2024 Community Investment

Today, we are excited to announce our 2024 community investment of $16 million in communities across greater Charlotte.

Earlier this year, we announced our new name, United Way of Greater Charlotte, and strategic shift to neighborhood-based work, a strategy United Way phased in over several years after Charlotte ranked last in economic mobility among 50 metropolitan cities nationally.

Our investments focus on supporting our community’s most critical needs and work towards creating a more equitable future for all children, families and neighborhoods.

The $16 million community investment includes:

•  $9 million in grants to 132 organizations working to lift families out of poverty and improve economic mobility through neighborhood-based, grassroots and responsive solutions;
• $2.4 million from the City of Charlotte as part of collaborative efforts to provide housing and services for people experiencing homelessness;
•  $2.5 million from the City of Charlotte and Mecklenburg County to advance A Home For All, a community-wide effort to address homelessness and affordable housing; and
• $2 million for additional United Way community investments and donor-directed funding for nonprofits.

We will continue to advance our United Neighborhoods initiative with a $4.9 million investment serving neighborhoods across the City of Charlotte’s six Corridors of Opportunity, North Mecklenburg and United Neighborhoods’ original neighborhoods – Grier Heights, Lakeview and Renaissance West. Funding will support 74 nonprofit organizations that residents believe can best deliver the services aligning with their neighborhood vision.

Under United Neighborhoods, we actively collaborate with each community’s designated “community quarterback,” a lead organization responsible for engaging residents, fostering local leadership and coordinating services among funded nonprofits. We are pleased to announce the inclusion of CharlotteEAST as the second community quarterback serving the Albemarle/Central corridor, in partnership with ourBRIDGE for KIDS.

We also provided materials in Spanish and had translators on hand during grant discussions in the Albemarle/Central, North Mecklenburg and Sugar Creek/I-85 corridors.

The Unite Charlotte program, sustained by continued funding from Mecklenburg County and private foundations, will invest over $2 million in 55 agencies. Unite Charlotte provides grants and capacity-building support to grassroots organizations founded and led by people of color, contributing to the diversification and inclusivity of nonprofit leadership in Charlotte.

Our Regional Investment of more than $847,512 will fund 21 nonprofits in Anson, Cabarrus and Union Counties. This support will address mental wellness in Cabarrus County, while Anson County will benefit from initiatives focusing on housing stability, food security and early childhood literacy. In Union County, our funding will encompass housing stability, food security, needs specific to individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities, childhood literacy, mentoring programs and facilitating access to affordable and quality healthcare.

Read the full announcement and view the full list of funded partners.

United Way remains steadfast in its commitment to build resilient, flourishing communities by investing in neighborhood-based and grassroots organizations working to improve economic mobility. Our funding provides critical unrestricted dollars to support each nonprofit’s mission and it wouldn’t be possible without the extraordinary generosity of corporate, individual and public-sector donors.

Sincerely,

Laura Yates Clark, President & CEO

United Way of Greater Charlotte