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High Country United Way at a glanceMostly funded, not a grantmaker: see who funds it →

· Public charity

High Country United Way

Provide supports for other nonprofits

$217k
Granted FY2024still arriving
15
Grants FY2024still arriving
1
States reached
$20k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
01What it funds
01100% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2021 to 2024.

Human Services$258kHousing & Shelter$140kHealth$91kFood & Nutrition$84kRecreation & Sports$81kYouth Development$49kCrime & Legal$30kEducation$29k
02FY2024 · 15 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

How this is measured
The 15 grants below total $173,500, the rows itemized in this filing. The $217,206 headline is the total grant expense on the return; the other $43,706 is giving the schedule does not break out (grants under the $5,000 itemization floor, grants to individuals, grants on other schedules). Every figure below describes the itemized rows only.

By grant size · FY2024

  • Under $10k5 grants · $36k
  • $10k–50k10 grants · $138k
$10,000
Median grant
1
States reached
$921k
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
COMMUNITY CARE CLINIC$20,000
OASIS INC$20,000
WAMY COMMUNITY ACTION INC$17,500
BLUE RIDGE OPPORTUNITY COMMI$15,000
PARENT TO PARENT FAMILY SUPPORT NET$13,000
MEDITATION AND RESTORATIVE JUSTICE$12,000
HOSPITALITY HOUSE OF NORTHWEST NC$10,000
WESTERN YOUTH NETWORK$10,000
MOUNTAIN ALLIANCE$10,000
NEIGHBORS FEEDING NEIGHBORS FOOD MI$10,000
THE HUNGER AND HEALTH COALITION$8,000
THE CHILDRENS COUNCIL OF WATAUGA CO$8,000
AVERY COUNTY HABITAT FOR HUMANITY$7,500
WATAUGA COUNTY HABITAT$7,500
APPALACHIAN SENIOR COMPANION PROGRA$5,000
02The need
03

Does the money reach high-need areas?

Each grant placed by the hardship in its grantee’s ZIP, against the area’s typical level.

show:

Its human-services grants (FY21–24, $190k) land where the poverty rate runs at 20%, against an area that typically sits at 14%. 100% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 14%BLUE RIDGE OPPORTUNITY COMMISSION: $18k → 19%BLUE RIDGE OPPORTUNITY COMMI: $15k → 19%OASIS INC: $28k → 21%MITCHELL COUNTY SHEPHERDS STAFF: $4k → 16%BLUE RIDGE OPPORTUNITY COMMISSION: $15k → 19%OASIS INC: $24k → 21%MITCHELL COUNTY SHEPHARDS STAFF: $1k → 16%OASIS INC: $20k → 21%OASIS INC: $16k → 21%WESTERN YOUTH NETWORK: $13k → 21%WESTERN YOUTH NETWORK: $13k → 21%WESTERN YOUTH NETWORK: $13k → 21%WESTERN YOUTH NETWORK: $10k → 21%0%20%40%50%more need →
grant to an above-average-need area below average· circle size = grant amount
How this is measured
Matched: human-services grants are those whose grantee’s IRS cause code is Human Services. Placed by people below the poverty line in the grantee’s ZIP, averaged from the tracts in that ZIP.
How this is measured
US grants placed by each grantee’s ZIP, which can differ from where services are delivered. Need from public data (U.S. Census/ACS, CDC PLACES, Eviction Lab, USDA), shown as context about the area, never attributed to the funder’s giving.
03Its grantees
repeat funding

Who it funds again

Organizations funded in more than one year, against those funded once.

97%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$744k · 18 repeat orgs$19k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +28% since the first grant, against +7% for those funded once.

18 repeat relationships: 14 still active in FY2024, 4 since wound down.

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

18
3

Total granted

$744k
$19k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+28%
+7%

Still filing today

83%
33%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 100% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $0 went to new ones.

50%100%’21’22’23’24
RenewedFirst-time

Where new relationships form · theme of each grantee’s first grant

’21’22’23’24
Human ServicesFood & NutritionHealthHousing & ShelterCrime & LegalEmploymentOther
How this is measured
First-time means a grantee’s first year in the filing window; renewed means funded in an earlier year too. The renewed share climbs naturally as a portfolio matures, so the signal is a year that bucks it (a wave of new grantees). The earliest year is left-censored: relationships that predate the data read as new. Theme is the grantee’s IRS cause.

