United Way brings our community together to change people's lives, moving them from crisis to stability. We call together human service experts, corporate partners and community leaders to work with us to identify the best paths to success. Then we pull together the resources it takes to realize those plans with financial support, legislative policy, outstanding human service programs and volunteers. When you give, advocate and volunteer with United Way, you strengthen the human service system across Mid-Illinois. You help change lives!

Giving to United Way is the most effective way to create opportunities for people in our community to move beyond crisis to stability. As the non-government leader of human services, United Way does what no single organization alone can do to address the key issues people face that create barriers to education, income and health.

United Way specializes in finding innovative solutions and measuring results--so we know we are making the biggest impact to improve lives and your investment is working as hard as it can. We call together human service experts, corporate partners and community leaders to work with us to identify the best paths to success. Then we pull together the resources it takes to realize those plans with financial support, legislative policy, outstanding human service programs and volunteers.

If you want to make the most of your resources and improve people's lives by impacting the entire human service system, there's no more effective way than through United Way.

Your donation to the Community Impact Fund goes into our community to change people’s lives. Through more than 39 funded programs, targeted initiatives, partnerships with schools, community leaders and corporations, as well as collaborations with human service experts, United Way helps people become independent. Through the Community Impact fund, you can help a single mother receive necessary job training and affordable day care, so that she is able to successfully move to self-sufficiency. By contributing to United Way, you help ensure the network of services that no on agency or program could provide.

Yes. United Way of Decatur and Mid-Illinois's 990 is available on our website under the Financial Information Tab.

Today’s community issues are complex and cannot be solved by one agency or organization alone. By providing a way for local businesses, human service experts, community groups and volunteers to come together to create innovative solutions to the most critical issues people face, United Way leads the human service sector in change. In addition, we develop rigorous metrics to monitor results and instill continuous improvement in the strongest programs, while enabling collaboration and cooperation between similar programs. Finally, we efficiently mobilize the most resources to make the biggest impact. United Way provides with a way to give, advocate, and volunteer to change lives in our community.

The Community Impact Fund is divided into three categories: Youth Development receives 45% of the Fund, Access to Healthcare receives 30%, and 25% goes to Community Basics. These vision areas were determined by a needs assessment that is conducted every three years, so that United Way is always addressing the community’s most current needs.

In these extraordinary times, United Way helps people in many ways. We help people in need find the services that can address their problems through First Call for Help, 475-2255. Many of those who are in need today have never had to seek out help before and do not know what services are available to them. First Call for Help provides that assistance. United Way also funds programs that are crucial to families in crisis, including food pantries, medical assistance programs, and shelters.

United Way also realizes there is more to be done. That is why United Way is involved with the Homeless Council, Workforce Development Board, Education Coalition, and many other community networks working on plans to address these most pressing issues.

Funding decisions are made by community volunteers who spend 30 hours doing in-depth research on programs’ fiscal records, outcomes, and service numbers, ensuring that each dollar is being used to its maximum, for those in greatest need, and within the scope of United Way’s goal of self-sufficiency. If you are interested in volunteering for fund distribution, please call 422-8537.

Every charity has a fundraising cost associated with it (called an overhead rate). The United Way of Decatur & Mid Illinois overhead rate is around 16.87%, a rate that is lower than or comparable to other nonprofit organizations.

As a point of reference, here are the overhead rates of some other nonprofits*:
• American Cancer Society 21%
• Special Olympics 19%
• Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation 14%
• Doctors Without Borders 12%

*Source: www.GuideStar.org

United Way is able to maintain its low overhead for a variety of reasons: 1) the generosity of local businesses who donate goods and time, pro bono or at special rates and 2) staff is sensitive and committed to keeping costs low to maximize resources focused on community impact. Our low overhead allows us to invest more donor dollars into the community’s programs that need it most.