United Way of the Mid-Willamette Valley: About Us
United Way of the Mid-Willamette Valley has evolved from its roots as a fundraising organization to a critical community convener that mobilizes local partners, including businesses, community leaders, public officials, and community members to provide opportunities for people to succeed.
Lead with humility and an intent to build equity
We believe we can do the most good, achieving long term change, by investing in key building blocks of a good life: Education, Financial Stability, Health, and Basic Needs. Remove any of these building blocks and the others topple. Build them all up, and you have a cornerstone for individual and community prosperity.
Of course, United Way can’t do it alone. We must work with our community partners. Together, we must tap into peoples’ aspirations, focus on issues and underlying conditions for change, and bring people and organizations together to create community impact.
We see a strong and resilient future
We are the hand-raisers, the game-changers, the step up, band together and take on the impossible tasks together, team. Each goal we set, each project we launch, each victory we win, is meant to bring more opportunities to thrive for our families, friends, and neighbors.
Community Resource Center
This program provides sustainable, tangible resources for nonprofits in our region. We partner with major retailers and other local companies to source highly needed goods and distribute them through our network of diverse nonprofits that support people in need. Our Gifts-In-Kind program supports over 300 public school and nonprofit programs.
Enrichment Academy
Our Enrichment Academy provides before and after-school programs designed to support academic achievement. Through a partnership with the Salem-Keizer School District, the Enrichment Academy provides academic support and intervention, and enrichment activities like art, science, music, soccer, weightlifting, cooking, and gardening and parent education.
Cottages United
Cottages United directly addresses the growing issue of seniors who are at risk of homelessness. Partnering with the City of Salem, we have purchased 4 lots of land and have created plans for an intentional community of small, safe, affordable homes that are tastefully designed and supported by the surrounding Swegle community. Phase One of the project is set to be completed in June 2024.
SafeSleep United
SafeSleep United is our overnight, low barrier, non-denominational women’s shelter. Our mission is to provide a warm, secure place for unsheltered women to sleep safely. We offer basic needs, supports and services to enable women to heal, plan, and move forward with their dreams and goals, from the stability of a safe place to sleep each night.
Grant Funding
Grant monies are all about your dollars that are at work in your community. Our objective for funding is to find opportunities to support providers projects or programs that are impact-driven, equitable, transparent, and regionally focused. Dedicated to facilitating lasting social change, we work together with businesses, government, schools, faith groups, community members, and other nonprofits, because it takes the whole community to achieve the kind of results we need and that you expect.
Santiam Long Term Recovery
We are committed to long-term recovery, supporting our friends and neighbors in the Santiam Canyon. Today we serve as the fiscal sponsor for the Santiam Long Term Recovery Group as we continue to work closely with our valued partner Santiam Service Integration Team to meet the needs of surviving families in the canyon. Each challenge, whether it be an urgent need for housing, or basic items like school supplies, we work to meet through emergency funding, grant funding and our Good360 Gifts in Kind Warehouse.
Bus Pass
Through a partnership with Salem-Keizer Public Transit, United Way of the Mid-Willamette Valley offers bus passes at no cost to local nonprofit organizations for distribution to clients who need transportation in the Salem-Keizer area. The Cherriots’ Bus Pass program provides one-day bus passes to qualified organizations that serve clients in need of transportation support.
Awesome 3000
Since 1983 the Awesome 3000 has been a staple in the Salem-Keizer Community, bringing friends and family together in support of our Salem-Keizer School District, including its students, staff, and teachers. In 2022, the proceeds from the Awesome 3000 raised $45,000, which will go directly to the Salem-Keizer Schools Fund held by the United Community Foundation.