Getting Results Together
Our United Way has made an intentional decision to focus on tackling not only the symptoms, but also the root causes of disparities and poverty. For us, this means providing connections to essential services that effectively address very personal, immediate needs and making strategic investments in solutions aimed at the structural and systemic problems causing these needs and creating these disparities in the first place.
I am truly proud of how far we have come. Despite an unprecedented global pandemic and significant leadership transition at our United Way, we have stayed the course. We have made steady progress by working closely together and remaining focused on our “North Stars” – the people who need our help the most throughout our community.
The results speak for themselves. In this report, you will learn more about how we are helping our community move toward greater economic equity and mobility through:
United Way 211, which continues to be a beacon of hope for many in our community, fielding 185,946 calls for help this past fiscal year alone. We also expanded our community partnerships to include The City of Cleveland’s 311 Call Center and the Greater Cleveland Food Bank’s new Community Resource Center, while continuing to analyze our 211 data to drive decision-making.
Our new investment strategy, launched in 2022, which provides significant grants and resources to select nonprofit organizations, allowing them to better serve the community through programs aligned with our three community strategies:
Economic Mobility, Housing Stability, and Health Pathways. I’m pleased to share that, through the first 18 months of the current cycle, our 16 partner agencies served nearly 60,000 clients.
Our Social Determinants of Work Initiative, which moved from the exploration to action phase over this past year. This cross-sector collaborative approach strategically advances access and success at work by aiming at the root causes of the problem in three ways – mitigating barriers faced by workers, promoting employer practices that lead to good jobs, and advocating for policy changes that address systemic barriers to upward economic mobility.
Thank you for supporting our United Way by ensuring we have the focus and resources necessary to continue this good work. In FY23, we raised more than $30.8 million to support our community investments and saw significant growth in Foundation and Corporate Additional Support.
It has been an honor to serve as United Way’s Board Chair for the past five years, working alongside so many of you. I greatly appreciate the leadership and partnership of Vanessa Whiting, who succeeds me in this important role. Most of all, I look forward to continuing to work with Vanessa, President & CEO Sharon Sobol Jordan, our board, professional staff, and many valued partners to make positive community change happen.
Paul J. Dolan
Chairman & Chief Executive Officer
Cleveland Guardians
Making Change Happen
Over the past year, I have enjoyed connecting directly with so many of you. I greatly appreciate all that you have shared with me – your insights, concerns, questions, and hopes for the future. I feel real energy, focus, and alignment among us to make change happen, particularly to close significant gaps in income, wealth, and opportunity in our community.
Our United Way has been here for people in crisis for more than a century, tapping into our collective ability to provide immediate relief for basic human needs. Today, we are also working across sectors, systems, and neighborhoods to prevent and eliminate the root causes of these needs and disparities in the first place.
We are aiming to achieve measurable change in economic equity and upward mobility in our community. We are focused on doing our part alongside so many of you in three ways – Systems, Solutions, Success:
Getting at the root of the problem. Specifically, the practices and policies that promote or prevent upward mobility in income, wealth, and influence. For example, our Social Determinants of Work Initiative is a platform for interrogating and re-imagining eight key systems that have the greatest influence on our success at work.
Zeroing in on the problems that no one organization can solve alone. For example, we are a founding partner of Lead Safe Cleveland, a cross-sector coalition with a fully funded strategy to ensure that children are safe from lead poisoning in their own homes.
Zeroing in on the problems that no one organization can solve alone. For example, we are a founding partner of Lead Safe Cleveland, a cross-sector coalition with a fully funded strategy to ensure that children are safe from lead poisoning in their own homes.
Making community change happen together. By investing in our data analytics capacity, we are well-positioned to produce actionable insights, measure impact, and better understand our progress along the way. We are listening intently and following the data to get results in ways that are grounded in the real needs, aspirations, and ideas coming from the communities we serve.
These three words – Systems, Solutions, Success – are represented throughout our 2022-2023 Annual Report. The results we share are just the beginning of the type of impact we aspire to make with our renewed focus. We know that aiming for economic equity and mobility is ambitious, but it is also imperative and possible by working together.
On behalf of Board Chair Vanessa Whiting and our entire Board of Directors, I want to express our enormous gratitude to Paul Dolan for his more than 20 years of service on our Board, including as our Board Chair over the past five years. We are grateful for his leadership, wisdom, and tireless support of our United Way and the people we serve. Going forward, we are delighted to have Paul’s continued partnership and guidance as our Immediate Past Chair and board director.
There is great progress and momentum to build upon at our United Way and throughout our region. We are grateful for your partnership and look forward to continuing our work together.
Thank you,
Sharon Sobol Jordan
President & Chief Executive Officer
United Way of Greater Cleveland
Grantee Partners
In 2022, United Way of Greater Cleveland initiated a new investment strategy to provide significant grants and resources to select organizations, allowing them to serve the community through programs aligned with three community strategies: Economic Mobility, Housing Stability, and Health Pathways.
60,075 clients were served by our partner agencies through the first 18 months of the current cycle.
By providing stable funding over a two-year period, our 16 partner agencies were able to focus their efforts on programs that make an impact in the community. Through the first 18 months of the current cycle, our partner agencies served almost 60,000 clients, assisting them in the following areas.
Economic Mobility
United Way funding helped place 980 individuals in new jobs.
