Kansas · Nonprofit
UNITED WAY OF THE PLAINS INC
UNITED WAY OF THE PLAINS INC (Kansas) receives grants from 81 organizations whose IRS filings report $41,063,018 to it, the largest being TEXTRON AVIATION EMPLOYEES UPLIFT FUND INC ($13,334,290). 55 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- Revenue FY2024
- $17M
- Funders on record
- 81
- Grants received
- $41M
- Net assets
- $19M
What United Way of the Plains Inc does
Mission
To improve lives by harnessing the caring power of our community to advance the common good in south central kansas.
As stated on its FY2024 Form 990.
Programs
Grants awarded & designations to agencies: grants awarded include awards from united way's three primary funding opportunities: "opportunity on the plans", "promise on the plains "impact on the plains. In addition, awards were granted through our community impact initiatives, along with student scholarships and donor designations to specific agencies. Opportunity on the plains is united way's traditional grant awards to agencies. During 2024 almost $4.1m was awarded to sixty-three programs conducted by forty-eight agencies in the focus areas of education, health, financial stability and basic needs. Applications were reviewed by panels of volunteers that made recommendations to the board of directors for approval. Promise on the plains & impact on the plains represent additional funding opportunities for agencies in our focus areas that build capacity in agencies and promotes innovative approaches to solving community problems. These funds were awarded to fourteen agencies in 2024, totaling $190k community impact initiative funding of approximately $170k was provided to various service providers, such as: 1. Almost $130k used to provide monthly books to children aged birth-5yrs…
$4,987,313 spentof which $4,987,313 as grants$7,207 earned by the program39% of program spendingGive items of value program (giv): warehouse location used to receive and distribute donated products such as office furniture/supplies, linens, paper goods, and other various items from area businesses and national retailers. Product is distributed to area non-profits at no cost, thereby allowing the receiving agency to spend more of their dollars on their respective mission. During 2024, 103 local companies and national retailers donated items with an estimated fair market value over $3.0 million dollars. These donations benefited 280 agencies in our community during the year.
$3,546,422 spentof which $3,273,293 as grants28% of program spendingCommunity impact and grants administered: united way's lead role in community grants resulted in grant revenues in excess of $4.8 million for the local community, of which $2.0 million was directly administered by united way of the plains. Grants awarded were primarily in the areas of education, financial stability, health, and homelessness. Education initiatives: continued the read-to-succeed program which partnered with area elementary schools, by providing reading coaches dedicated to reading with children. Reading coaches devoted 30 minutes once a week with a student to help develop reading skills. As a result, 437 second & third grade children enrolled in this program benefited from this mentoring program. Health initiatives: prescription medicines: through a partnership with singlecare - provided a discounted prescription drug plan, saving area residents over $180,000 on prescripton costs. Dental care: through a partnership with delta dental of kansas, provided dental insurance coverage througout the state of kansas for working individuals that are not able to afford traditional dental insurance. Through this program, 416 clients received over $430,000 in dental care…
$3,544,518 spentof which $1,695,132 as grants28% of program spendingUnited way's 211 statewide information & referral service leverages a compreshensive database of health and human service resources. During 2024, this program provided help to individuals over 153,000 times. The top needs requested by callers were in areas of utility/rent assistance, tax preparation services, shelter information, and food pantry information. United way's volunteer center provides coordination of volunteer projects between agencies needing volunteers and individuals/groups wanting to volunteer. In addition, the center launched a volunteer group called "serve united" to bring volunteers through group projects during 2024, the center 17,500 volunteer hours to benefit our local community
$683,143 spent5% of program spending
The 4 programs described on its FY2024 Form 990, listed largest first by expense. Program spending in total: $12,761,396.
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 2021 to 2022, from $26M to $22M (−14%).
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 6% · 2018 7% · 2019 7% · 2020 9% · 2021 14% · 2022 9% · 2023 10% · 2024 10%. Grants only. Government contracts and fees sit inside program revenue.
96% of UNITED WAY OF THE PLAINS INC’s revenue is contributions — more reliant on donations than three-quarters of its peers (80% for the typical peer).
Surplus & reserves
Operating surplus or deficit each year, and months of liquidity in hand. 7 of the last 8 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
Peter Najera
Board secretary/president/CEO
Board chair
Walter Berry
Director/chairperson
As listed on its FY2024 Form 990.
Who funds it, year by year
2017 → 2023: the base broadened from 28 funders to 51 funders, grant income rose $4.4M → $4.7M.
18 of 81 of your funders are donor-advised or pass-through sponsors (tagged DAF) — 6% 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: $7.2M from 7 payers (the payer shares this organization's board, largest The Chicago Community Trust). These are real filings, and they are not money UNITED WAY OF THE PLAINS INC raised.
From the IRS filings of UNITED WAY OF THE PLAINS INC’s funders (the co-funder graph). Top 30 of 81 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 PLAINS INC leans on a few funders — its largest provides 32% of grant income and the top three 66%; half comes from just 2 funders.
the vertical line marks half of all grant income — 2 funders to its left
77% 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 PLAINS INC.
Largest funder’s share by year: 2017 42% · 2018 39% · 2019 32% · 2020 30% · 2021 26% · 2022 29% · 2023 29% — 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
75% of UNITED WAY OF THE PLAINS 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
88% of UNITED WAY OF THE PLAINS INC's grant income comes from Kansas funders.
In-state vs out-of-state, by year
Funder states come from each funder’s own filing. $2.7M arriving through sponsors registered in 14 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 THE PLAINS INC's funding base is broadening — from 28 funders to 51 as grant income climbed.
this organization peer median middle 50% of peers· 828 philanthropy nonprofits $10M–$100M, FY2024
Government funding UNITED WAY OF THE PLAINS INC receives
Grants and contracts to this organization from federal (USASpending) and state checkbooks, reconciled to its EIN. $5.7M on record.
- Department of Housing and Urban Development$4.4M
- Department of the Treasury$1.3M
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 THE PLAINS 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 Kansas
Nationally
Read directly from this organization’s own Form 990, as neutral context.
Where the money goes
83% of spending goes to programs.
Governance
Public support
88%
Share of support from the public (Schedule A) — the basis for its public-charity status.
Screen this organization
A dated, signed PDF of the compliance screen for UNITED WAY OF THE PLAINS 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 THE PLAINS INC?
- UNITED WAY OF THE PLAINS INC (Kansas) receives grants from 81 organizations whose IRS filings report $41,063,018 to it, the largest being TEXTRON AVIATION EMPLOYEES UPLIFT FUND INC ($13,334,290). 55 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- How many funders does UNITED WAY OF THE PLAINS INC have?
- IRS filings report 81 organizations giving $41,063,018 in grants to UNITED WAY OF THE PLAINS INC, 55 of which have funded it in more than one year.
- Who is the largest funder of UNITED WAY OF THE PLAINS INC?
- TEXTRON AVIATION EMPLOYEES UPLIFT FUND INC is the largest funder on record, with $13,334,290 in grants. The full list of funders is on this page.
- How can an organization like UNITED WAY OF THE PLAINS INC find more funders?
- Start with the funders already giving here, then look at the foundations that back similar organizations in Kansas. 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 FY2024 (financials across 2017–2024), and the filings of 81 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