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Florida · Nonprofit

United Way of Central Florida Inc

United Way of Central Florida Inc (Florida) receives grants from 57 organizations whose IRS filings report $13,712,594 to it, the largest being GEORGE JENKINS FOUNDATION INC ($5,085,110). 37 of them have funded it in more than one year.

Revenue FY2025
$14M
Funders on record
57
Grants received
$14M
Net assets
$18M
37/57 repeat funderspeak grant-dependency 25%
01What it does

What United Way of Central Florida Inc does

Mission

Mission Statement: To inspire our community to give, advocate and volunteer by identifying needs and mobilizing vetted resources to create positive local change. Vision Statement: To unite our community and empower everyone to achieve their full potential.

As stated on its FY2025 Form 990.

Programs

  1. Community Impact: UWCF's premiere Community Investment Process mobilizes more than 130 volunteers on 15 teams around their focus areas of EDUCATION, INCOME, HEALTH and SAFETY NET. These volunteers visit program sites, review previous investments, program goals and outcomes, and make recommendations about the most effective way to meet critical community needs. EDUCATION: The Early Literacy Initiative helps at-risk children develop the language skills they need to succeed in school. Given the right start, children learn to read, succeed academically and are more likely to graduate from high school. Academic Achievement Initiative helps children in grades K-12 pass achievement tests at grade level and graduate on time. FINANCIAL STABILITY/INCOME: The Financial Stability initiative helps families improve financial stability with GED and job training, credit and budgeting classes, money coaches, financial education and savings match programs. Improved credit scores, increases in emergency savings accounts, increases in job related credentials and/or increases in family income measure success. HEALTH: The Health Initiative helps people of all ages to improve or maintain good health.…

    $6,815,484 spentof which $6,326,191 as grants$269,634 earned by the program
    58% of program spending
  2. Community Wellness: The UWCF Community Wellness initiative is a grant in collaboration with the Polk County Community Health Care Division. Polk County is on an October 1-September 30 fiscal year. During the 2024-25 Polk County fiscal year the grant provided a $460,000 administrative fee to UWCF, up to $500,000 to fund a team of UWCF Community Wellness Navigators, and $3,277,170 was awarded to fund behavioral/mental health and prevention/early intervention programs through an open Request for Proposals (RFP) to Polk County 501(c)3 organizations. The navigator program's main purpose is to assist in connecting eligible Polk County residents with the Polk HealthCare Plan and additional community resources.

    $2,793,420 spentof which $2,013,645 as grants
    24% of program spending
  3. Disaster Relief: Provides immediate assistance and long-term recovery support in the event our community needs urgent disaster relief. UWCF develops partnerships to address the many challenges and/or emergencies that our community faces. UWCF meets with partners to coordinate the efforts of government, businesses, non-profit and faith-based organizations involved in disaster response. UWCF continues to respond to disasters through food security efforts and other assistance. With the support of local partnerships, UWCF was able to provide the following support: * The United Community Relief Fund was formed in partnership with GiveWell Community Foundation in 2020 to provide COVID-19 pandemic response. In the wake of Hurricane Ian in 2022, over $259,600 was distributed to nonprofits and their clients suffering direct losses as a result of the storm. This fund was activated during the 2024-25 fiscal year after Hurricanes Helene and Milton and provided $80,000 to 11 tri-county nonprofit agencies and a $100,000 match to Rebuilding Together Greater Florida for home repairs. * Publix Super Markets Emergency Relief provided $279,079 to support individuals who have experienced hardships…

    $940,910 spentof which $770,727 as grants
    8% of program spending
  4. OTHER PROGRAM SERVICES: Success By 6: Success By 6 (SB6) mobilizes volunteers from local organizations, businesses, government, churches, civic groups, educators and human services to ensure that all children, by the age of six, have the physical, emotional, social and mental foundation to succeed in school and in life. Since 1995, UWCF's SB6 has focused on early literacy to help children enter school ready to succeed. In total Success By 6 programs placed over 54,000 books in the hands of children in FY 24/25. In addition: * 103 Parent Lending Libraries were in childcare centers serving low-income families; with 20,919 books checked out. * To increase awareness of the importance of early childhood education, Born Learning, a $90 million early childhood awareness campaign developed by the Ad Council, Civilian provided more than 300,000 messages to citizens of Central Florida. These included bus signs, billboards, newspaper advertisements and parent education materials placed in key locations throughout the area. Success By 6 events and staff provided 4,756 pieces of Born Learning and other literature to families in our community * Dolly Parton Imagination Library mails a book and…

    $1,267,255 spent
    11% of program spending

The 4 programs described on its FY2024 Form 990, listed largest first by expense. Program spending in total: $11,817,069.

