United Way of Central and Northeastern Connecticut

Community impact grant funds:these funds support our community through grants made to local non-profit agencies in greater hartford and are aimed towards accelerating improvement in the following programmatic areas: reading; community impact; basic needs; rapid re-housing and alice. Additionally, our United Way distributed $293,500 in operating grants.$931,658 of these expenses are donor investments raised via the United Way annual campaign and disbursed to specific 501c3 agencies per the recommendation of each donor. Please read our alice reports, available here: https://alice.ctunitedway.org/in response to the 13 percent rise in people in our region experiencing homelessness, United Way is mobilizing people and resources through ourrapid response fund. Our goal is to keep people secure or to stabilize housing.

Community impact programming:our community impact program expenses are utilized towards initiatives that support the elimination of poverty. -child literacy- community investment and basic needs -life expectancy -wages -alice -workforce solutionschild literacy our United Way creates opportunities for children to improve their literacy skills and helps them achieve developmental and academic milestones.we invest in programs and initiatives that identify and address developmental challenges and connect children and youth with opportunities to gain academic skills. We are also working to support community-wide systems for academic development.united we readwe know that reading is an essential tool for success in school, work, and life. Research tells us that reading proficiently by the start of fourth grade is an important predictor of high school graduation and career success. Yet only 40 percent of fourth graders in Connecticut are meeting this crucial milestone. Moreover, struggling readers are disproportionately black or hispanic and/or from low-income households, and score on average thirty-five points below white or higher-income peers on standardized reading tests the largest gap in the nation.dolly parton's imagination library dolly parton's imagination library is a free subscription program that provides one book per month to hartford children from birth to age five. The books are delivered directly to a child's home to help build their home libraries. Since august 2020, the program has enrolled over 6,295 hartford children who have collectively received over 50,000 books. United Way readersunited Way readers matches a caring volunteer with a student who is behind in reading. We understand the importance of investing in a student's future; as the relationship develops, we see volunteers starting to read more books connected to the interests of students and students come to see that reading is a big part of accomplishing their hopes and dreams. Reading on grade-level is a key indicator for graduating high school on time prepared for college or career.community investment & basic needsthe United Way invests in basic need programs and initiatives to link community members to immediate emergency services such as food, shelter, disaster relief and services for survivors of domestic violence or sexual assault. 2-1-1 provides a one-stop connection for emergency services and supports. 2-1-1 is there 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and 365 days a year to help people find what they need (https://www.211ct.org/). Each year, the United Way invests millions of dollars to ensure that people in Central and Northeastern Connecticut achieve financial security and secure basic needs when times are tough. This investment supports ~ 55 community programs at 38 nonprofit partner agencies across the region. United Way is designed to be nimble so we can quickly respond to community hardships. Life expectancy in 2017, with seed funding from trinity health of new england/saint francis hospital, the north hartford triple aim collaborative (nhtac) was launched to improve population health in hartford with a specific focus on the north hartford promise zone. The nhtac brings together residents and partners from philanthropy, nonprofit, healthcare, and government sectors to improve health using a policy, system, and environmental approach. The nhtac also serves as the health and wellness workgroup for the north hartford promise zone, the local prevention council for the city of hartford, the reach collaborative for the city of hartford and the health enhancement community for the city of hartford. The nhtac's health improvement portfolio brings partners together to work in new and diverse ways to improve the health and wellbeing of families. Examples include helping to bring a grocery store to the north end of hartford, working with statewide community health collaboratives to develop policy recommendations on how to better access and utilize clinical and social care data for multi-sector health improvement initiatives, and supporting innovative education and outreach efforts around vaccines including the covid 19 vaccine. Vision: an empowered, equitable and healthy hartford where everyone thrives. Mission: to cultivate a healthy hartford by advancing racial justice, equitable systems, and community capacity.wages our United Way works diligently to close gaps between wages and the basic cost of living and helps people achieve financial security. We invest in integrated programs and initiatives that provide employment services, financial coaching and connection to income support which help families on their path to financial security. We also convene multi-sector partnerships focused on better connecting systems to advance employment opportunities for individuals in our region.hartford working citieshartford working cities aims to create pathways and opportunities that help young adults experience economic mobility by gaining quality and stable employment. We collaborate with quality programs and resources that help youth and young adults become well-rounded workers and leaders. Hartford working cities works to reduce unemployment among 16-29-year-old hartford residents in eight neighborhoods (asylum hill, barry square, clay arsenal, frog hollow, northeast, south green, and upper albany). Our efforts in these neighborhoods are pursued in collaboration with place-based organizations, initiatives, and community groupsno-cost tax preparationcommunity participants help from an irs-certified volunteer if your household income is up to $60,000. Volunteer income tax assistance (vita) is a partnership with United Way, the irs, the village for families & children, Inc. and human resources agency of new britain, Inc. Which provides tax preparation services at no cost to eligible families at community locations throughout our region. In addition, online filing is also available at myfreetaxes.com.alice families have household incomes below a basic cost-of-living threshold. The Connecticut United ways report is a study of financial hardships in our state. Alice may describe your family, friends, neighbors, and colleagues, and represents every race, ethnicity, and gender. People living below the alice threshold live in every area of our state. The 2024 Connecticut United ways alice* report revealed that 38% of households in our state have income which falls below what is needed to pay for necessities such as housing, food, childcare, health care, technology, and transportation. We raise awareness about alice and the need to help alice become and stay financially secure. We invest in programs and initiatives that help stabilize alice families now and in the future. This includes childcare and early-learning, financial security, and basic needs programs.workforce solutions collaborative of metro hartfordthis is a funders collaborative of private foundation that aims to promote regional sector partnerships of employers by supporting their needs of finding and retaining regional sector partnerships of employers by supporting their needs of finding and retaining talent while creating opportunities for job seekers to enter rewarding and meaningful employment and accomplishing their goals. We are motivated to help residents in our communities rise above poverty to achieve a higher standard of living.