Welcome Letter

Annual Report 2023-2024

Sharon Sobol Jordan and Vanessa Whiting

THIS PAST YEAR WAS A TIME OF INCREDIBLE PROGRESS AND LEARNING AT OUR UNITED WAY.



We sharpened our focus on economic opportunity and success, investing nearly $25 million to launch promising solutions and scale what works to better serve hundreds of thousands of Greater Clevelanders.

Sharon Sobol Jordan and Vanessa Whiting

THIS PAST YEAR WAS A TIME OF INCREDIBLE PROGRESS AND LEARNING AT OUR UNITED WAY.



We sharpened our focus on economic opportunity and success, investing nearly $25 million to launch promising solutions and scale what works to better serve hundreds of thousands of Greater Clevelanders.

Highlights of 2023-2024 include:

  • Answered more than 193,000 calls for help to United Way 211, typically from families that are getting by but something unexpected throws them into a crisis that could be life-changing without the right support. 
  • Ensured round-the-clock coverage for the City of Cleveland’s 311 Call Center and other vital regional and state-wide helplines for utility assistance, emergency shelter, and problem gambling. 
  • Expanded access to effective safety net services for more than 40,000 clients served through our grantmaking partners at 18 community agencies, with 50% of funding directed to BIPOC-led organizations. 
  • Activated more than $500,000 in emergency funds to 1,000 families to manage unexpected major expenses, most led by working parents with school-age children who were able to stay in their homes and stay on track at work with this assistance.
  • Increased the availability of lead-safe rental housing for nearly 30,000 Cleveland families so far as a lead partner in the Lead Safe Cleveland Coalition. 
  • Provided safe, affordable housing for 40 parents who are college students and their children by helping to launch the Louise C. Stokes Scholar House, which is now fully occupied and operated by CHN Housing Partners. 
  • Expanded free legal representation by The Legal Aid Society for low-income families facing eviction through Right to Counsel – Cleveland. Last year alone, Legal Aid assisted over 4,500 Clevelanders in more than 1,200 eviction cases. The result? 81% of these families avoided an eviction or an involuntary move. 
  • Enabled access for nearly 2,000 family members and caregivers to safe learning areas for children to play and caregivers to share information about free resources at Cleveland and Cuyahoga County Public Library locations. 
  • Launched a two-year pilot planning phase for a promising community-led solution called Universal Basic Employment, a bold initiative aimed at eliminating poverty through a federal jobs guarantee, in partnership with social entrepreneur Devin Cotten and the City of Cleveland. 
  • Led three Community Conversations with panels of local leaders on timely topics of interest related to the social impact of utility debt, civic engagement with local government, and emerging community solutions for working people. 
  • Presented The Freakonomics of Cleveland, featuring renowned author and podcast host Stephen Dubner in conversation with Cleveland Mayor Justin Bibb, to provide a forum for national voices and local leaders to exchange ideas and spark new approaches to local problem-solving. 

These efforts are part of our broader strategy to move from charity to change – not only providing immediate relief but also removing barriers to economic opportunity and upward mobility

While we directly deliver United Way 211 services to Greater Clevelanders, our role with partners usually involves doing what it takes to launch new services and collective solutions, and staying involved to ensure their effectiveness until the job is done. This can mean identifying community needs and evidenced-based solutions, bringing key partners together for problem-solving, using insights from United Way 211 callers to guide decision-making, serving as fiscal sponsor for nascent community-led approaches, engaging donors, advocating for policy changes, and ensuring continuous improvement through performance and outcome evaluations. 

Looking forward, United Way 211 remains the cornerstone of our work to improve access and the effectiveness of the social safety net to help Greater Clevelanders get by. It’s a free, confidential helpline that connects people in crisis to navigators who work with callers to identify their needs, develop plans to meet those needs and link them to responsive services from our extensive resource database.  

Removing barriers to economic opportunity is the focus of our work to help Greater Clevelanders get ahead. Because we know that becoming a place where we all succeed is not just about individual effort, we are doing our part to address systemic barriers that hold so many of us back. This is why our United Way has been a leading voice on the Social Determinants of Work, eight drivers that most impact success at work. These are not just abstract concepts; they are real challenges that Greater Clevelanders face every day—childcare, job flexibility, transportation, sustained education, healthcare, home and community health, broadband access, and access to justice.  

We are not just identifying these barriers—we are actively working to dismantle them by partnering with government, businesses, and nonprofits to create a region where upward mobility is possible for all of us, including serving as a founding partner of the Economic Mobility Alliance Ohio.  

But none of this would be possible without your partnership, volunteerism, and generous support. We are so grateful for your unwavering commitment to our United Way. Together, we are making a significant impact by tackling problems at their roots and setting new standards to improve lives and create a region where every Greater Clevelander can succeed.  

With deepest thanks,

Sharon Sobol Jordan

President and CEO

Vanessa Whiting

United Way Board Chair

Read the 2023-2024 report by section

Community Investment

Resource Development

Be the Solution

By the Numbers

Community Investment

Be the Solution

Resource Development

By the Numbers

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