Funding Applications

Partner Agency Funding

United Way researches and learns about the critical social issues in our community, working collaboratively and collectively with agencies, donors, volunteers, and partners.

Based on this community knowledge, United Way strategically invests in local programs and initiatives that focus on underlying causes to create lasting change, addressing the root causes of issues that impact people in our region.

Additionally, United Way funds programs that support immediate needs, responding to local issues. More than ever, the pandemic has highlighted the importance of prioritizing programs that support the most vulnerable.

The Community Investment Strategy provides a framework for volunteers and the United Way Board of Directors, helping them with decisions on investment in programs and initiatives to have the maximum impact. It also provides agencies with clarity about the strategy and guidelines that are used to evaluate and assess all funding applications.

Context:
Through the pandemic, United Way increased funding and invested in programs that were provided by a network of community agencies. These investments were made possible through enhanced fundraising as well as partnerships with governments and other key decision makers.

The accelerated drug poisoning crisis, increase in homelessness, food insecurity, addictions, and mental health challenges, have all contributed to the need for targeted and enhanced funding to address these complex issues. Agencies working with us on these priority issues have communicated that they need a longer-term commitment to retain staff, and that continuity is important to build trust in the people using their programs. They have also advised us that the complex behaviours they are witnessing require more investments than the partner agency program funding limits allow.

As the United Way continues to focus on serving the most vulnerable, a natural progression is adding a funding stream to focus in and provide investments in longer-term solutions to systemic issues that were identified during the pandemic and are being addressed collaboratively in the community. These investments put funding where it is needed the most and where it can have maximum impact – now and into the future.

Much of the fund distribution process is not changing – it will continue to be volunteer-led, using a fair, objective process, and we will continue to fund programs, allowing for some administrative overhead to offset agency operations. The shift will be in the new funding streams for partner agencies, providing multi-year funding through Anchor funding and continuing annual funding through streamlined Program funding.