83.4% of people participating in United Way workforce programs retain their job for at least 90 days.
2,359 early childhood providers equipped with professional development, training support, and/or technical assistance.
1,586 adults participated in workforce training.
1,159 adults received soft skills training.
394 seniors participated in technology training.
Housing Stability
United Way funds helped to connect families with 10,321 days of emergency shelter.
Health Pathways
United Way’s funded agencies served 527,971 meals to help increase food security for 24,391 individuals.
Thank you to our network of nonprofit, public, and private sector partners for their commitment to making the investments necessary to partner on targeted initiatives that make the most meaningful impact on economic mobility in Greater Cleveland.
GRANTEE PARTNERS
ASIA (Asian Services in Action)
Doors of Hope (Geauga)
Family & Community Services (Geauga)
FrontLine Service
Joseph and Mary’s Home
Journey Center for Safety & Healing
Lake-Geauga Recovery Centers (Geauga)
Lexington-Bell Community Center
May Dugan Center
Ravenwood Health (Geauga)
Spanish American Committee
Starting Point
Thea Bowman Center
Towards Employment
Youth Opportunities Unlimited
YWCA of Greater Cleveland
We will announce our new group
of partner agencies in December.
Center for Excellence in Social Services
United Way of Greater Cleveland’s Center for Excellence in Social Services provides educational programming and promotes best practices across the nonprofit community for both our grantee partners and nonprofit professionals.
Our grantee partners can access a cohort-based curriculum designed to allow them to develop their skills, with topics focusing on Building Evaluation Capacity; Board and Leadership Development; Building a Culture of RDEI; and other relevant areas critical to their continued growth and success.
Among the four tracks available to grantee partners is Lifting Up Your Leaders of Color, which is designed to create a psychological safe space for BIPOC leaders of color to deepen their connections and foster collaboration across BIPOC communities.
The program featured 13 group sessions facilitated in partnership with The Equius Group focusing on topics ranging from Equity Centered Communication and Decision Making to Leading in Spaces with Titled Power Relationships, Standing on the Shoulders of Giants, and Leading Across Differences.
The first cohort graduated in November and featured 20 participants representing 10 of our current Greater Cleveland grantee partners.
We are currently working on building a curriculum for 2024 that will incorporate topics suggested by a variety of community agencies for the new cohort starting in January.
Economic Mobility
Earlier this year we released Greater Cleveland’s Community Action Plan for Advancing Access to Work, which lays out a bold vision for improving access to living-wage work for everyone in Greater Cleveland. We created the plan after more than a year of conversations with community members who provided diverse perspectives on the various barriers to work. In March, we hosted 200 business and community leaders for a Social Determinants of Work Symposium that explored employer-driven solutions to address those barriers.
$25M of additional funding was leveraged for Workforce Connect
for future outcomes and system changes.
That led to the formation of five long-term strategies for enacting change:
- Harness the power of collective impact by creating the Social Determinants of Work Coalition.
- Focus programmatic efforts on mitigating select, intersecting determinants.
- Empower employers to implement practices and policies that enable workers to achieve economic mobility.
- Drive systems-level change by promoting public policy that recognizes the intersectionality of the determinants.
- Commit to action, partnership, and transparency.
Social Determinants of Work: In 2024, the Social Determinants of Work Coalition will begin implementing and overseeing the Action Plan steps, testing the Employer Toolkit with a group of regional employers, and drafting a public policy agenda to address the most significant barriers to work in our region.
The Community Action Plan for Advancing Access to Work was built on the Social Determinants of Work Initiative – which calls on organizations across Greater Cleveland to strategically advance access to work by mitigating barriers faced by workers, promoting employer practices that lead to good jobs, and advocating for policy changes that address systemic barriers.
WE HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY AND AN OBLIGATION TO COME TOGETHER—PRIVATE, PUBLIC, AND NONPROFIT ORGANIZATIONS ALIKE—TO ENSURE THAT EVERY PERSON IN GREATER CLEVELAND HAS THEIR HOPE OF SECURING A GOOD, LIVING-WAGE JOB WITH A PATH FOR GROWTH RESTORED. THIS BOLD YET ATTAINABLE PLAN, CENTERED ON THE FIVE KEY STRATEGIES, WILL GUIDE US AND KEEP US ACCOUNTABLE AS WE WORK TOGETHER TO ENSURE THAT EVERYONE IN GREATER CLEVELAND HAS THE OPPORTUNITY TO ATTAIN AND SUSTAIN ECONOMIC MOBILITY.
Other highlights from the past year include:
FamilySpace: A neighborhood-based hub of programming and networking for families with young children, FamilySpace is a partnership with Cuyahoga County’s Invest in Children, Cuyahoga County Public Library, Cleveland Public Library, and Family Connections. Available at the Garfield Heights Public Library, South-Euclid Lyndhurst Public Library, Carnegie West-Cleveland Public Library, and Hough-Cleveland Public Library, the program offers a safe and supportive environment for community members to spend time with other families with young children and interact with staff from their communities. Since its launch in the fall of 2022, almost 450 adults and 675 children have attended FamilySpace sessions. The program recently won a National Achievement Award for effective and supportive programming for children and families from the National Association of Counties.
