The United Way of the Laurel Highlands (UWLH), is a volunteer-driven, community leading organization responsible for creating, expanding, and accelerating positive social change in Cambria and Somerset Counties. We have built a framework for delivering effective social change called the Enhanced Community Impact Model©. Following this model, we 1. Identify Priority Community Needs, 2. Mobilize Key Community Stakeholders, 3. Implement Evidence-Based Programs, 4. Fund Programs to Scale & Build Sustainability, 5. Track, Measure, Evaluate, & Report Community Change. We lead a large group of community stakeholders in building civic infrastructure around children and families. Our focus is on children pre-birth to age 5, to ensure that they have the opportunity to grow and develop surrounded by a strong and healthy family unit. Our core initiatives are Early Childhood Development, Parental Engagement, & Youth Drug & Alcohol Prevention. In addition, we fund essential health & human services.

Creating, expanding, and accelerating positive social change in Cambria and Somerset Counties.

Source: Nonprofit submitted responses

Goal One: Enhance community impact through the cultivation and strengthening of community relationships by focusing on advocacy, collaboration, and long-term program outcomes.

Goal Type: Grow, expand, scale or increase access to the existing programs and services.

Goal Two: Increase funds available for community impact grants by developing and implementing a comprehensive fund development plan.

Goal Type: Grow, expand, scale or increase access to the existing programs and services.

Goal Three: Increase brand awareness of United Way of the Laurel Highlands through digital marketing, electronic resources, and data-driven marketing investments.

Goal Type: This goal reflects our commitment to further our advocacy work for our organization and or cause area.

Describe an investment in leadership

In the past year, United Way of the Laurel Highlands has paid for continuing education credits for its President and CEO to maintain her Certified Fundraising Executive accreditation. The organization sponsors a staff member to be part of Somerset Rotary, a civic organization. All staff received more than 10 hours of diversity, equity, and inclusion training this past year in addition to books on the subject.

This organization mobilizes for mission in the following ways:

• Strategic Partnerships

• Networks of Collective Impact Efforts

• Thought Leadership

• Raising Awareness

• Community Building

• Policy Advocacy

What are this organization’s external mobilizaton efforts?

The United Way of the Laurel Highlands (UWLH) is the premier organization working to build a framework around shared community goals, collaborative actions, evidence-based outcomes, and investment and sustainability. Its mission utilizes and funds 24 diverse Partner Agencies that come together to solve these complex social problems and provide services. The organization raises awareness of its mission through traditional and digital marketing. It has robust social media platforms and receives press coverage across the region. UWLH routinely participates in community health and resource fairs to increase awareness of available services. It also engages in mobile and billboard advertising to promote critical programs to vulnerable families. UWLH engages in thought leadership activities such as presenting at convenings and health summits. It also advocates for policy changes. The organization sponsored eight hours of community training to support diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI).

United Way of the Laurel Highlands added two new programs this past year in response to the high poverty and at-risk rates across the counties it serves. The first program is a community diaper bank, which has 13 sites in the region. Monthly, families of infants and young children can receive free diapers at the sites. The diapers are packaged into parcels of 25 as that is the average number of diapers families are typically short in a month. More than 100,000 diapers have been collected through community diaper drives. Wipes have also been donated. United Way also began to accept SNAP benefits at the local farmer's market in the area of highest poverty in the region. This program has improved access to healthy food for our most vulnerable residents and provided additional revenue for area farmers and growers. UWLH also implemented a "fresh bucks" program, which enables SNAP users to receive up to $20 in matching funds to be used at the market. Since beginning the program in August 2022 area farmers have experienced a $15,000 increase in sales. The United Way grew its signature fundraising event after having to change venues because of the closure of the conference center. The event welcomed more than 100 more participants than the prior year and raised nearly $10,000 more. The event was fully sponsored by area businesses, individuals, and organizations. With the change to remote working environments, United Way added many online features to its workplace campaigns, including customized giving portals and materials. UWLH refreshed its website and created new features such as "Recent News" and "Resources" sections, which are heavily utilized by the community. UWLH, in effort to diversify its revenue streams, began providing data management and grant writing services to other agencies by contract.