UNITED WAY OF MIDDLE TENNESSEE INC

Programs

1. The community impact funding program provides funding support to 184 nonprofit agencies in cheatham, davidson, dickson, hickman, houston, montgomery, stewart, robertson, and williamson counties, tn. These programs serve low-income individuals and families, vulnerable children and adults by providing measurable changes in behavior or condition in three focus areas - education, financial stability and health. Highlights of program outcomes in these areas are: education-94% of pre-k children enrolled in the read to succeed early literacy program assessed kindergarten ready. Financial stability-11,000 families benefitted from free tax preparation which saved families more than $2.75m in filing fees. Health-more than 374,000 individuals had their basic needs met through food, financial assistance or shelter requests.

   $10,697,184 spentof which $8,097,677 as grants
   33% of program spending

2. United way administers ryan white part b funding that is awarded to state health departments through the health resources and services administration (hrsa). This grant focuses on providing hiv care and support services (non-medical case management, food bank/home-delivered meals, transportation, emergency financial assistance, housing, and psychosocial support) to individuals living in the state of tennessee. With these dollars the program can serve over 2,900 individuals annually.

   $5,084,350 spentof which $3,824,914 as grants
   16% of program spending

3. During the annual united way campaign, some donors choose to directly designate some portion of their gift to a specific non-profit agency or united way in another community. Designated gifts are aggregated and are then paid to the agencies or organizations as they are collected, subject only to a modest administrative fee to help support the cost of the united way campaign. The designated gifts are distributed to the recipient agencies without restriction, for use as determined by the agency. To be eligible for designated gifts, agencies must be tax exempt under section 5013, have a health and human services focus, and have a presence in the middle tennessee community.

   $2,784,425 spentof which $2,784,425 as grants$198,850 earned by the program
   9% of program spending

4. In december 2023, the middle tennessee area was hit with tornadoes, once again calling our partnership with the mayor's office and disaster response into action. We opened up a tornado response fund which carried into 2024 for deployment for those individuals and families affected. With long-term recovery efforts still needed, united way of middle tennessee serves as the fiscal agent for both the davidson county long-term recovery group and the clarksville-montgomery county long-term recovery group.

   $1,119,373 spentof which $1,109,358 as grants
   3% of program spending

5. The nashville alliance for financial independence (nafi) is a coalition of professionals helping working individuals and families build assets for long-lasting financial independence. Nafi provides professional development to more than 50 local nonprofits on topics related to finances and convenes multi-sector partners to effectively problem-solve to change community conditions. Free federal income tax preparation is offered through volunteer income tax assistance (vita) sites specifically aimed at households earning $84,000 or less. This service ensures filers claim all their eligible credits. In 2025, vita sites helped 11,130 families collect over $12.7 million in total federal refunds and save $3.8 million in filing fees. In partnership with the mayor's office, uwgn operates the city's financial empowerment center (fec). The center provides free one-on-one financial counseling and teaches clients how to open safe and affordable bank accounts, establish and increase credit scores, reduce debt, and increase savings. Through a partnership with wells fargo, the fec received a $300,000 investment to increase staff capacity and deploy community-based mobile counselors. Wells fargo…

   $3,991,958 spentof which $2,334,006 as grants
   12% of program spending

6. People who need help, but don't know where to start, can call the 2-1-1 community services help line to speak with a community resource specialist with access to a comprehensive database of resources across our 42-county service area. The 2-1-1 hotline has taken more than 1.5 million contacts since 2004. Top needs frequently identified are food, utilities, rent payment assistance, and tax preparation site information. 2-1-1 also serves as the entry point for people looking for free tax preparation services through the nashville alliance for financial independence and volunteer income tax assistance sites.

   $783,484 spentof which $610,053 as grants
   2% of program spending

7. Effective june 1, 2013, united way of greater nashville partners with governor's early literacy foundation and the dollywood foundation to implement the imagination library of middle tennessee program in davidson, williamson and sumner counties. Imagination library delivers one high-quality and age-appropriate book each month to children from birth through age five, at no cost to their families, regardless of income. With imagination library complementing the read to succeed program, united way will be able to display a clear path to literacy for children beginning at birth.

   $1,209,549 spentof which $1,092,002 as grants
   4% of program spending

8. Three out of four nashville third graders are not reading at grade level, a challenge nashville has wrestled with for more than two decades. United way serves as the lead convener for a community collaborative call raising readers nashville (formerly blueprint for early childhood success). We are cultivating an environment where all children can grow the reading skills they need to thrive by improving the systems and structures that support nashville's families and young children. This work empowers united way's early childhood initiative, read to succeed (rts). Rts unites early childhood professionals to align knowledge, skills and best practices for lifelong academic success and well-being for children and families. Rts partners with local childcare centers serving vulnerable populations to reduce risk factors for children and families to prepare for success in kindergarten. Rts serves over 800 students where 93% of three- and four-year-olds are at developmental level. Before the start of this program, only 33% of four-year-olds in these centers tested at average or higher on kindergarten readiness assessments. In the spring of 2022, 90% and 92% of three- and four-year-olds met…

   $3,171,437 spentof which $2,185,784 as grants
   10% of program spending

9. The majority of program assistance included here are one-time gifts of basic needs items, books, school supplies, infant care items, etc. To partner agencies of united way of greater nashville. During our quarterly days of action, both monetary contributions and in-kind items are collected for the specific purpose of highlighting one of our impact areas (education, financial stability, or health). Volunteers join in the efforts to raise money, supplies, and awareness for those partner agencies serving the community in that specific impact area. The proceeds, in the form of in-kind items, are then distributed directly to those agencies.

   $279,996 spentof which $152,428 as grants
   1% of program spending

10. In 2025, united way of greater nashville built on the foundation of the family collective and its longstanding partnership with the siemer institute to strengthen the next iteration of the work focused on family housing stability, coaching, and navigation. With support from the frist foundation and the joe c. Davis foundation, united way invested in partners working directly with families experiencing housing instability, helping more than 150 families access support to obtain and maintain housing, increase income, and reduce the recurrence of housing instability. Through these partner-led efforts, 60 families obtained and maintained housing and 35 families increased income stability. United way also used funding from community solutions to support the development of a coordinated prevention and diversion effort designed to look upstream, identify housing risks earlier, and connect families to resources before instability becomes a crisis. Across this work, united way served as a convener and facilitator of change by bringing partners together, strengthening alignment across agencies, and nurturing a stronger community of practice focused on family stability. Together, these…

    $899,849 spentof which $679,888 as grants
    3% of program spending

11. Hands on inspires people to serve their neighbors and makes it easy for them to make an impact in the community. Hands on finds volunteers for more than 200 schools and nonprofits throughout united way of greater nashville's service area, with a focus on davidson, williamson, and montgomery counties. In 2025, more than 11,500 volunteers signed up for 25,400 service activities benefiting our neighbors, schools, and public spaces through hands on's community partner, geekcause, corporate volunteer engagement, and disaster programs. Together, they dedicated more than 63,000 hours of service to the community.

    $2,049,249 spentof which $234,773 as grants$7,850 earned by the program
    6% of program spending

The 11 programs described on its FY2025 Form 990, listed largest first by expense. Program spending in total: $32,070,854.