Workforce Connect: The Cuyahoga County Workforce Funders Group (aka Workforce Connect) is a public, private, philanthropic partnership of funders driving systems change in workforce development that boosts workers’ access to family-sustaining careers, increases businesses’ access to the talent they need, and supports equitable outcomes, especially by race. The group is composed of representatives from United Way of Greater Cleveland, The City of Cleveland, Cuyahoga County, Ohio Mean Jobs, TeamNEO, The Cleveland Foundation, The George Gund Foundation, Deaconess Foundation, The Fund for Our Economic Future, and Huntington Bank.
Workforce Connect funds three sector partnerships – manufacturing, IT, and healthcare – and employs three strategies to enhance economic mobility: training new talent, retraining existing employees for new roles, and tapping historically excluded populations. The program has leveraged more than $25 million in additional funding for future outcomes and additional systems changes in the following sectors: built environment, hospitality, early childhood education, and increasing diversity in the workforce development leadership pipeline.
FAMILY SPACE
– BY THE NUMBERS
WORKFORCE CONNECT
– BY THE NUMBERS
450 adults have attended FamilySpace sessions since its launch in the fall of 2022.
675 children have attended FamilySpace sessions since its launch in the fall of 2022.
1,700 workers have been connected
with in-demand careers.
37% of those workers are female.
72% of those workers identified as Black.
Health Pathways
Many chronic health conditions are rooted in social inequities that are felt the most by Greater Cleveland’s low-income residents and communities of color. Our Health Pathways strategy addresses chronic health conditions and improves health outcomes by targeting the medical and social drivers of health.
$717,513 of FEMA funding was provided to 21 organizations through the Cuyahoga County Emergency Food and Shelter Program.
500 chronically ill adults have benefited from medically tailored home-delivered meals.
Highlights from the past fiscal year include:
- Partnering on the Ohio Health Improvement Zones project, which powers community needs assessments in the Buckeye-Shaker, Buckeye-Woodhill, Central, and Kinsman neighborhoods of Cleveland. Residents were hired and trained to conduct surveys in each community, and the findings were compared with Cuyahoga County’s 2022 community health needs assessment to identify priorities. We joined our partners to explore community perspectives through resident and community-based organization listening sessions to better understand interactions and perceptions of health-related social needs screening and social service referral and navigation. As we enter the next phase, we are working to identify action steps to address the needs, particularly through enhanced services from United Way 211.
- Administering the $1.2 million Cuyahoga County Emergency Food Contract, using Cuyahoga County Health and Human Services levy dollars in partnership with the Greater Cleveland Food Bank and Hunger Network to provide funding for food at almost 40 food pantries. In 2023, our advocacy efforts resulted in five percent of the funds allocated to supplies and maintenance at the food pantries, which in turn helps the pantries operate more effectively.
- Leading the effort for Cuyahoga County’s Emergency Food and Shelter Program to allocate $717,531 in Federal Emergency Management Agency funding to 21 organizations providing served meals, food pantries, mass shelter, rent/mortgage assistance, and utility assistance.
- Leading the effort for the Ohio State Set-Aside Committee to allocate $222,527 in FEMA funding to the 23 Ohio counties that did not receive direct Emergency Food and Shelter Program support based on highest need as determined by poverty and unemployment data.
- Pioneering the Collaborative Investments + Health program to bring together a coalition of healthcare partners (commonly known as the Collaborative Approach to Public Goods Investment or CAPGI). Investors pool resources to support social services that improve health and reduce healthcare costs. As part of the program, more than 500 chronically ill adults have benefited from medically tailored home-delivered meals from the Benjamin Rose Institute on Aging.
Ohio Health Improvement
Zone Partners
Ohio Department of Health | Burten, Bell, Carr, Community Development, Inc., | Better Health Partnership | Case Western Reserve University’s Mary Ann Swetland Center for Environmental Health | Old Brooklyn, Community Development
Housing Stability
Living with the threat of eviction or being unhoused can lead to adverse health and educational outcomes and decrease the likelihood of escaping systemic and generational poverty. This is especially true in Cuyahoga County, where more than 20 percent of households are living with unaffordable housing costs and more than 90,000 households spend more than half their income on housing costs.
22,244 lead-safe certificates have been
issued by the City of Cleveland as part
of the Lead Safe Cleveland Coalition.
90% success rate of Right to Counsel-Cleveland in preventing eviction or a voluntary move.
Our Housing Stability strategy focuses on creating a foundation to decrease homelessness and ensure that housing is safe, stable, and secure. We are achieving this through a variety of community-based partnerships, including:
- Louis C. Stokes Scholar House: A 40-unit building within walking distance of Cleveland State University and Cuyahoga Community College, residents will have access to rental support from Cuyahoga Metropolitan Housing Authority, high-quality childcare from Step Forward, academic support for first-generation college students from Cleveland State and Tri-C, and a variety of wrap-around services from United Way and CHN Housing Partners. The first families were scheduled to move in by the end of the year.
- Lead Safe Cleveland Coalition: Since 2019, we have been a key partner in the Lead Safe Cleveland Coalition, which addresses the economic and social cost of lead exposure in children. Cuyahoga County makes up 41 percent of the children in Ohio with elevated lead levels, which can cause irreversible damage to both the brain and nervous system. Since its inception, we have been able to provide lead safety education, workforce development training, and financial and construction management assistance to Cleveland landlords and homeowners to help make homes lead-safe. Since the beginning of the program, 22,244 lead-safe certificates have been approved as part of the coalition.
