Meet Our 2023 Unite Charlotte Partners

Unite Charlotte was founded in 2016 by United Way of Greater Charlotte following civil unrest sparked by the killing of Keith Lamont Scott, an unarmed Black man, by Charlotte police. The initiative’s purpose is to address the structural racism that exists within the nonprofit sector and in the broader community.

The Unite Charlotte program provides up to three years of funding and capacity-building support to local grassroots organizations led by people of color. For first-year grantees, United Way pays for agency executives to earn a certificate in nonprofit management from Duke University’s Center for Continuing Studies. In the second year, in addition to executive coaching support, through a partnership with Charlotte’s Children & Family Services Center, grantees can receive free back-office services such as finance, human resources and IT. Agencies that receive a third year of funding receive larger annual grants as well as stipends for executive coaching.

55 UNITE CHARLOTTE PARTNERS IN 2023

Unite Charlotte First Year

A Brighter Day Ministries | Supports children and families in Historic Hoskins by providing physical and emotional support, mentorship, and community outreach events.

A Giving Heart Project | Serves the community and those in need through engagement, encouragement, empowerment, and education.

Another Chance House of Refuge | Empowers underserved individuals to reach their fullest potential by providing a safe environment, safe housing, educational support, employment training, and self-sufficiency skills.

Applesauce Group | To create & harness joy, for building better futures. 

Barre Belle | Creates little dancers with big futures and aims for students to achieve an increased level of self-awareness, self-esteem and encourage movement through the art of dance.

Books With Color | Increases the accessibility of inclusive and bi-lingual children’s reading materials via strategic partnerships between diversity-driven authors and the communities who support them. 

Center 360* | Empowers youth who are at risk of disengaging from school by providing non-traditional enrichment opportunities.

Champions of Change | Provides foster and homeless children with AMAZING experiences that inspire hope, dreams, and achievements for a lifetime.

Connecting the Gap | Empowers youth grieving the loss of a parent or guardian by creating mentor-based relationships to enable healthy and optimistic futures.

Despierta | Empowers and integrates newly arrived Latina immigrants to help them become self reliant and supportive within the community by giving them the emotional tools and life skills to find their identity and independence.

Elizabeth House Foundation | Increases access to critical, preventive breast health screenings for under-and uninsured minority women in the Charlotte Region.

Exposure Project Incorporated | Equips middle and high school youth with the practical tools for character and career development by curating transformative experiences that impact future income opportunities.

Fathers Against Violence and Repeat Offenders | aids in restoring the lives of homeless and previously incarcerated men and women, by empowering, equipping and releasing them back into society. Provides housing, education, job referrals, spiritual mentorship and life skills to those labeled as a repeat offender.

Hack & Hustle Social Entrepreneurship Academy | expose underserved youth in Charlotte to STEM technology and entrepreneurship training. 

Jennings O’Neil Career Academy | Educates, engages, and equips young adults ages 18-29 with the tools needed to eradicate poverty and unemployment leading to economic  self-sufficiency, self-employment and success.

Jumping Dreams DD |  Improves and maintains the health and nutrition of children in our

community while promoting the development of good citizenship.

Just Do It Movement Inc | Educates and provides resources and skills to individuals that will help them become self-sufficient, while empowering them beyond their circumstances.

Let’s Talk About It – The Autism Center | Educates, engages and helps people with Autism Spectrum Disorder and their caregivers to maximize their opportunities and life experiences.

Men of Destiny | Fosters and promotes community collaborations that assist and provide relief for low to moderate income families, by providing pathways to educational, economic and social mobility for local area youth.

POP’s Passion* | Provides life changing resources to families and communities in need.

ProjectiGive, Inc | Provides a communal approach of linking groups, individuals and

organizations together for the purposes of funding projects that solve community level problems.

Psychology For All | Opens the door to emotional well-being for Charlotte-Mecklenburg area residents.

Step Up to Leadership | Assists youth and young adults in widening their views on life by recreating their self image and self-esteem while helping them develop structure.

Team Trublue | Educates and mentors individuals in order to reduce poverty and decrease violence in the community so children and families can have the opportunity to live a more conducive life.

The Frankie Mae Foundation | Advocates for the caregiver as a whole person, by providing resources for his or her physical, emotional and spiritual well-being through programs, resources and services that inform, inspire and help improve quality of life.

Unite Charlotte Second Year

Alluvium, Inc. | Highlights and develops the positive attributes and talents of at-risk youth that will help them craft fertile and productive lives by providing research-based academic opportunities, mentoring strategies, and life skills training.

