California · Nonprofit
United Way of the Desert
United Way of the Desert (California) receives grants from 33 organizations whose IRS filings report $1,277,922 to it, the largest being LIFT TO RISE ($663,800). 15 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- Revenue FY2023
- $526k
- Funders on record
- 33
- Grants received
- $1.3M
- Net assets
- $0
What United Way of the Desert does
Mission
To break the cycle of poverty in the Coachella Valley through mobilizing the caring power of community.
As stated on its FY2023 Form 990.
Programs
United Way of the Desert funds and manages several programs and initiatives for special areas of need. We have continued to partner with six water agencies to provide more than $100,000 in emergency water utility assistance to 1,000 families to prevent water service shut-off. In addition, the raising a reader program, which provides evidence-based early literacy interventions for at-risk families with children, served more than 2,100 families in 2022-2023.
$442,473 spent66% of program spendingUnited Way of the Desert utilizes a largely volunteer-driven process to invest resources in programs for local people, which help more than 13,000 people throughout the coachella valley and morongo basin. We reach people in need to help solve problems for the long-term. Our efforts are focused on three areas: education, financial stability, and health. United ways funding supports 15 programs in partnership with 8 member agencies. Together with the commitment of donors and volunteers, united way is able to achieve lasting results. We use proven practices to protect our donors investment in our community and deliver the best return on each dollar to positively impact the greatest number of recipients.a) programs for financial stabilityconditions: in the coachella valley, nearly 50% of residents live at or below 200% federal poverty level and struggle to meet their basic needs. United Way of the Desert provides resources for programs that address critical needs such as food, clothing, and shelter for our most at-risk residents, including those financially impacted by covid-19. These programs help keep families in their homes and on their way to recovery by allowing them to retain…
$217,100 spent32% of program spendingUnited Way of the Desert allows donors to designate gifts to other united ways or specific 501 (c)(3) agencies. There were approximately 354 donor designations to 265 agencies and other united ways in the 2022-2023 campaign. Agency designations may be paid through a united way or federation to which the agency belongs.
$14,466 spent2% of program spending
The 3 programs described on its FY2022 Form 990, listed largest first by expense. Program spending in total: $674,039.
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.
Balance sheet
Total assets and total liabilities at each year end, in dollars. The largest one-year move in total assets was 2022 to 2023, from $1.0M to $0 (−100%).
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: 2022 11%. Grants only. Government contracts and fees sit inside program revenue.
Surplus & reserves
Operating surplus or deficit each year, and months of liquidity in hand. 6 of the last 7 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.
Who funds it, year by year
2017 → 2023: the base broadened from 7 funders to 11 funders, grant income rose $60k → $99k.
8 of 33 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.
From the IRS filings of United Way of the Desert’s funders (the co-funder graph). Top 30 of 33 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 the Desert leans on a few funders — its largest provides 52% of grant income and the top three 74%; half comes from just 1 funder.
the vertical line marks half of all grant income — 1 funder to its left
68% 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 the Desert.
Largest funder’s share by year: 2017 50% · 2018 40% · 2019 32% · 2020 76% · 2021 44% · 2022 38% · 2023 35% — 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
38% of United Way of the Desert's funders are still giving 3 years after their first grant; 45% 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
81% of United Way of the Desert's grant income comes from California funders.
In-state vs out-of-state, by year
Funder states come from each funder’s own filing. $114k arriving through sponsors registered in 7 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.
Organizations like United Way of the Desert
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 California
Nationally
Read directly from this organization’s own Form 990, as neutral context.
Where the money goes
77% of spending goes to programs.
Governance
Public support
99%
Share of support from the public (Schedule A) — the basis for its public-charity status.
Footprint & structure
Files a return copy in 1 state
Screen this organization
A dated, signed PDF of the compliance screen for United Way of the Desert: 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 the Desert?
- United Way of the Desert (California) receives grants from 33 organizations whose IRS filings report $1,277,922 to it, the largest being LIFT TO RISE ($663,800). 15 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- How many funders does United Way of the Desert have?
- IRS filings report 33 organizations giving $1,277,922 in grants to United Way of the Desert, 15 of which have funded it in more than one year.
- Who is the largest funder of United Way of the Desert?
- LIFT TO RISE is the largest funder on record, with $663,800 in grants. The full list of funders is on this page.
- How can an organization like United Way of the Desert find more funders?
- Start with the funders already giving here, then look at the foundations that back similar organizations in California. 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 FY2023 (financials across 2017–2023), and the filings of 33 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 14, 2026. What this page cannot tell you · view filing