- Right to Counsel-Cleveland: A partnership between United Way, The Legal Aid Society of Cleveland, and CHN Housing Partners, Right to Counsel provides free legal representation and rental assistance to tenants whose income is at or below the federal poverty guideline and who have at least one child in the household. Since launching in 2020, Legal Aid has represented 79 percent of eligible households, with a success rate of 90 percent in preventing eviction or a voluntary move, 91 percent in securing time to move, 79 percent in securing rent assistance, 94 percent in mitigating damages, and 94 percent in securing monetary relief.
- Siemer Family Stability Initiative: For more than a decade, we have partnered with CHN Housing Partners on the Siemer Family Stability Initiative, which provides money for rent or mortgage payments, utility bills, or property taxes. Between July 1, 2022, and June 30, 2023, nearly 74 households, representing 74 families and 178 dependents, benefited from housing stability programs, and 98 percent of those families were able to maintain stable housing in 2022.
Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) residents in Cuyahoga County are two times more likely to rent than own their homes, compared to White residents. They are also more likely to live with housing cost burdens, inadequate housing, homelessness, eviction, high lead exposure risk, and difficulties accessing financing for mortgages or home repairs.
Answering the Call for Help
United Way 211 serves as a vital connection to community resources for our neighbors in Cuyahoga, Darke, Geauga, Ross, and Belmont counties. Our social service professionals have extensive Community Resource Navigation training, which allows them to break down complex situations and help callers find the resources they need 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year.
135,075 individuals were served by 211 navigators across the five counties of Cuyahoga, Geauga, Belmont, Darke and Ross.
$25.1M saved through MedRefer program since its inception in 2008.
Expanding Community Partnerships:
In the past year, 211 continued to expand its community partnerships to include:
Support for Cleveland’s 311 Call Center: The City of Cleveland selected United Way of Greater Cleveland to support the City’s 311 call center as the answering service outside of normal business hours as well as on weekends, holidays, and during surge periods. Since April, our 211 team has responded to more than 2,801 contacts for assistance.
Utility assistance with CHN and Step Forward: 211 is partnering with CHN Housing Partners and Step Forward to streamline the screening process and access to utility expense assistance programs. The partnership creates a single point of contact to help all Cuyahoga County residents learn about available electric, gas, and water service assistance programs and improves the access and overall customer experience for anyone in immediate need of assistance with the cost of utilities.
Greater Cleveland Food Bank Community Resource Center: United Way 211 is one of 14 nonprofit organizations that will be at the Greater Cleveland Food Bank’s new Community Resource Center on South Waterloo Road, which aims to address the root causes of food insecurity. A 211 specialist will be on-site full-time, providing support and navigation services.
Using Data to Drive Decision-Making: In addition to providing immediate assistance, data from 211 contacts show a real-time snapshot of the needs in the Greater Cleveland community which, over time, reveals trends to inform research and program decision-making.
We intend to analyze and share our 211 data more broadly as it can yield insights into where the needs are in the community and what might be done to help the community thrive.
In early 2024, we are implementing a feedback loop to assess whether callers followed up on the referral they received and understand whether it met their expressed need.
This past fiscal year, our 211 team fielded 185,946 calls and connected 151,434 clients with local experts who helped to secure food, housing, and utility assistance; reduce prescription costs; support veterans assistance, and more.
7,386 referrals were made by 211 navigators
to the City of Cleveland for city services.
97% of 211 callers believe staff
are polite and professional.
2,801 Cleveland residents
who have called the 311 line.
Watch the video below to hear about how our 211 Navigators help the community.
Neighbors Helping Neighbors
United Way Services of Geauga County continues to make a difference in the lives of our residents – hardworking, caring individuals who need help navigating difficult circumstances.
855 residents were helped by the Resource
Coordinator through the Bridges@Work program.
350 meals were distributed to disabled Geauga County residents
under the age of 60 through a Geauga Hunger Task Force grant.
50,000+ books have been donated to the community
since 2016 through United Way Women United.
This past fiscal year, we served more than 1,000 residents through a variety of programs and partnerships, including:
The Aging & Disability Resource Center, supported by a grant from the Western Reserve Area on Aging, works to alleviate the frustrations many older adults, people with disabilities, and family members experience when trying to learn about and access available services. This past year, the center helped 813 residents deal with issues related to benefit enrollment, information and referral services, and counseling.
In addition, a Geauga Hunger Task Force grant allowed the Aging & Disability Resource Center to deliver almost 350 meals to disabled Geauga County residents under the age of 60, while funding from the Salvation Army helped provide emergency financial assistance to almost 160 residents to cover needs such as rent, fuel oil, and electricity bills.
The Bridges@Work program, which assists Geauga County employees in coping with challenges that impact their productivity at work, continues to be offered at no cost to employees at partner locations. This past year our Resource Coordinator assisted 855 residents with issues ranging from a financial emergency to childcare, housing, transportation, eldercare, and more.
Additionally, 146 residents were issued a $1,000 emergency loan to cover an unexpected cost. The loan program not only helps the recipient in the short term but also promotes savings, builds credit, and limits the use of predatory lenders. We partner with Catholic Charities, Hebrew Free Loan Association, and Geauga Growth Partnership to run the Bridges@Work program.
