Providing Opportunities for Growth Through Unite Charlotte 

Small, grassroots nonprofit agencies are often the ones on the front lines in our community, addressing critical issues like food insecurity, housing, education and healthcare. However, despite their passion for impact, grassroots nonprofits frequently struggle with limited resources, capacity constraints and funding gaps. Grassroots nonprofits are agencies with limited funding that are providing experience-based service leadership to neighbors.  

That’s where Unite Charlotte comes in – an initiative that provides funding, capacity-building resources and training opportunities – to help nonprofit agencies addressing racial and ethnic inequities as well as the Social Determinants of Health thrive. By supporting those nonprofits, Unite Charlotte also supports United Way’s mission of lifting children and families out of poverty. 

The funding provided through this initiative is unrestricted, meaning you can use it for anything you need, whether that is to keep the lights on, keep your website up and running or hire a staff member.  

For me, the Unite Charlotte program is necessary and progressive as we provide more than just a check to our nonprofit partners. Every year, we arrange a cohort of leaders from each Unite Charlotte First Year agency to attend the Duke Nonprofit Management Program, where they gain knowledge and expertise about a wide range of topics including board governance, community engagement, evaluation and more. 

Juanita Pipkin, President of Unite Charlotte Third Year agency Barre Belle, described the Duke program as an investment into a nonprofit’s future. 

“The way you need to invest in yourself and invest in your health so you can be better, is what I would say that this program does that for us in a management sense. By taking the time to invest in our knowledge, we develop new skills, and then ultimately our organizations will be better off. Without worrying about how much time it’s taking, look at this program as an investment for your future and the sustainability of your organization,” Pipkin said. 

Along with the Duke Program, we provide free training on topics like fundraising, social media, public speaking, nonprofit law and more throughout the year. We also give additional funding for executive coaching or capacity building. 

Another benefit that we hear from our nonprofit partners that have been through Unite Charlotte is that they really appreciate the relationship building aspect of it. By attending courses and trainings and events together, you build so many connections with other like-minded individuals that are creating impact in this community with you. 

I love this work because I love watching these nonprofit agencies grow and make connections with each other. We measure growth by certain milestones – is the Founder still the Board president or were they able to step back? Were they able to hire that new staff member? Did their budget increase for the year? We want our nonprofit partners to take advantage of the trainings and networking from this initiative and we love to see them use that knowledge to fuel their passions with progress. 

When we empower and invest in our grassroots nonprofit partners through Unite Charlotte, the entire community benefits. Nonprofit partners come out of this initiative stronger – resulting in more effective programming that leads to better outcomes, a lasting impact and an overall more resilient community.  

By investing in the nonprofits, we are investing in the people they serve across Charlotte. 

Learn more about the work United Way is doing through Unite Charlotte. 

Jessica Foster is the Unite Charlotte Manager.