Do Greater Foundation | Empowers communities to do greater by facilitating exposure and access to creativity, technology, and entrepreneurship.

EmpowHERment | Empowers a continuous network of girls and women to be leaders in their community through mentorship, talent development and advocacy.

Exodus Foundation.org | Stops the flow of all Americans to prison through clemency efforts, with programs that stop the involvement of African-American men and women in the prison system by reducing recidivism and preventing incarceration.

Family Mankind* | Seeks to permanently eradicate domestic violence (DV), sexual assault, child abuse, and bullying by passionately working with individuals and their families who have participated in violent behavior.

Healing Vine Harbor | Reduces the number of single women living in shelters or unsafe situations, providing a pathway out of poverty to ensure self-sufficiency.

Innovate Tech Charlotte | Provides students in grades 8-12 an understanding of innovation and leadership with technologies such as Artificial Intelligence, Internet of Things and Blockchain.

Jessie’s World Inc. (DBA: Triumph Services) | Provides outpatient behavioral counseling, peer-led community support, individualized management and resource advocacy for individuals who have suffered from Acquired & Traumatic Brain Injury and are in transition from life-changing circumstances.

Money Magnets Club* | Serves as a community that encourages entrepreneurship among elementary school kids and their responsible adults through business concepts, exposure, planning, and resources.

National Coalition of 100 Black Women – Queen City Metropolitan Chapter | Advocates on behalf of Black women and girls to promote leadership development and gender equity in the areas of health, education, and economic empowerment.

Our Daily Bread Foundation | Increases basic knowledge of financial money matters with a minimum of 30% of program participants. Our Daily Bread Foundation provides job skills training and other services.

Promise Youth Development* | Helps underserved youth in East Charlotte develop optimal health through education, resilience focused mentoring and anti-violence programs.

Que-Os (DBA: BOOM Charlotte) | Transforms the way art and culture are created and shared by connecting people to diverse causes and communities.

S.T.A.R.S. Math & English Academy* | Seeks to improve students’ math, English, and reading skills using a curriculum that stresses the rigors of English and mathematics, while complementing these subjects with soft skills.

She Built This City | Sparks interest in high-demand construction and “maker” trades among women and girls attending Title I middle schools and high schools.

The Arts Empowerment Project | Uses the transformative power of the arts as a vehicle to enrich the lives of youth who have been impacted by adverse childhood experiences.

The Bulb* | Provides mostly local produce, as well as health and wellness education, via weekly farmers markets to food insecure neighborhoods in the Charlotte area.

The FACTS Initiative | Provides community-based mental health services to high-risk children and families.

UMBA Bright Stars, Inc. | Provides equity in academic achievement to One Bright Star Scholar at a time through excellence in After School and Summer Programs.

Urban Institute for Strengthening Families | Provides opportunities for marginalized communities to thrive by supporting youth and their families and providing or connecting employment opportunities to veterans.

Unite Charlotte Third Year

B.E.A.M. (Building Excellence Affirming Manhood) Foundation | promotes community service, leadership development and educational opportunities to high risk, under-served minority male youth.

Black Social Capital Initiative | Offers mentoring and coaching for people of color with an interest in nonprofit leadership. BSCI serves and strengthens organizations and individuals who share a commitment to building great communities.

Block Love Charlotte | Provides job readiness training, financial stability programming and other resources aimed to help people experiencing homelessness become a part of their community.

Carolina Migrant Network | Offers pro-bono immigration legal services through a network of attorneys to assist detained migrants and immigrants facing removal proceedings.

Children of the World Learning Center | Provides high-quality, multicultural, dual-language early care and education to families of varied cultures, languages and incomes to increase school readiness.

For The Struggle* | Utilizes various outlets, including community outreach, policy reform and legal action to advocate with and on behalf of communities to zealously fight systemic issues of racial and social injustice.

GardHouse Limited | Increases post-graduation employment opportunities for college students of color by maximizing work-based programs. 

Historic West End Partners* | Advocates for cultural preservation and economic development stimulation in the Historic West End.

National Black Child Development Institute – Charlotte | Improves and advances the quality of life for Black and Brown children and their families through education and advocacy.

The Academy of Goal Achievers | Develops youth leaders to impact communities, while preparing young adults and parents for postsecondary education and careers.

* Indicates United Neighborhoods Partner

Believe in the racial equity work United Way is doing? Support initiatives like Unite Charlotte by making a gift today.