Ohio · Nonprofit
UNITED WAY OF CENTRAL OHIO INC
UNITED WAY OF CENTRAL OHIO INC (Ohio) receives grants from 111 organizations whose IRS filings report $42,408,652 to it, the largest being SIEMER INSTITUTE ($12,357,375). 75 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- Revenue FY2025
- $24M
- Funders on record
- 111
- Grants received
- $42M
- Net assets
- $29M
What United Way of Central Ohio Inc does
Mission
United way of central ohio is the local organization that harnesses the power of communities working together - people, nonprofits, businesses and government - to create a stronger, more equitable central ohio. See schedule o.we do this primarily by helping families in crisis meet basic needs and children achieve student success.
As stated on its FY2025 Form 990.
Programs
United way of central ohio's mission is to improve the lives of others by mobilizing the caring power of our community. We have one purpose: to reduce poverty in our community. By bringing people and systems together and mobilizing them to act, we're helping to change community conditions and build a stronger central ohio. Our vision is to build a community in which everyone has the aspirations, resources and opportunities to reach their fullest potential.established in 1923, united way of central ohio has served our community for 100 years. In that time, our focus has shifted from being strictly a community fundraiser to a community impact organization that brings people together to solve our most critical community issues. In addition to being a major funder of central ohio's nonprofit sector, united way is also a strong and vibrant change agent in our community. To fulfill its goals and objectives, united way raises dollars that support nonprofit agencies (funded partners) addressing critical needs in our community. Focused on reducing poverty, united way funded 91 nonprofit agencies in 2023-2024. These funded partners worked to ensure people in crisis received food, shelter…
$12,981,043 spentof which $8,125,194 as grants65% of program spendingTax time is a coalition of nonprofit, business and government organizations that provides free, high-quality tax assistance and linkages to financial resources. The program helps households claim valuable tax deductions and credits and achieve greater financial stability. Lutheran social services 2-1-1 information and referral services acts as the primary point of contact to connect taxpayers to tax sites. In addition, the legal aid society of columbus manages a legal help line to assist clients with tax-related legal issues. Clients also receive information about savings and checking accounts, understanding and repairing credit, and benefits application assistance. More than 10,800 people received free tax preparation assistance with their 2023 tax filings, resulting in $9.6 million being returned to central ohio families and over $2.1 million saved in tax preparation fees. Tax time serves low- to moderate-income households. All clients served by tax time's vita program live in households earning $56,000 or less per year; however, the average client earns significantly less. Tax time focuses on households eligible for the earned income tax credit, whose primary recipients are…
$904,550 spent5% of program spendingUnited way of central ohio allows donors to designate gifts to other united ways or specific agencies. United way of central ohio processed donor designations to 1,784 agencies and other united ways during the 2022 campaign. Organizations receiving donor designated contributions through united way undergo screening prior to distribution of funding. Such screening includes verification of compliance with the provisions of the patriot act and verification of current status as an irs code section 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.
$4,391,800 spentof which $4,391,800 as grants$518,876 earned by the program22% of program spendingUnited way of central ohio processed donor designations to 1801 agencies and other united ways during the 2023 campaign.
$1,652,454 spentof which $41,359 as grants8% of program spending
The 4 programs described on its FY2023 Form 990, listed largest first by expense. Program spending in total: $19,929,847.
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.
Balance sheet
Total assets and total liabilities at each year end, in dollars. The largest one-year move in total assets was 2019 to 2020, from $34M to $30M (−12%).
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.
Government-grant reliance: 2017 3% · 2018 2% · 2019 1% · 2020 2% · 2021 7% · 2022 5% · 2023 11% · 2024 8% · 2025 8%. Grants only. Government contracts and fees sit inside program revenue.
94% of UNITED WAY OF CENTRAL OHIO INC’s revenue is contributions — more donation-reliant than the typical peer (80% for the typical peer).
