New York · Public charity
United Way of Buffalo and Erie County
Our mission: we bring people, organizations and resources together to create systemic community change. Our vision: we envision an equitable, thriving and united community achieved through collaborative leadership. We meet our commitments and deliver high-quality, high-value results. We foster a culture of responsiveness and flexibility…
- $6.7M
- Granted FY2025(still arriving)
- 90
- Itemized grants FY2025
- 84
- Organizations funded FY2024
- 7%
- First-time grantees FY2024
- Itemized, FY2025
- $6.4M
- The rest is grants the schedule does not break out
- Median grant, FY2025
- $24,300
- Largest grant, FY2025
- $1,552,897
- Organizations funded a year
- 83 to 98
- FY2018 to FY2024
- States reached, FY2025
- 7
- Total assets, FY2025
- $28M
How open it is to new grantees
In FY2024, 7% of the organizations United Way of Buffalo and Erie County funded were first-time grantees, receiving 1% of its grant dollars.
New vs renewed · share of each year
In FY2024, 99% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $64k went to new ones.
Where new relationships form · theme of each grantee’s first grant
How this is measured
The numbers by year
| Fiscal year | Organizations funded | To those organizations | First-time grantees |
|---|---|---|---|
| FY2025still arriving | 78 | $6.4M | 13% |
| FY2024 | 84 | $7.7M | 7% |
| FY2023 | 90 | $8.2M | 26% |
| FY2022 | 87 | $8.9M | 13% |
| FY2021 | 91 | $11M | 13% |
| FY2020 | 98 | $12M | 23% |
| FY2019 | 83 | $12M | 16% |
| FY2018 | 85 | $12M | 28% |
What it funded, over time
Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2017 to 2025.
Where its grants go
Grant dollars by states, across the years we hold.
Which US states its grants reach
Top grantees
Largest recipients by total granted, FY2017 to FY2025, and the share of each one’s budget the grants supplied at peak.
| Grantee | Total granted | Years | Share of their budget |
|---|---|---|---|
| Buffalo Public Schools Foundation | $4,337,295 | 9 | n/a |
| Via Visually Impaired Advancement | $3,099,168 | 9 | 4% |
| Belmont Housing Resources for Wny Inc | $2,574,214 | 9 | 4% |
| Jericho Road Ministries Inc | $2,557,858 | 9 | 2% |
| Bestself Behavioral Health Inc | $2,417,397 | 8 | 1% |
| Polish Community Center of Buffalo Inc | $2,224,527 | 9 | 6% |
| Buffalo Federation of Neighborhood Centers Inc | $1,971,919 | 9 | 3% |
| Catholic Charities of Buffalo | $1,647,790 | 7 | 1% |
| Family Help Center Inc | $1,587,969 | 8 | 10% |
| Child and Family Services of Erie County | $1,461,649 | 9 | 1% |
Show all 188 grantees
Plus 6 recipients with no EIN on record ($31M), not named here.
Where it is load-bearing
United Way of Buffalo and Erie County supplied at least a quarter of the budget for 6 of its grantees at some point. The chart plots its 126 largest grantees; load-bearing ones sit top left.
Tap a dot to name the grantee.
How this is measured
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.
Open a dossier: Community Foundation for Greater Buffalo Inc · The John R Oishei Foundation · The Western New York Foundation · Buffalo Bills Foundation Inc · First Niagara Foundation · Cullen Foundation · James H Cummings Foundation Inc · The Peter and Elizabeth C Tower Foundation · The Ralph C Wilson Jr Foundation · Children's Foundation of Erie County Inc · Cullen Foundation of Western New York Inc · The Frank G Raichle Foundation
How this is measured
Compare United Way of Buffalo and Erie County with peer funders
About United Way of Buffalo and Erie County
- How much does United Way of Buffalo and Erie County give?
- United Way of Buffalo and Erie County reported 90 itemized grants totaling $6,389,519, out of $6,691,319 in total grant expense reported on the return in its FY2025 IRS filing. It funded between 83 and 98 organizations a year over FY2018 to FY2024.
- What does United Way of Buffalo and Erie County fund?
- By grant dollars over FY2017 to FY2025, its largest causes are Philanthropy (41%), Human Services (16%), Health (11%).
- Who are United Way of Buffalo and Erie County's largest grantees?
- By total granted over FY2017 to FY2025: Buffalo Public Schools Foundation ($4.3M), Via Visually Impaired Advancement ($3.1M), Belmont Housing Resources for Wny Inc ($2.6M).
- Does United Way of Buffalo and Erie County fund new organizations?
- In FY2024, 7% of the organizations it funded were first-time grantees.
- Which funders back the same organizations as United Way of Buffalo and Erie County?
- Its strongest co-funders, measured against what their size predicts, include Community Foundation for Greater Buffalo Inc, The John R Oishei Foundation, The Western New York Foundation.
- Where is United Way of Buffalo and Erie County based?
- United Way of Buffalo and Erie County is based in NY.
Play a game based on United Way of Buffalo and Erie County’s filings →