About Us

United Way makes it easy for people to get involved in helping the community: people can give, advocate, and volunteer. LIVE UNITED is an invitation to get involved in our community through United Way.

With the mission of “building a stronger community by uniting people and resources to measurably improve lives,” United Way in Waukesha County works to create lasting changes in community conditions.

Key Facts

United Way is an organization that raises and distributes funds and connects volunteers to help people in Waukesha County.
We operate with a full-time staff of 12 and two part-time staff. In 2009, United Way benefited from an estimated 8,239 hours of time from 741 volunteers in program services and fundraising activities for an estimated $166,840 value of time.
United Way funds 69 programs provided by 33 partner agencies that help people with immediate and short-term needs. And we take on issues too big for any one organization to address alone through collaborations with schools, government policy makers, businesses, organized labor, financial institutions, and community development corporations.
United Way supports programs in three impact areas: Increasing Self-Sufficiency, Meeting Basic Needs and Strengthening Families. Learn more about Impact Areas.
United Way supports initiatives that identify and address root causes of community-wide problems. Learn more about Initiatives.
All United Way’s activities–Board of Directors, Allocations, Campaign, Marketing, and Operations–are governed by volunteers.
United Way focuses on results. For example, United Way volunteers and staff do not simply monitor how many clients were served in a homeless shelter in a year. They look for results on how many clients were able to obtain permanent housing after six months of being in a shelter.
United Way in Waukesha County is an efficient and effective organization. More than 86 cents of every dollar donated is invested back into the community (13.97% overhead). This figure compares favorably with the suggested Better Business Bureau guidelines of up to 35% for overhead costs.