Backed again, and grew

  • WC
    WAMY COMMUNITY ACTION INC
    5× · 2021–2025 · $63k · revenue +50%
  • HH
    HOSPITALITY HOUSE OF NORTHWEST NORTH CAROLINA
    4× · 2021–2025 · $63k · revenue +33%
  • MA
    Mountain Alliance Inc
    5× · 2021–2025 · $60k · revenue +28%

Funded once

  • HH
    HOSPITALITY HOUSE
    one grant, 2023 · $17k
  • AA
    AVERY ASSOCIATION FOR EXCEPTIONAL CITIZENS
    one grant, 2021 · $3k · revenue +7%
  • CO
    County of Watauga
    one grant, 2021 · $19
How this is measured

Repeat means funded in two or more distinct years. Growth and survival are read from each grantee’s own subsequent IRS filings.

04Its field

Closest unfunded matches

The nonprofits that most resemble its grantees but are not funded by it, scored along the direction from the rest of the field toward the portfolio. A resemblance in what they say they do, not a recommendation.

1
Western Carolina Rescue Ministries Inc

Provide food, shelter, rehabilitation and christian ministry to the poor and homeless

Housing & Shelter
2
Mountain Housing Opportunities Inc

To provide affordable housing for low-income individuals living in buncombe county and the surrounding areas of north carolina.

Housing & Shelter
3
Homes of Hope Inc

Provied temporary and emergency and low income housing and secured shelter.

Housing & Shelter
4
New Directions of Horry County Inc

To assist the needs of individuals, help them navigate past obstacles that prevent them from getting out of the cycle of homelessness and poverty, and assist them with achieving independent living.

Human Services
5
Allied Churches of Alamance County Inc

Provide food & shelter for the homeless, offer support to those that desire to develop or enhance their life goals and assist others in the community with financial assistance for emergency household utility needs.

Philanthropy
6
Habitat for Humanity of Burke County Inc

Habitat for humanity works in partnership with god and people everywhere, from all walks of life, to develop communities with gods people in need by building houses, so that there are decent homes in decent communities in whigh gods people…

Housing & Shelter
7
Volunteer Avery County & Community Services Inc

Volunteer Avery County finds resources to aid families and individuals that do not qualify for public assistance and fall through the cracks.

Human Services
8
Brunswick County Habitat for Humanity Incorporated

To provide low-cost housing for those in need in Brunswick County, North Carolina.

—
9
Habitat for Humanity of Randolph County

Habitat for humanity works in partnership with god and with people everywhere, from all walks of life, to develop communities with god's people in need by building and renovating houses so they are decent houses in decent communities in…

—
10
Home Alliance Inc

To develop affordable housing for low-income and homeless persons and families in horry and georgetown counties.

Housing & Shelter
11
Haywood Pathways Center Inc

Guided by faith, love, and respect, we provide food, shelter, and individualized supportive services for Haywood County residents.

Housing & Shelter
12
Hurlburt-Johnson Friendship House Inc

Provide temporary shelter and assistance to individuals and familes that are homeless in western north carolina.

Housing & Shelter
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Southmountain Children and Family Services; the most unlike its peers is Karis Home for Women. Resemblance is measured on each organization’s own IRS 990 mission text; it reflects how work is described, not its quality or impact.
04the grantee network

18 grantees tracked through their own filings, 2017–2025.

Each grant beside the grantee’s revenue from every source, year by year.

How this is measured

Counted here: distinct organizations funded across 2017 to 2025, not grant rows in a single year, so this will not match the grant count on the cover. 18 of the 21 grantees resolved in that span have returns of their own we could reconcile.

Each grantee is resolved to its own IRS returns. Association, dated; never a causal claim.