On June 23, United Way Services of Geauga County hosted its annual Day of Action, which provides volunteers an opportunity to be a part of solutions that make a difference. Nearly 70 volunteers representing more than 11 companies provided landscaping and beautification assistance on projects at two Geauga Metropolitan Housing Authority properties. Sponsorship of this event increased by 80 percent thanks to event partners FirstEnergy Foundation, FirstLight Home Care, Thistle House, Great Lakes Cheese, Kokosing Materials Ltd., Geauga Metropolitan Housing Authority, Maverick, Ten10Design, and Hauser Services, LLC.
United Way Women United is a volunteer group that promotes literacy throughout Geauga County. This summer the group surpassed 50,000 books donated to the community since 2016.
Real-time data from United Way 211 indicate the community’s top needs are housing/shelter, utility assistance, and food insecurity, and we continue to support our neighbors in Geauga County by addressing these needs.
Real-time data from United Way 211 indicate the community’s top needs are housing/shelter, utility assistance, and food insecurity, and we continue to support our neighbors in Geauga County by addressing these needs.
Watch the video below to view a success story from our Bridges@Work program.
Creating a Vital and Equitable Region
United Way of Greater Cleveland’s commitment to mitigating poverty continues to focus on those in our community who are disproportionally impacted by systemic racism. We have taken an inside-out approach to the issue to ensure that our internal systems and processes are seen through the lens of Race, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (RDEI) within five pillars: culture and commitment; career; consistency and sustainability; communications; and community. Utilizing this holistic lens allows our team to address the needs of those impacted most and remove the barriers that impede them from participating in economic mobility, access to quality healthcare, and affordable housing.
THE FIVE PILLARS OF RDEI
1. Culture and Commitment
2. Career
3. Consistency and sustainability
4. Communications
5. Community
Through collaborations with our partners, donors, and volunteers who share our RDEI vision,
we continue to work on creating a vital, equitable region where everyone feels welcome.
We have also become more intentional about engaging with people of color and LGBTQIA+ community members in public spaces. We participated in numerous events in Cleveland, including the Pride in the CLE parade, Juneteenth, the Puerto Rican EXPO, and One World Day. We look forward to expanding our outreach to discover new ways to engage with every member of the community.
Our RDEI lens is also utilized in our grantmaking and community partnerships through our Community Hub for Basic Needs as we consider grant requests; and in our Center for Excellence in Social Services, which provides educational programming and promotes best practices for both our grantee partners and nonprofit professionals.
Grantee partners can access a cohort-based curriculum designed to allow them to develop their skills, with topics focusing on Building Evaluation Capacity; Board and Leadership Development; Building a Culture of RDEI; and Lifting Up Your Leaders of Color. Our Center for Excellence – LIVE has also offered programming in the past on RDEI-focused topics, including a course on Leading Equity: Continuing the Conversation around RDEI.
Through collaborations with our partners, donors, and volunteers who share our RDEI vision, we continue to work on creating a vital, equitable region where everyone feels welcome.
Advocating for Those in Need
To address the long-term systemic issues that have plagued our community, United Way engages with legislators and administrators on legislation, budgetary recommendations, and regulations to address the benefits cliff; enhance the 211 program; and garner support for initiatives that advance economic development, income generation, and wealth building.
50+ advocates and executives who met with state legislators seeking support for 211 Help Centers.
1,000 community members attended
the Community Conversations series in 2023
2,801 callers to Cleveland’s 311 line
were assisted by our 211 Navigators.
We do this in a variety of ways, including:
State Advocacy: We led a coalition of all fourteen 211 operators in Ohio and several Ohio United Ways to advocate for $2 million in annual state funding for 211 Help Centers. More than 50 advocates and executives met with 60 legislators in the Ohio House and Senate on March 23, 2023, including members in key leadership positions such as Senate Finance Chair Matt Dolan and Senate President Matt Huffman. United Way of Greater Cleveland President and CEO Sharon Sobol Jordan provided testimony to members of the Ohio House Finance Subcommittee on Health and Human Services about this request.
Federal Advocacy: Sonali Wilson, Chair of our Public Policy and Advocacy Committee, and Maryam Kiefer, Director of Public Policy, attended United Way Worldwide’s Hill Day in Washington, D.C., on June 22, 2023. They were joined by several Ohio United Ways and met with the Northeast Ohio congressional delegation to advocate for the Human-Services Emergency Logistics Program (HELP) Act, which would allocate federal funds totaling $550 million to 211 help and 988 suicide crisis lines across the country.
Local Advocacy: In April 2023, The City of Cleveland selected United Way of Greater Cleveland to support the City’s 311 call center as the answering service outside of normal business hours. That partnership grew out of our work to support Mayor Justin M. Bibb’s initiatives to improve government performance. To date, our 211 team has responded to more than 2,801 contacts for assistance.
Executive Engagement: We increased our engagement with government agencies and administrators at the local, state, and federal levels about advancing systems-level change. A key area of these discussions focuses on regulations around the benefits cliff, which is when an individual loses their public benefits due to an increase in salaries or wages, but they are left with fewer funds overall as their salary does not cover the lost benefits. These policies are essential to address as they prevent individuals from advancing in their careers and can be resolved by changing regulations around public benefits and educating employers about the benefits cliff.
