UWAC's Community Impact Funding (CIF) Approach
UWAC is committed to developing relationships that extend beyond grant funding with every organization it invests in financially. We make 3-year, unrestricted grants and work to support further our funded partners in the areas of equity, advocacy, volunteerism, and professional development. UWAC also strives to improve health, education, and financial stability outcomes by working within philanthropy to advocate for more resources to go to local nonprofit organizations with boots on the ground.
While guided and supported by UWAC staff, the CIF process is driven by a volunteer review team. The CIF Review Team is responsible for:
- Reading Letters of Interest
- Conducting relevant topical or organizational research
- Preparing for, conducting, and scoring site visits
- Making allocation recommendations to UWAC’s Board of Directors
We focus our efforts in three areas: Health, Education, and Financial Stability. Any organization receiving a Community Impact Funding grant from UWAC must clearly align with one of these areas of need.
CIF Requests for Letters of Interest are typically released each year in February. We will accept Letters of Interest for Financial Stability in 2024, Health in 2025, and Education in 2026.
2024 CIF Timeline - Financial Stability
- February 26, 2024 (week of): Requests for Letters of Interest
- March 22, 2024: Letters of Interest Due
- April 1, 2024 (week of): Reviewer Orientation/First In-person Meeting
- April/May 2024: Site Visits
- May 6, 2024 (week of): First Allocation Meeting
- May 13, 2024 (week of): Second Allocation Meeting - if needed
- May 24, 2024: Funding Recommendations Presented to UWAC Board
- June 2024: Funding Relationships Announced
- July 2024: First Grant Payment
Brand Guidelines for Funded Partners of UWAC
As a recipient of program funding, we ask for your assistance in acknowledging United Way of Addison County’s (UWAC) financial support in a consistent way that highlights our partnership.
Please credit UWAC in any media or communication specific to the program being funded. This may include (but is not limited to): brochures, programs, newsletters, news releases, annual reports, educational materials, letterhead, websites, posters, social media, blogs, videos, signage, or other announcements.
We ask that you credit United Way of Addison County by using a logo provided by us and/or credit line “A United Way of Addison County Funded Agency.” Our logo cannot be altered in any way. Our preferred name in print is “United Way of Addison County” (please do not use “the” as part of our name). For any questions about brand guidelines, please contact Erin Reed, Development & Marketing Director.
Free Resources & Support
At the heart of our mission is a commitment to do everything we can to ensure that our local non-profits are strong, healthy, and prepared to accomplish great things. Whether your organization or program currently receives Community Impact Funding from us or not, we're here to help.
We're happy to share the following tools and resources we've found helpful in our own work. You're welcome to use them as is or adapt them for your organization's needs. If you have any questions or would like to schedule a time to meet with one of our staff, please email our Director!
Addison County Racial Equity Learning Community
Addison County Racial Equity Learning Community is made up of local non-profit leaders committed to coming together to support each other to address and dismantle systemic racism both within our organizations and within our communities. We will examine our practices and norms and share resources and ideas to increase our personal cultural competency and that of our organizations. Collectively we will increase our understanding of the issues of race and ethnicity, racial equity, and systemic racism with a goal of creating more inclusive and impactful organizations across the county. All are welcome to join us, see this page for upcoming events, and sign up for the newsletter.
Learn United: A Nonprofit Seminar Series
Working with partners like Sarah Audet of Hedgehog + Fox Collaborative, we continue to learn together with our county partners by offering free seminars on various topics and challenges that are relevant to nonprofits. Visit our Learn United page for upcoming seminars.
Board Development
- We use this Board Composition Worksheet to both learn more about our current Board members and inform our recruitment efforts. We created ours in Google Forms which allows us to export the results of the survey into a Google Sheet for quick and easy analysis.
- Before we have an in-person interview with a Board candidate, we ask them to complete this short UWAC Board Candidate Survey. We also ask our candidates to send us their professional and/or volunteer resumes. This information is shared with the Governance Committee so they can consider the skills, experience, and perspective each candidate offers as well as the current needs/goals of our organization.
- We currently have 4 Board Committees (the Board may form ad-hoc committees as needed). The Board affirms/adjusts the scope of work for each committee at our annual Board Retreat. Download our Board Committee Descriptions.
- It's important to know who is responsible for what! We use The Basic Roles of Boards & Staff from our friends at United Way of Greater Houston to help us define Board vs Director roles.
- A Board Member Self Assessment is a helpful tool for your volunteers to reflect on their engagement as a Board member. We include this self-assessment in our annual retreat advanced reading materials, but do not ask our volunteers to return their results to us.
A Sampling of Nonprofit Blogs and Websites We Love (and Why We Love Them)
- Andy Robinson: Vermont-based non-profit consultant, author, and trainer with a sense of humor. We're especially fond of his easy-to-ready books on fundraising and Board development.
- Bloomerang: More free fundraising webinars, templates, guides, and blog posts!
- Blue Avocado: Online magazine fueled by a bi-monthly newsletter designed to provide practical, tactical tips and tools to nonprofit leaders.
- BoardSource: Rich with templates, sample tools, and useful articles/blog posts, BoardSource is a one-stop-shop for all things nonprofit governance and Board & staff leadership-related.
- Joan Garry: Another non-profit consultant that will make you laugh and make you a better non-profit leader. Her Leadership Lab is a great way to connect with other people in our field from around the world and her Guide to Nonprofit Leadership is a must-read!
- National Council of Nonprofits: Trusted resource and proven advocate for America’s charitable nonprofits. Connecting the policy dots across all levels and branches of government, the Council of Nonprofits keeps nonprofits informed and empowered to create a positive public policy environment that best supports nonprofits in advancing their missions.
- Network for Good: Free fundraising webinars, templates, guides, and blog posts.
- Nonprofit AF: Because sometimes laughter is the best medicine (and this site proves you can laugh and learn at the same time).
- Penelope Burk: Best known for her focus on donor-centered fundraising, Penelope Burke’s blog is a great resource for anyone looking to grow their fundraising program.
We'd love to know what non-profit blogs/sites you enjoy. Email us your favorites!