0
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
6
Early backer (in before they grew)
16/18
Grantees still filing
11/18
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

APPALACHIAN STATE UNIVERSITY: $85,000 · OtherAPPALACHIAN STATE UNIVERSITYWAMY COMMUNITY ACTION INC: $63,444 · OtherWAMY COMMUNITY ACTION INCMountain Alliance Inc: $60,000 · OtherMountain Alliance IncHABITAT FOR HUMANITY INTL WATAUGA COUNTY: $29,598 · OtherHABITAT FOR HUMANITY INTL WATAUGA COUNTYTHE CHILDREN'S COUNCIL OF WATAUGA COUNTY INC: $29,000 · OtherTHE CHILDREN'S COUNCIL OF WATAUGA COUNTY INCAVERY COUNTY HABITAT FOR HUMANITY: $27,500 · OtherAVERY COUNTY HABITAT FOR HUMANITYHOSPITALITY HOUSE: $16,627 · OtherFARM CAFE INC: $11,000 · Other+2 more: $452 · OtherOPPOSING ABUSE WITH SERVICE INFORMATION & SHELTER: $88,304 · Human ServicesOPPOSING ABUSE WITH SERVICE …The Western Youth Network Inc: $49,245 · Human ServicesThe Western Youth Network In…BLUE RIDGE OPPORTUNITY COMMISSION INC: $47,500 · Human ServicesBLUE RIDGE OPPORTUNITY COMMI…+2 more: $7,400 · Human ServicesCOMMUNITY CARE CLINIC INC: $78,407 · HealthCOMMUNITY C…THE HUNGER AND HEALTH COALITION INC: $55,724 · Food & NutritionTHE HUNGER…NEIGHBORS FEEDING NEIGHBORS FOOD MI: $17,500 · Food & NutritionNEIGHBORS …HOSPITALITY HOUSE OF NORTHWEST NORTH CAROLINA: $63,443 · Housing & ShelterHOSPITALI…MEDIATION AND RESTORATIVE JUSTICE CENTER: $30,196 · Crime & LegalAVERY ASSOCIATION FOR EXCEPTIONAL CITIZENS: $2,500 · Employment
Other$322,621Human Services$192,449Health$78,407Food & Nutrition$73,224Housing & Shelter$63,443Crime & Legal$30,196Employment$2,500

Each grantee by its size and the funder’s share of it; top left is load-bearing

25%50%75%100%$1.0Mgrantee revenue →↑ funder's share of their budgetOPPOSING ABUSE WITH SERVICE INFORMATION & SHELTER: $88,304 over 5y, 1.7% of budgetCOMMUNITY CARE CLINIC INC: $78,407 over 5y, 3.5% of budgetWAMY COMMUNITY ACTION INC: $63,444 over 5y, 1.1% of budgetHOSPITALITY HOUSE OF NORTHWEST NORTH CAROLINA: $63,443 over 4y, 0.9% of budgetMountain Alliance Inc: $60,000 over 5y, 6.9% of budgetTHE HUNGER AND HEALTH COALITION INC: $55,724 over 5y, 1.2% of budgetThe Western Youth Network Inc: $49,245 over 5y, 0.9% of budgetBLUE RIDGE OPPORTUNITY COMMISSION INC: $47,500 over 4y, 0.4% of budgetMEDIATION AND RESTORATIVE JUSTICE CENTER: $30,196 over 5y, 0.9% of budgetHABITAT FOR HUMANITY INTL WATAUGA COUNTY: $29,598 over 5y, 0.9% of budgetTHE CHILDREN'S COUNCIL OF WATAUGA COUNTY INC: $29,000 over 5y, 0.4% of budgetAVERY COUNTY HABITAT FOR HUMANITY: $27,500 over 5y, 0.7% of budgetNEIGHBORS FEEDING NEIGHBORS FOOD MI: $17,500 over 3y, 1.4% of budgetFARM CAFE INC: $11,000 over 2y, 1.5% of budgetMITCHELL COUNTY SHEPHERDS STAFF: $5,000 over 2y, 3.6% of budgetAVERY ASSOCIATION FOR EXCEPTIONAL CITIZENS: $2,500 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetSOUTHMOUNTAIN CHILDREN AND FAMILY SERVICES: $2,400 over 2y, 0.0% of budget
Grantee by grantee: a decade per organization, before and after funding

A decade per grantee: revenue shaded, grants as bars, all rows on one timeline.