Community Conversations: We hosted four virtual Community Conversations, which drew a total attendance of almost 1,000 community members. This year’s series focused on the end of pandemic-era enhanced food assistance; the release of our Community Needs Assessment; accessing utility assistance and impacts on health; and navigating city, county, and state governments and communicating with local government officials. The series continues in 2024 with topics that focus on new, innovative, and emerging policies and practices both locally and nationally that address economic development, income generation, and wealth building.
Strengthening our position in the community
For more than a century, United Way of Greater Cleveland has served residents by tapping into our collective ability to provide immediate crisis relief for basic human needs. Simultaneously, we recognize that we must work across sectors to develop effective solutions that eliminate the root causes that allow economic crises to occur.
550 companies and organizations continue to provide
more than half of United Way’s annual revenue.
$11.3M was raised this past fiscal year by employees through the workplace campaign with another $500,000 raised through special events.
$32.3M was raised by strategically diversifying revenue streams
that tapped into the collective power of corporations, foundations,
and individuals
Highlights of the past fiscal year include:
Maintaining a Robust Workplace Campaign: The workplace campaign, supported by tens of thousands of Greater Clevelanders working in more than 550 companies and organizations, continues to provide more than half of United Way’s annual revenue. Led by KeyBank and Eaton, our partners for more than 100 years, the workplace campaign mobilizes the caring power of our community. This past fiscal year, employees gave more than $11.3 million, with another $500,000 raised through special events. Our partners, led by PNC, also provided more than $4.6 million in corporate support.
Strengthening Foundation Relations: A fully staffed foundation relations team raised $1.6 million this past fiscal year, including The George Gund Foundation’s significant investment in the Social Determinants of Work Initiative. Additionally, the team has pursued national foundations and worked to secure increased federal and state funding.
Prioritizing the Community Campaign: We continue to focus on the strategic growth of the community campaign, comprised of individuals who donate outside of the workplace. Returning donors were engaged via strategic touchpoints including monthly e-newsletters, celebratory events, and regular impact updates. The acquisition of new donors was also prioritized by expanding existing efforts and participating in diverse community events, including Pride in The CLE and the Juneteenth Freedom Fest.
Engaging Our Leaders in Giving: We recognize our most generous donors through inclusion in one of three giving societies:
- The Red Feather Society ($50,000+ annually),
- The Philanthropist Society ($10,000 to $49,999 annually),
- Humanitarian Society ($1,000 to $9,999 annually).
The three giving societies have more than 2,100 members who collectively invested nearly $10 million in our community. Their leadership and advocacy offer foundational support to United Way each year.
Re-Introducing the Legacy Circle: Complimenting leadership giving is the Legacy Circle, United Way’s planned giving program. Planned gifts increase our financial stability and ability to weather economic crises to further our transformational mission. Since 2015, 54 Legacy Circle donors have stepped forward with planned gift commitments, directing $6.7 million to United Way. Critical components of the success of relaunching United Way’s planned giving effort are a Planned Giving Advisory Group comprised of board members, select donor outreach, periodical and radio ads, intimate prospects events, expert forums, and the biannual Legacy Circle news.
Growing the Cleveland Community Fund: Planned and legacy giving strengthen United Way’s financial position by helping to grow our endowment, the Cleveland Community Fund. At the end of 2022, United Way announced a transformative $10 million gift from the Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel Supporting Foundation to create the Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel Permanent Endowed Fund. This gift is the largest endowment gift in our history. United Way worked with the Mandel Foundation to establish a match challenge to raise an additional $10 million for the endowment within the next three years. Achieving the match provides United Way with a robust endowment generating roughly $800,000 of spendable investment income in its first full year.
By successfully diversifying revenue streams, we have strengthened our position in the community as a force for meaningful, long-lasting change. In addition to meeting the immediate needs of residents of Greater Cleveland, we are also prepared to endure future storms and promptly respond to new demands in the area we serve.
In support of this dual-pronged approach, we have worked tirelessly to strategically diversify our revenue streams, resulting in a successful $32.3 million campaign that built upon the inherent strength of our fundraising efforts to tap into the collective power of corporations, foundations, and individuals.
“Most nonprofit agencies do good work and always need financial support. Seeing and knowing the good that United Way does in supporting the community is why I continue to support this important agency.”
$3,109,915 CONTRIBUTED BY 31 Red Feather Society donors
$2,778,653 CONTRIBUTED BY 177 Philanthropist Society donors
$4,051,874 CONTRIBUTED BY 1,934 Humanitarian Society donors
$9,940,442 Total CONTRIBUTIONS PROVIDED FROM 2,142 donors
101% Above Goal for Workplace Campaigns
129% Above Goal for Additional Corporate Support
117% Above Goal for Estates and Trusts
By successfully diversifying revenue streams, we have strengthened our position in the community as a force for meaningful, long-lasting change. In addition to meeting the immediate needs of residents of Greater Cleveland, we are also prepared to endure future storms and promptly respond to new demands in the areas we serve.
Emerging Leaders
United Way of Greater Cleveland’s Emerging Leaders is a group of young professionals who further our mission through activities promoting professional development, networking, volunteer opportunities, and fundraising with Cleveland’s next generation of leaders.
$17,000 was raised during Fore CLE providing support to the Family Stability Initiative which assists families in Cuyahoga County.
$7,200 was raised by a total of 85 Civic Engagement 101 attendees and three sponsors in support of United Way.
