About Us 

United Way believes in making our four-county community stronger. By working together on critical issues, we can move forward together to ensure everyone has a safe place to live, work, and play.
 

We know that our community’s issues are broad and vast; they’re an enormous challenge for one single nonprofit to address. We also know many of these issues are interrelated–issues like health concerns, educational road blocks, and financial struggles. United Way elevates these issues and calls everyone in our four-county region to action.
 

United Way fights...
 

...for literacy. Since 2015, the My Very Own Library and Build My Bookshelf programs have invested nearly $2 million combined to give more than 356,000 books to thousands of students in the region. In addition, United Way’s purchase of these books has generated close to $900,000 in Scholastic Dollars that the 18 participating schools can use to buy even more learning materials and technology. 
 

...for families to have a safe and stable home. In 2020, nearly 5,600 families accessed services such as rent assistance, rapid rehousing, legal representation in eviction court, and more.
 

...for the safety of people experiencing intimate partner violence. Since 2009, an average of 9,500 people were served per year in intimate partner violence prevention programs with 96% gaining knowledge about safety planning and their rights and options in the legal system.
 

...for the health and safety of our nonprofits and the people they serve. In response to COVID-19, United Way supplied over 730 gallons of hand sanitizer, over 197,000 personal protective equipment items, over 27,500 personal hygiene products, over 13,700 food items, over 46,400 food pantry supplies (plates, forks, napkins, utensils), nearly 84,500 diapers, and over $158,000 in gift cards to help pay for necessities.
 

United Way convenes resources, volunteers, experts, and other service providers for short-term relief and long-term success.
 

We are an independently-governed 501(c)3 nonprofit organization connected to a network of more than 1,400 local United Ways through United Way Worldwide. We have our own board of directors and focus our work on local solutions for local problems. Of every dollar raised, 90¢ is invested into community problem solving. View our recent financial forms and reports.
 

Since our start in 1909, we have invested over $1 billion to solve our community’s most serious problems. We impact people in Milwaukee, Ozaukee, Washington and Waukesha Counties.
 

Our Mission

United Way of Greater Milwaukee & Waukesha County changes lives and improves our community by mobilizing people and resources to drive strategic impact in health, education, and financial stability.
 

Our Vision

United Way of Greater Milwaukee & Waukesha County aspires to accomplish the following:
 

• Produce significant and measurable results in the areas of Health, Education, and Financial Stability.
• Convene diverse teams of community members to take collaborative action on priority issues.
• Recruit and retain talent to drive cross-sector initiatives and integrated, community-focused work.
• Sustain its financial stability and efficient operations.
• Be recognized as a leader in effecting long-term societal change.
• Attain robust revenue growth as donors’ charity of choice.

Diversity & Inclusion Value Statement

We believe diversity goes beyond visible differences and affirms the essence of all individuals including the realities, background, experiences, skills and perspectives that make each person who they are.  Diversity and inclusion are at the heart of what it means to Live United.
 

Anti-Racism Statement

United Way of Greater Milwaukee and Waukesha County unequivocally denounces racism and ethnic discrimination in all its forms because it undermines the well-being and vitality of our communities and is in direct opposition to what it means to Live United. We recognize that structural racism, ethnic discrimination, and other forms of oppression have contributed to racial and ethnic disparities that have existed in the past and persist in the present, and that we have an opportunity and responsibility to change these systems. We acknowledge those inequities are the result of policies and practices that work to marginalize entire populations of people.
 

United Way of Greater Milwaukee & Waukesha County is committed to working with our community to end these inequalities. To accomplish this, we know we must engage our entire community, especially those whose voices have historically been marginalized, in support of the shared work for fortifying equity and empowerment. We will continue to work with public and private partners to co-create solutions that ensure everyone has the resources, support, opportunities, and networks they need to thrive. We commit to leveraging our assets to create more equitable communities.
 

Our Values

• We believe we all have an obligation for the care and well-being of the Greater Milwaukee & Waukesha County community.
• We believe in maximizing community impact by pooling individual contributions.
• We believe in working in concert with local agency partners to make a critical difference in our community.
• We believe maximizing the satisfaction of our customers (donors) is our most important concern as a means of warranting their continued loyalty.
• We believe we are accountable to our community and must maintain stellar financials and secure systems that ensure the confidentiality of donor information.
• We believe excellence is the standard for all we do (internally and externally), achieved by encouraging and nourishing:
  • Respect for each other and the individuals we serve
  • Integrity in every action we take
  • Ethical behavior in all we do
  • Honest, open communications
  • Prudent risk-taking
  • Cooperation and teamwork
  • Creativity and innovation
  • Ownership of our actions
• We believe the ultimate measure of our success is our ability to provide superior value to our partners and customers, balancing near-term and long-term objectives, and growth to achieve measured impact and overall community improvement.