United Way of Northwest Arkansas

Our Mission:
Uniting our communities to empower people and improve lives.

Our Bold Goal:
To provide every child in Northwest Arkansas a pathway out of poverty!

• About Us
  UWNWA has committed to address the issue of children living in poverty with the goal that every child will be provided with a pathway out of poverty. United Way will play a specific role in the community to address this issue. We will do this through:
  • Convening and educating our community about children living in poverty
  • Identifying impactful partnerships with a goal of providing a pathway out of poverty
  • Mobilizing resources to achieve collective impact in our community
  • Investing in our community to reduce the number of children living in poverty
  
  UWNWA has four direct programs and services:
  Gift in Kind Warehouse - United Way of Northwest Arkansas Gift In Kind Warehouse, a partnership with Walmart, distributed nearly $19 million dollars’ worth of household product to the community in Northwest Arkansas. Roughly 2.3 million items made it to the hands of the community who needed it the most.
  The Gift In Kind Warehouse provides in kind support to over 120 local non-profits, schools and faith based organizations. The reach of the warehouse isn’t just local. We also support organizations in neighboring states.
  
  2-1-1 Helpline - 2-1-1 is the direct link between people who need help and people who can give help. 2-1-1 is a free telephone service that connects those in need to important community services in Benton, Carroll, Washington and Madison counties.
  
  Free tax preparation service - United Way’s Free Tax Service Initiative is designed to help hardworking families in the Northwest Arkansas area who qualify with free tax preparation and financial literacy! We work to ensure financial eligibility for the Earned Income Tax Credit and other deductions available to disadvantaged families to maximize their funds.
  
  Major volunteer initiatives
  FILL THE BUS - In partnership with Walmart, Fill the Bus is an initiative that provides a step to a pathway out of poverty for children in Northwest Arkansas. This program supports children in our community by helping them start school with confidence and gives them the actual tools they need to succeed.
  
  LIVE UNITED DAY - Live United Day is a volunteer day of action for the Northwest Arkansas community. It is one of the largest one-day volunteer efforts of the year, and takes place during National Volunteer Week.
• Our Impact
  As of 2017
  Financial Investments - 31 programs received funding of $1.4 million
  
  Gift In Kind Warehouse - 200+ organizations received distribution of products
  
  2-1-1 - 742 registered organizations, over 9,700 client contacts
  
  Free Tax Service Initiative - Over 6,800 Federal and State returns filed through VITA
  
  Fill the Bus - Supplied 16 area School Districts, impacted 35,337 children
  
  Live United Day - 43 projects, 550+ Volunteers, 2,750 volunteer hours valued at $52,636