The group celebrated several successes following a year of purposeful rebuilding that saw a membership increase on the advisory board, a reinvigorated social media presence, the creation of a bimonthly newsletter, and numerous networking events.
Highlights from the past year include:
Civic Engagement 101: A professional development event featuring a networking hour and panel discussion on the importance of civic engagement at every stage of one’s career, the event was open to professionals in all fields, and also offered two hours of Ohio CLE credit for lawyers. A total of 85 attendees joined in a lively discussion with panelists Becky Ruppert McMahon, Chief Executive Officer of the Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Association; Maryam Kiefer, Director of Public Policy at United Way of Greater Cleveland; and Colin Jackson, Vice President of Government Relations at Elsons International. The event raised more than $7,200 in support of United Way.
Fore CLE: The signature fundraiser for the Emerging Leaders saw impressive year-over-year growth. Event attendance increased by 300%, with 135 young professionals and community members joining together at Fore CLE for an evening of golf, networking, and raffles. In addition, fundraising more than doubled as Fore CLE raised nearly $17,000. Revenue from this event supported Family Stability Initiative, a program that provides rental, mortgage, and utility assistance for families in Cuyahoga County. This aligns with the Emerging Leaders’ mission to help break the cycle of poverty for families and children in our community.
Volunteering in the Community: In July, Emerging Leaders Cabinet members volunteered with United Way partner agency May Dugan Center. The volunteers assisted with May Dugan’s twice-a-month food distribution, including running the drive-thru, assisting with pre-scheduled walk-ups, and packing produce. This was an excellent opportunity for members to experience first-hand the essential programs supported by United Way. In addition to volunteering at the May Dugan Center, Cabinet members have also helped staff United Way booths at various community events throughout the summer.
Through their shared passion for advancing community solutions, our Emerging Leaders remain focused on engaging young professionals in our mission to provide economic equity and mobility for all of Northeast Ohio.
The group celebrated several successes following a year of purposeful rebuilding that saw a membership increase on the advisory board, a reinvigorated social media presence, the creation of a bimonthly newsletter, and numerous networking events.
Watch the video below to learn more about Cleveland’s Emerging Leaders.
2023
BREAKDOWN OF CONTRIBUTIONS:
$30.8M
CAMPAIGN CONTRIBUTIONS $15.8M
DESIGNATED CONTRIBUTIONS $5.7M
DIRECT PROGRAM RESOURCES $2.6M
RESTRICTED ENDOWMENT $5.3M
INVESTMENT ACTIVITY $1.4M
2023
BREAKDOWN OF EXPENDITURES:
$25.4M
$5.4M Agency grants through
the Community Hub for Basic
Needs and the Impact Institute
$5.7M Donor designations
for specific agencies
$7.8M Direct Services
to the Community
= $18.9M Total
Community Investments
$2.4M Management & General
$4.1M Community Awareness
These preliminary figures are subject to audit and represent
fiscal year 2023 from July 1, 2022, through June 30, 2023.
In addition to information shared here, full financial reports
and audit reports are available at unitedwaycleveland.org.
Managed Resources
United Way of Greater Cleveland actively collaborates with other non-profit organizations and public entities in developing solutions to root cause issues of poverty. Frequently, United Way acts as financial manager or administrator for these projects.
These funds are not recognized as revenue on United Way financial statements. The dollars are directly invested back into the community for programs that support United Way’s mission and for which United Way played a leadership role in securing.
Community Hub $1.2M
Cuyahoga County Emergency Food Program
Cleveland’s Vision for Education & Youth Services
Impact Institute $1.5M
Collaborative Investments + Health (capgi)
Siemer family stability initiative
Right to COuncil Cleveland
FamilySpace
2022-2023 BOARD of directors
LEADERSHIP
Paul J. Dolan
Chair
Marc S. Byrnes
Immediate Past Chair
Vanessa L. Whiting, Esq.
Chair-Elect and Chair, Community Investment Committee
James A. Ratner
Vice Chair
Andrew J. “Randy” Paine III
Treasurer and Chair, Finance Committee
Victor Ruiz
Secretary
Sonali B. Wilson, Esq.
Assistant Secretary and Chair, Public Policy and Advocacy Committee
Kim Meisel Pesses
Co-Chair, Community Investment Committee
Enid B. Rosenberg
Chair, Governance and Nominating Committee
Michele L. Connell
Co-Chair, Governance and Nominating Committee
George A. Sample
Chair, Human Resources Committee
Jeffrey D. Zimon
Co-Chair, Human Resources Committee
Dee Bagwell Haslam
Chair, Marketing and Brand Strategy Committee
Chris Adams
Co-Chair, Marketing and Brand Strategy Committee
Taras G. Szmagala Jr.
Co-Chair, Public Policy and Advocacy Committee
Patrick M. Pastore
Chair, Resource Development Committee
Monte Repasky
Co-Chair, Resource Development Committee
Keith J. Libman
Chair, Investment Sub-Committee
David C. Fulton Jr.
