financial stability:conditions - economic challenges persist across the Suncoast region, with the tampa bay partnership revealing that the area ranks last (20th out of 20) in median household income (mhi) compared to similar metro regions nationwide. Rising costs of living, coupled with stagnant wages, exacerbate these struggles. Housing and transportation expenditures account for nearly 60% of household incomes in the region, far above the 40% threshold recommended by financial professionals. These financial strains are even more pronounced in United Way Suncoast's zip codes of focus, where the weighted average mhi is 15.4% lower than the broader Suncoast region. (continued on schedule o)further underscoring the region's economic disparities, Florida ranks fifth nationally in income inequality, according to the census bureau's gini index. This inequality creates additional barriers for families striving for financial stability.although rental price increases have slowed in 2024 and some zip codes have seen slight decreases, overall rent prices remain high and unaffordable for the average wage earner. With an inadequate supply of affordable housing, many households are forced to devote a disproportionate share of their income to basic living expenses, leaving little room for savings or unexpected costs.addressing these systemic challenges is vital to empowering alice (asset limited, income constrained, employed) households and ensuring that all families in the region have the opportunity to achieve long-term economic stability.investments - in fy2023 and fy2024, United Way Suncoast distributed a combined $4.3 million to our partner agencies within the last two years of our multi-year investment. This includes 35 programs working towards financial stability goals. Through targeted investments in workforce development, asset building, and barrier removal, United Way Suncoast continues to drive sustainable financial progress across our community.the efforts included:- volunteer income tax assistance (vita) program that provides free tax preparation to qualified households- bank on, an initiative that provides access to safe and affordable accounts to the unbanked and the underbanked.- financial coaching, an initiative that provides an experienced coach to assist individuals in reaching their financial goals.- money matters, a monthly virtual financial literacy series.- neighborhood resource center offerings including employment services, legal advice, family support, computer lab access, homeowner and contractor resources, notary services, and case management. Impacts - United Way Suncoast's financial stability initiatives are making a profound impact on the lives of community members. Through the volunteer income tax assistance (vita) program, they provide free tax preparation services that stabilize finances in an uncertain economy. Beyond tax assistance, United Way Suncoast supports financial empowerment through programs like bank on, financial coaching, and the new financial wellness at work initiative. These services help individuals and families build a foundation for long-term financial resilience, transforming lives and creating pathways to greater economic security. The impact of United Way Suncoast's investments is evident in increased job retention rates and expanded access to financial stability resources. Year-over-year, job retention has risen significantly, with a 27% increase in individuals staying in jobs for at least six months and a remarkable 52% increase for those remaining employed for at least twelve months. Additionally, 1,741 individuals were placed in jobs, with 1,373 staying in their roles for at least six months. However, fewer participants received raises, or income increases during this period. Our investment in financial stability programs has also shown promising results, with a significant increase in the use and longevity of bankon accounts, a 282% increase in legal aid cases secured and resolved (from 267 to 753), and impactful financial behavior improvements. Notably, 1,536 individuals demonstrated better financial habits, with 421 individuals building savings balances and 205 increasing their credit scores. Moreover, legal aid providers resolved 175 housing cases, 77 employment cases, and 146 consumer rights cases, ensuring critical support in overcoming financial and legal barriers.

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