02The organization over time

The organization over time

Each line starts at 100 in 2017, so what you read is the shape rather than the size: 150 means half as much again as 2017, 50 means half. The number beside each label in the key is where it ended. The shaded band is where the middle 50% of its peers' revenue would sit, given their growth.

100 = 20172017 Revenue 100 ($12M) Expenses 100 ($11M) Net assets 100 ($14M)2018 Revenue 99 ($12M) Expenses 108 ($11M) Net assets 100 ($14M)2019 Revenue 96 ($11M) Expenses 104 ($11M) Net assets 98 ($14M)2020 Revenue 118 ($14M) Expenses 130 ($14M) Net assets 93 ($13M)2021 Revenue 219 ($26M) Expenses 214 ($23M) Net assets 118 ($17M)2022 Revenue 85 ($9.9M) Expenses 90 ($9.4M) Net assets 110 ($15M)2023 Revenue 140 ($16M) Expenses 136 ($14M) Net assets 125 ($18M)2024 Revenue 132 ($15M) Expenses 137 ($14M) Net assets 134 ($19M)2025 Revenue 124 ($14M) Expenses 139 ($15M) Net assets 131 ($18M)
'17'18'19'20'21'22'23'24'25
Revenue (124)Expenses (139)Net assets (131)Peer revenue range

Balance sheet

Total assets and total liabilities at each year end, in dollars. The largest one-year move in total assets was 2023 to 2024, from $22M to $44M (+102%).

$30M
$30M
$30M
$41M
$31M
$27M
$22M
$44M
$41M
'17'18'19'20'21'22'23'24'25
Total assetsTotal liabilities

How it's funded, over time

Each bar is one year's revenue split into where it came from, and every bar is the same height — these are shares, not amounts, so a year that raised twice as much looks the same size. Hover a bar for the split.

2017
2018
2019
2020
2021
2022
2023
2024
2025
ContributionsProgram revenueInvestmentOther

Government-grant reliance: 2017 1% · 2018 1% · 2019 1% · 2020 19% · 2021 52% · 2022 0% · 2023 13% · 2024 23% · 2025 20%. Grants only. Government contracts and fees sit inside program revenue.

95% of United Way of Central Florida Inc’s revenue is contributions — more donation-reliant than the typical peer (80% for the typical peer).

This organization
Typical peer · 874 orgs

Surplus & reserves

Operating surplus or deficit each year, and months of liquidity in hand. 1 of the last 9 reported years ran a deficit.

$1.1M
’17
$233k
’18
$170k
’19
$100k
’20
$3.0M
’21
$453k
’22
$2.0M
’23
$984k
’24
−$214k
’25
16
months of
reserve

Leadership and staff

The officers, directors, trustees and key employees listed on each return. Joined and no longer listed compare each filing with the year before, matching people by surname and first initial; a year after a gap, or a roster under three people, has no comparison.

Chief executive

Christina Criser Jackson

CEO

Board chair

Brian Haas

Chair

As listed on its FY2025 Form 990.

20242025
Listed4040
Joined·+13
No longer listed·13
03Who funds it

Who funds it, year by year

2017 → 2023: the base broadened from 10 funders to 24 funders, grant income rose $457k → $4.1M.

10 of 57 of your funders are donor-advised or pass-through sponsors (tagged DAF) — 9% of grant dollars received. That money is really individual donors directing a sponsor; the institutions to cultivate are the non-DAF funders.

Left out of every figure on this page: $7.6M from 8 payers (the payer shares this organization's board, largest Givewell Community Foundation Inc). These are real filings, and they are not money United Way of Central Florida Inc raised.

From the IRS filings of United Way of Central Florida Inc’s funders (the co-funder graph). Top 30 of 57 funders by total. Association, not causation. Trends are read to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving. FY2024–FY2026 are still being filed and are shown unshaded; they do not move any figure on this page.

How concentrated its funding is

United Way of Central Florida Inc leans on a few funders — its largest provides 37% of grant income and the top three 78%; half comes from just 2 funders.

the vertical line marks half of all grant income — 2 funders to its left

37%
largest funder
78%
top three
~4
effective funders

Largest funder’s share by year: 2017 66% · 2018 24% · 2019 50% · 2020 60% · 2021 66% · 2022 68% · 2023 71% — growing more concentrated.

