What We Do

Community Collaborations

In addition to funding existing programs in Education, Income and Health, United Way of Central Iowa manages a number of initiatives that reach across all three areas to help specific segments of our community. These Community Collaborations work with various nonprofit agencies, existing programs and new programs created by United Way specifically to maximize their collective impact. Examples include:

211 CALL FOR
ASSISTANCE

Similar to 9-1-1, central Iowans can dial 2-1-1 for help accessing assistance programs for things like housing, transportation, food, childcare, healthcare and more.

ADVERSE CHILDHOOD
EXPERIENCES (ACEs)

The ACEs toolkit helps organizations and service providers identify various types of trauma, recognize how events from childhood may be shaping peoples' responses and provide guidance to help them address these challenges.

BRIDGES TO
SUCCESS

Bridges to Success is a 5-year initiative to help thousands of central Iowans earn their High School Equivalency Diploma (HSED) and gain the skills, training and confidence needed to lead better lives.

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BUILDING NEW
CAREERS

The Building New Careers program serves to identify, screen, assess, and recruit low-income adults for entry into one of 18 apprenticeships with the Building and Construction Trades.

CENTRAL IOWA
WORKS

The Central Iowa Works program is designed to help close the skills gap and meet the needs of employers by helping them to recruit and hire qualified workers for a variety of jobs in central Iowa.

FINANCIAL CAPABILITY
NETWORK

The Financial Capability Network provides low to moderate income individuals and families a pathway to financial literacy and financial inclusion, with a goal of helping achieve financial stability and independence.

GIVING
GARDENS

Corporate and Community Giving Gardens promote and provide access to local produce for low-income central Iowans by growing, harvesting and/or rescuing unused food to be distributed to those in need.

HOPE
INITIATIVE

The HOPE Initiative removes barriers for single parent families through a multi-generational, integrated, and comprehensive approach designed to connect them with a spectrum of education, income and health resources.

SUMMER IN
THE CITY

This summer program is designed to help students avoid a backslide in the learning, to provide opportunities for education, physical activity and access to healthy food, and provide parents a variety of services as well.

READ TO
SUCCEED

READ to SUCCEED is a groundbreaking, community-wide awareness and action campaign to help kids read proficiently by third grade. There are multiple ways you can get involved in this effort: donating books, building literacy kits, reading to children, advocating for summer reading programs and more.

OPPORTUNITY

Over the past year, community members have come together to develop and refine a the Central Iowa OpportUNITY Community Plan to take action against poverty in central Iowa. The plan's goal is to have a realistic game plan of actions, big and small, that can bring financial stability and prosperity to the one-third of central Iowans who live in or near poverty. 

REFUGEE
SUPPORT

The 2016 Refugee Summit celebrated the acoomplishments of refugees and increased awareness about refugees in our community. The October event  recognized the different nationalities 
and ethnic groups living in central Iowa, shared success stories and provided resources for the refugees suriviving and thriving among us.