What We Do
Our Initiatives
In collaboration with our partners and neighbors, we identify our community’s most pressing needs. We seek to address the root causes of those problems through strategic investments and partnerships that achieve measurable, lasting results.
We believe the innovative way we’re rallying our partners across government, business, philanthropy, faith communities, non-profits and the private sector will achieve lasting social change in our key initiatives. It’s not enough to simply work together to tackle complex social issues. Each participant must focus intently on our common goals, aligning all our time, dollar, and staff resources, and holding each other accountable so we can make the greatest difference possible. This “collective” approach has shown to improve results and we are applying these concepts in the areas of education, homelessness, and other critical issues to ensure our community achieves greater and greater success.
Housing Matters
The United Way’s Housing Matters initiative supports the Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Continuum of Care (CoC) in implementing its vision to “end chronic homelessness and improve the system of care for all people experiencing a housing crisis.” As a part of this work, the Housing Matters team leads the implementation of the CoC’s Community Intake Center (CIC), which is a process by which people experiencing homelessness are matched to housing programs based on their needs and vulnerability. For more information on United Way’s Housing Matters work, contact: Andrea Kurtz at 336-721-9373 or andrea.kurtz@uwforsyth.org.
The Partnership for Prosperity
The Partnership for Prosperity grew out of a group convened by Mayor Allen Joines: the Winston-Salem Poverty Thought Force. In February 2017, the thought force issued a report that included 56 recommendations to alleviate poverty. Among those recommendations was one that led to The Partnership for Prosperity being created as an entity to coordinate the fight against poverty, raise public awareness, and advocate for policy changes on a local and state level. The Partnership for Prosperity will work to ensure people living in low-resource neighborhoods are aware of the local organizations that can help them break down barriers and ensure they have access to the resources available to them.
The Partnership for Prosperity reports to an Advisory Board made up of members from the Winston-Salem Poverty Thought Force. The Partnership includes the Executive Director and the Community Engagement Associate and will grow in the months ahead to include those living in low-resource neighborhoods as well as organizations with which the partnership can align.
Our work is supported by grants from United Way of Forsyth County, BB&T, the City of Winston-Salem, the Kate B. Reynolds Charitable Trust, the Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation, Wake Forest University and Goodwill Industries of Northwest North Carolina. For more information, visit our website at https://partnershipforprosperityws.org/
The data sharing project
The Data-Sharing Project (DSP) hosts a secure web platform that allows partners to access and track student and program data. This platform is a valuable tool for partner agencies, through which staff can view and access live, student-level, school system data about children enrolled in their programs. DSP Staff assist partner agencies with understanding data and answering key questions rigorously, distilling insights into actionable continuous improvement plans with key performance indicators and attainable goals.
We envision a data-driven community that invests in rigorous ongoing improvement support. Over time, such investments ensure that K-12 education-based services are high-quality, that a clear return is made on investments, and that resources are used efficiently and effectively to improve outcomes for children and youth.
The DSP provides critical evaluation and continuous improvement support to education-based programs in Forsyth County. It provides a streamlined, secure tool for community agencies and schools to work with student data. The DSP is a major community benefit, making it possible for our partners to receive high-quality evaluation services that many would otherwise not have access to.
A number of other community partners also receive funds through United Way of Forsyth County, including Trellis (formerly Hospice & Palliative Care Center), Second Harvest Food Bank, Girl Scouts, and Boy Scouts – Old Hickory Council. Additionally, last year over 370 agencies and nonprofit organizations from our local area and across the country received designated donations directly through United Way of Forsyth County’s Annual Campaign.
United Way of Forsyth County funds and supports other key initiatives in our community includingNC211, Housing Matters, The Forsyth Promise, The Partnership for Prosperity, and our key partnership with Neighbors for Better Neighborhoods.