“Effective funders” = inverse Herfindahl index (1 / Σ shareᵢ²) — the number of equal-sized funders that would give the same concentration. Trends are read to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving. FY2024–FY2026 are still being filed and are shown unshaded; they do not move any figure on this page.

How long its funders stay

34% of United Way of Central Florida Inc's funders are still giving 3 years after their first grant; 65% give in more than one year at all.

first grant+1y+2y+3y+4y+5y+6y

Share of funders still giving k years after their first recorded grant, pooled across every acquisition cohort. A funder counts as retained in a year only if it made a grant that year. Measured to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving — a funder cannot be counted as lapsed in a year most filers have not reached.

Where its funders are

97% of United Way of Central Florida Inc's grant income comes from Florida funders.

IL
NY
MA
OH
CT
CA
MO
VA
DE
NC
DC
AL
GA
TX
FL

In-state vs out-of-state, by year

’17
’18
’19
’20
’21
’22
’23
Florida out of state home

Funder states come from each funder’s own filing. $1.2M arriving through sponsors registered in 9 states is excluded from the map and the split above: a sponsor holds money on a donor’s behalf, so its registered address would place those dollars somewhere no donor need ever have been. Trends are read to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving. FY2024–FY2026 are still being filed and are shown unshaded; they do not move any figure on this page.

04Its place in the field

Against its field

United Way of Central Florida Inc holds deeper cash reserves than three-quarters of the 490 philanthropy nonprofits its size.

Operating margin−1% · bottom quartile
Months of reserve15.9mo · top quartile
Revenue growth (annualized)3% · bottom quartile

this organization peer median middle 50% of peers· 490 philanthropy nonprofits $10M–$100M, FY2025

Organizations like United Way of Central Florida Inc

Organizations whose mission and program text most resemble this one, by semantic similarity over every organization in the US filings — the closest peers, and often the clearest route to shared or prospective funders.

In Florida

Nationally

05Profile & governance

Read directly from this organization’s own Form 990, as neutral context.

Where the money goes

81% of spending goes to programs.

Program 81%Management 10%Fundraising 10%

Governance

32
board members
100%
independent
✓Conflict-of-interest policy✓Whistleblower policy✓Document retention✓Board reviewed the 990✓Audited financials

Public support

82%

Share of support from the public (Schedule A) — the basis for its public-charity status.

Footprint & structure

Files a return copy in 1 state

FL

Part of a family of 1 related entity

  • Perpetual Trust · corp_trust

Screen this organization

A dated, signed PDF of the compliance screen for United Way of Central Florida Inc: IRS status (Business Master File, Publication 78, auto-revocation), the OFAC sanctions lists, the Internal Revenue Bulletin, and California registration, with the Rev. Proc. 2018-32 §8.01 reliance elements stated element by element. Generated from the current files at the moment you download it.

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Screens are triage, not determinations; a source that cannot be read reports not screened, never clear. Screen this nonprofit · How the screen works · on the API as GET /api/screening/{ein}?format=pdf

Questions and answers

Who funds United Way of Central Florida Inc?
United Way of Central Florida Inc (Florida) receives grants from 57 organizations whose IRS filings report $13,712,594 to it, the largest being GEORGE JENKINS FOUNDATION INC ($5,085,110). 37 of them have funded it in more than one year.
How many funders does United Way of Central Florida Inc have?
IRS filings report 57 organizations giving $13,712,594 in grants to United Way of Central Florida Inc, 37 of which have funded it in more than one year.
Who is the largest funder of United Way of Central Florida Inc?
GEORGE JENKINS FOUNDATION INC is the largest funder on record, with $5,085,110 in grants. The full list of funders is on this page.
How can an organization like United Way of Central Florida Inc find more funders?
Start with the funders already giving here, then look at the foundations that back similar organizations in Florida. The funding by cause and by state pages list the largest funders for a given area and how to approach them.

These figures are read directly from IRS Form 990 / 990-PF e-file XML: this organization’s own return for FY2025 (financials across 2017–2025), and the filings of 57 funders that report grants to it. “On record” means captured in the filings we have parsed — a funder that does not e-file, or whose grant detail is not itemized, will not appear. Filings run roughly 12–24 months behind. Trends on this page end at FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving; later years are shown and marked, and move no figure. Data on this page was exported October 22, 2026. What this page cannot tell you · view filing