Co-funders

Grantmakers whose grantees overlap with this funder’s far more than size alone predicts. Closer means stronger alignment; arcs show where they also fund each other. Here they form a tightly interlocked group: most of these funders back each other's grantees too.

North Carolina Commun…The High Country Char…Womens Fund of the Bl…The Cannon Foundation…Foundation for the Ca…The Celia Lipton Farr…Dogwood Health TrustGail Handel Family Fo…Amy Wellness Foundati…Blue Ridge Energy Mem…The Community Foundat…Helen M Clabough Char…
North Carolina Community FoundationNC30.6× affinity13 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: North Carolina Community Foundation · The High Country Charitable Foundation · Womens Fund of the Blue Ridge Inc · The Cannon Foundation Inc · Foundation for the Carolinas · The Celia Lipton Farris and Victor W Farris Foundation · Dogwood Health Trust · Gail Handel Family Foundation Inc · Amy Wellness Foundation · Blue Ridge Energy Members Foundation · The Community Foundation of Western North Carolina Inc · Helen M Clabough Charitable Foundation

How this is measured
Affinity is a Gamma-Poisson posterior co-funding rate, re-centered on the typical rate, so thin evidence shrinks toward no signal. Overlap is association, not proof of shared intent.

How much its grantees rely on government

Each dot is one organization High Country United Way funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from High Country United Way. Bigger dots raise more.

2025
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 00%1%3%6%10%funder's share of their income ↑0%19%38%56%75%share of the org’s income from government →
    no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
    0get no government money at all
    6report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
    0rely on government for over half their income
    ⤢ axis zoomed · 0–75%
    typical government reliance, FY20–25
    How this is measured
    Government income is each org’s traced federal awards (USASpending grants and contracts) plus state payments (open checkbooks) as a share of its total revenue (IRS Form 990); the self-reported government-grant line (990 line 1e) is carried for cross-check: a grantee that reports government grants we could not trace to a source is left off the chart rather than shown as receiving none. An association, not a claim that a grant caused the public funding. Coverage is precision-first, a floor rather than a census; state records exist for 9 states, so a grantee outside them shows no state figure (dimmed) rather than a false zero. Federal award amounts are obligations, which can span years, so a single-year share is indicative. 990 filings lag 12 to 24 months.

    On method. Every financial figure here is read from IRS e-file XML, the funder’s own 990/990-PF, and from the multi-year returns of the 21 grantees we resolved, each linked to its source. Grantee outcomes are each organization’s own program-service reporting (Form 990, Part III), read as association with funding, never as caused by it. Low-confidence name matches are suppressed rather than guessed. How we build these →

    How this is measured
    Each figure carries one of six labels. Filed is what the funder reported on its return. Official is another government record about an organization, such as a federal award or a charity register, joined by name where no shared identifier exists. Resolved is an identity we worked out where the filing named a recipient without an EIN, kept only above a measured confidence threshold. Computed is arithmetic over those, like themes, portfolio clusters and co-funder strength. Context is a statistic about a place rather than about an organization, which is what the need overlay is: it describes the area a grantee’s address sits in, not where its work lands. Inferred is drawn by a model from text, like the partnerships read out of public news and organization websites. Each is labeled where it appears.

    Generated from the IRS Form 990 e-file return for fiscal year 2024, released 2024. Filings run roughly 12 to 24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

    Possibly out of date. A more recent filing (FY2025) is on record and reports $923k of grant expense, but none of it to a named recipient. On a Form 990 that can mean grants abroad, filed by region only (Schedule F), grants under $5,000, which are not itemized, or a schedule referenced as an attachment the e-file does not carry. The figures above are therefore from FY2024, the most recent year this funder named its grantees.

    Source object · view filing

    Play a game based on High Country United Way’s filings →

    More from the funding graph

    The unnamed billions
    grants reported with no recipient in the public record
    The regranting layer
    51% of grant dollars land in the regranting layer
    The DAF merry-go-round
    $9.7B circulates between donor-advised funds
    The endowment market
    who holds foundation money, and what just moved
    The camps
    funders cluster by geography, not ideology
    By state
    where grant money is based, and what stays home