Chair, Planned Giving Sub-Committee
Edward J. Bell
Co-Chair, Planned Giving Sub-Committee
Sharon Sobol Jordan
President & CEO
United Way of Greater Cleveland
Harriet Applegate
Craig Arnold
Hon. Justin M. Bibb
Kip T. Bollin
Maynard A. “Mike” Buck
Matt Carroll
Nabil Chehade, MD
Kevin Clayton
Michele L. Connell
Jenice Contreras
John R. Corlett
Colleen Cotter
Karen R. Cronin
Patrick Gareau
Eric S. Gordon
André Gremillet
Jerome P. Grisko Jr.
Howard W. “Hoby” Hanna
David Heller
Elizabeth M. Hijar
Stephen Hoffman
Andrea M. Hogben
Joy D. Johnson
Ira C. Kaplan
Len Komoroski
Susan D. Krantz
Cecil J. Lipscomb
Kevin Martin
Bonnie C. Hughes McNee
Tomislav Mihaljevic, MD
Dr. David B. Miller
Shari Obrenski
Daniel O’Malley
Jeffery K. Patterson
Allison Taller Reich
Monte Repasky
Ronald B. Richard
Brian J. Richardson
Erika Rudin-Luria
Jasmin Santana
Beverly J. Schneider
Taras G. Szmagala Jr.
India L. Birdsong Terry
Felton Thomas Jr.
Daniel P. Walsh Jr.
Paul L. Wellener IV
Lorna Wisham
2023-2024 Board of Directors
LEADERSHIP
Vanessa L. Whiting, Esq.
Chair
Paul J. Dolan
Immediate Past Chair
James A. Ratner
Vice Chair
Andrew J. “Randy” Paine III
Treasurer and Chair, Finance Committee
Victor Ruiz
Secretary
Sonali B. Wilson, Esq.
Assistant Secretary and Chair, Public Policy and Advocacy Committee
Kim Meisel Pesses
Chair, Community Investment Committee
Jerome P. Grisko Jr.
Co-Chair, Community Investment Committee
Enid B. Rosenberg
Chair, Governance and Nominating Committee
Michele L. Connell
Co-Chair, Governance and Nominating Committee
Jeffrey D. Zimon
Chair, Human Resources Committee
Chris Adams
Chair, Marketing and Brand Strategy Committee
Taras G. Szmagala Jr.
Co-Chair, Public Policy and Advocacy Committee
Patrick M. Pastore
Chair, Resource Development Committee
Monte Repasky
Co-Chair, Resource Development Committee
Kevin Clayton
Co-Chair, Strategic Planning Committee
David Heller
Co-Chair, Strategic Planning Committee
Ira C. Kaplan
Co-Chair, Strategic Planning Committee
Keith J. Libman
Chair, Investment Sub-Committee
David C. Fulton Jr.
Chair, Planned Giving Sub-Committee
Edward J. Bell
Co-Chair, Planned Giving Sub-Committee
Sharon Sobol Jordan
President & CEO
United Way of Greater Cleveland
Harriet Applegate
Craig Arnold
Dr. Michael A. Baston
Hon. Justin M. Bibb
Kip T. Bollin
Maynard A. “Mike” Buck
Matt Carroll
Nabil Chehade, MD
Jenice Contreras
John R. Corlett
Colleen Cotter
Patrick Gareau
André Gremillet
Howard W. “Hoby” Hanna
Dee Bagwell Haslam
Elizabeth M. Hijar
Stephen Hoffman
Andrea M. Hogben
Joy D. Johnson
Susan D. Krantz
Steffany Larkins
Cecil J. Lipscomb
Melissa Maki
Kevin Martin
Jessica Matia
Tomislav Mihaljevic, MD
Dr. David B. Miller
Dr. Warren Morgan
Shari Obrenski
Jeffery K. Patterson
Ryan Puente
Allison Taller Reich
Ronald B. Richard
Brian J. Richardson
Erika Rudin-Luria
George A. Sample
Jasmin Santana
Beverly J. Schneider
India L. Birdsong Terry
Felton Thomas Jr.
Daniel P. Walsh Jr.
Paul L. Wellener IV
Lorna Wisham
LIFE DIRECTORS
Thomas W. Adler
Richard J. Buoncore
Marc S. Byrnes
Paul Clark
Alexander M. “Sandy” Cutler
Terrance C.Z. Egger
Robert W. Gillespie Jr.
Henry J. Goodman*
Alex Machaskee
Morton L. Mandel*
Henry L. Meyer III*
Sandra Pianalto
Richard W. Pogue, Esq.
Robert S. Reitman
William R. Robertson
Cheryle A. Wills-Matthews*
DIRECTORS EMERITI
William E. Butler
Julien L. McCall*
UNITED WAY OF GREATER CLEVELAND LEADERSHIP STAFF
Sharon Sobol Jordan
President & Chief Executive Officer
Deborah Enty
Chief Financial Officer
Brian Heath
Chief Analytics Officer
Ken Surratt
Chief Development
and Investment Officer
Karen Perko
Director of Community
Engagement,
United Way Services
of Geauga County
Kristen Popelmayer
Chief Marketing and Communications Officer
*Deceased
REPORTS ARCHIVE
2022
2023
2018
2019
2020
2021
Community Needs Assessment
A triennial analysis of the issues and conditions affecting Greater Cleveland, conducted in partnership with the Center for Community Solutions. For Executive Summaries and infographics from the 2023 Needs Assessment, click here.
2023 Cuyahoga
2023 Geauga
2020
Community Action Plan
A vision for addressing the Social Determinants of Work in Greater Cleveland.