Surplus & reserves
Operating surplus or deficit each year, and months of liquidity in hand. 4 of the last 9 reported years ran a deficit.
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
Lisa Courtice
President & CEO
Board chair
Dan Crane
Chair
As listed on its FY2025 Form 990.
The chief executive listed changed between the FY2018 and FY2019 filings.
Who funds it, year by year
2017 → 2023: the base broadened from 35 funders to 49 funders, grant income fell $6.6M → $4.4M.
21 of 111 of your funders are donor-advised or pass-through sponsors (tagged DAF) — 12% 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: $30M from one payer (the same organization on both sides, largest United Way of Central Ohio Inc); $20M from 19 payers (the payer shares this organization's board, largest Columbus Foundation). These are real filings, and they are not money UNITED WAY OF CENTRAL OHIO INC raised.
From the IRS filings of UNITED WAY OF CENTRAL OHIO INC’s funders (the co-funder graph). Top 30 of 111 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 OHIO INC has a broad base — no single funder exceeds 29% of grant income, and it takes 3 funders to reach half.
the vertical line marks half of all grant income — 3 funders to its left
74% of the income these shares are computed over arrives through pass-through sponsors or from payers whose filings do not say what kind of payment it is. Concentration is still measured over all of it, because the money is real; what it does not support is a claim about how many institutions have chosen to fund UNITED WAY OF CENTRAL OHIO INC.
Largest funder’s share by year: 2017 47% · 2018 44% · 2019 31% · 2020 19% · 2021 37% · 2022 43% · 2023 42% — diversifying over time.
“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
55% of UNITED WAY OF CENTRAL OHIO INC's funders are still giving 3 years after their first grant; 68% give in more than one year at all.
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
87% of UNITED WAY OF CENTRAL OHIO INC's grant income comes from Ohio funders.
In-state vs out-of-state, by year
Funder states come from each funder’s own filing. $4.9M arriving through sponsors registered in 15 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.
Against its field
UNITED WAY OF CENTRAL OHIO INC is better cushioned than half of the 490 philanthropy nonprofits its size.
this organization peer median middle 50% of peers· 490 philanthropy nonprofits $10M–$100M, FY2025
Government funding UNITED WAY OF CENTRAL OHIO INC receives
Grants and contracts to this organization from federal (USASpending) and state checkbooks, reconciled to its EIN. $1.5M on record.
- Department of the Treasury$1.5M
Federal grants vs contracts are distinguished; state line items keep their reported category. Matched by name + geography (the BMF), so coverage is partial and precision-first.
Organizations like UNITED WAY OF CENTRAL OHIO 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 Ohio
Nationally
Read directly from this organization’s own Form 990, as neutral context.
Where the money goes
84% of spending goes to programs.
Governance
Public support
84%
Share of support from the public (Schedule A) — the basis for its public-charity status.
Footprint & structure
Files a return copy in 1 state
Part of a family of 1 related entity
- United Way of Union County Inc · exempt
Screen this organization
A dated, signed PDF of the compliance screen for UNITED WAY OF CENTRAL OHIO 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.
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 OHIO INC?
- UNITED WAY OF CENTRAL OHIO INC (Ohio) receives grants from 111 organizations whose IRS filings report $42,408,652 to it, the largest being SIEMER INSTITUTE ($12,357,375). 75 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- How many funders does UNITED WAY OF CENTRAL OHIO INC have?
- IRS filings report 111 organizations giving $42,408,652 in grants to UNITED WAY OF CENTRAL OHIO INC, 75 of which have funded it in more than one year.
- Who is the largest funder of UNITED WAY OF CENTRAL OHIO INC?
- SIEMER INSTITUTE is the largest funder on record, with $12,357,375 in grants. The full list of funders is on this page.
- How can an organization like UNITED WAY OF CENTRAL OHIO INC find more funders?
- Start with the funders already giving here, then look at the foundations that back similar organizations in Ohio. 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 111 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