‘Together, we’re changing lives’: United Way and supporters make an impact in North Texas

To my fellow change-seekers,

As the fiscal year at United Way of Metropolitan Dallas comes to a close, I want to offer my heartfelt thanks to everyone who made an investment in our community, advocated for policy change or volunteered their time over the last year. Together with supporters like you, we improved access to education, income and health for nearly 1.5 million North Texans.

As the 2022-2023 United Way Campaign chair, I am so proud of this collective impact. Over the last year, we united to drive lasting, measurable change. Backed by the trust of the North Texas community, we enabled United Way to lead, create and invest in programs and partnerships that address the systemic challenges that affect too many of our neighbors.

I’ve always heard the North Texas region was very philanthropic, but I have to say I’ve been impressed by the level of giving by organizations and individuals — something I hope continues and inspires others to give. While we won’t celebrate the final results of this year’s annual campaign until September when I formally pass the torch to Comerica’s CEO, Curt Farmer, I will say that North Texas generosity did not disappoint this year. Our collective investment in impact has been incredibly strong!

It’s admirable that for nearly 100 years, United Way has stayed true to its mission of improving access to education, income and health so every North Texas has the opportunity to thrive. As the nonprofit approaches its centennial year, it continues to leverage both longstanding and new partnerships, always innovating to address the ever-changing needs across our growing region — while also continuing to make progress toward our communitywide Aspire United 2030 goals and commitment to racial equity.

Jean Savage, CEO and president of Trinity Industries as well as the 2022-2023 United Way of Metropolitan Dallas Campaign chair, volunteers at a United Way event supporting college and career readiness.(United Way)

Investing in the future of our community

Over the past year, United Way’s initiatives directly served more than 20% of the population in the fourth-largest metro area in the United States. Highlights from the last 12 months include:

More than $37 million invested in United Way targeted impact initiatives, including Healthcare Navigators; Pathways to Work; Heal Play Learn, a partnership that includes Texas Instruments Foundation; and Southern Dallas Thrives, co-created with the support of Frito-Lay and PepsiCo Foods North America.
39 entrepreneurial ventures graduated from our Social Innovation Lab programs, powered by Accenture, including 10 Accelerator alumni and 19 Incubator alumni. Over the past decade, our social innovation alumni have gone on to raise over $51.6 million, build more than 1,600 partnerships and serve more than 268,000 North Texans.
The start of our three-year investment in 144 diverse community impact partners working together to achieve our Aspire United 2030 community goals that drive better access to education, income and health. From 2022 to 2025, we will invest $45 million in these local organizations, a total that includes a historic $15 million donation from The Perot Foundation, the largest single investment in United Way’s 98-year history.

Driving lasting change for 1.5 million North Texans

Each year, United Way’s programs and partnerships improve the lives of nearly 1.5 million North Texans in the areas of education, income and health.

In education, the organization and its supporters enable more North Texas students to graduate high school prepared for success in college or career with initiatives that include:

College and career fairs. These programs expose students to the resources, experiences and skills needed to succeed in college or a career. Over the last year, United Way college and career readiness events engaged 535 North Texas scholars — and enabled volunteers like me to be part of this inspiring work.
Digital Connections, powered by AT&T. Starting in January 2022, United Way began to distribute laptops and hot spots through AT&T’s $1 million grant to enable young Southern Dallas residents to access education, further their learning, and stay connected in the classroom and beyond. In 2022 alone, the program distributed more than 2,000 laptops and 1,500 hotspots across Southern Dallas and trained over 80 individuals through digital skills classes.
Heal Play Learn, in partnership with Texas Instruments Foundation and Educate Texas. Each summer, this initiative brings social-emotional support and experiential learning to students in DeSoto, Cedar Hill and Lancaster school districts. Again this year, more than 30 high school interns will help facilitate the hands-on STEAM learning activities, giving them an opportunity to explore teaching as a profession and earn while they are learning.

In income, United Way creates measurable impact through programs that encourage financial stability, including:

Targeted Eviction Prevention Program (TEPP). This innovative pilot program prevents evictions with direct cash investments. TEPP is actively providing $250 monthly to 500 families on the verge of homelessness to stabilize their lives and mitigate eviction.
The Dallas Technology Training Consortium. Funded through a $2.2 million grant from the city of Dallas, the initiative provides IT and technology skills training to individuals affected by the COVID-19 recession. The program is serving 630 Dallas residents over a two-year period, in partnership with Goodwill Industries of Dallas, NPower and Per Scholas.
Dollars for College. This popular program makes it easy for students to begin to save for college, with a trusted and accessible way to open a college savings account. Last year, United Way and its supporters opened 229 Dollars for College accounts with total deposits exceeding $191,000.

In health, United Way programs and partnerships that enable North Texans to live longer, healthier lives include:

Healthcare Navigation. This initiative provides grants to train and certify Healthcare Navigators, who help uninsured North Texans compare, understand and select plans on the Health Insurance Marketplace or through CHIP/Medicaid, as well as apply for subsidies to lower their monthly premiums. During our fiscal year, our navigators enabled 5,944 North Texans to quickly and easily sign up for health coverage.
Doorways to Health. This new community partnership seeks to improve the maternal health outcomes of Black women by offering a variety of resources and programming, including home visiting and holistic maternal healthcare services, to ensure new and expecting mothers have the support necessary to thrive.
The North Texas Summer and Supper Council. This hunger-prevention program ensures students who rely on federally funded meal programs during the school year continue to get daily, nutritious food during summer months. In 2022, the program supported summer meals programs as they provided an incredible 55.6 million meals to students across Dallas and Collin counties.

In addition to these targeted programs, during this year’s Texas legislative session United Way and its supporters advocated tirelessly for policy change in education, income and health. Thanks to the work of hundreds of advocates — who made phone calls, shared information on social media and even advocated in person at the state capitol — the Live United movement helped advance and call attention to legislation that has a direct effect on North Texans’ everyday lives.

Employees from Trinity Industries volunteer with United Way of Metropolitan Dallas to support the nonprofit’s mission of improving access to education, income and health — the building blocks of opportunity — so all North Texans can thrive.(United Way)

Looking to the future

We are incredibly fortunate that United Way consistently attracts an extraordinary group of individuals who serve the North Texas community by donating their time and talent. Our boards of directors play a significant role in driving lasting change across the community.

As United Way looks back on a successful fiscal year, I’d like to extend warm congratulations and gratitude to Board Chairs Steven Williams, CEO of PepsiCo Foods North America, and Terri West, chair of the Texas Instruments Foundation. They both have a level of vision, dedication and passion for this work that position United Way for incredible success.

As I end my tenure as United Way campaign chair, I’d like to thank everyone who came together to make this year tremendously impactful and inspiring. I’ll be handing the reins over to United Way’s next annual campaign chair, Comerica Bank CEO Curt Farmer, who will assume the position this summer and is poised to continue the incredible momentum as we move closer to United Way’s centennial year.