What We Do
Together, we fight for the health, education, financial stability and basic needs of every person in south central Kansas.
United Way is leading the charge to create positive and permanent change. We do this by forging unlikely partnerships, forming new solutions to old problems and mobilizing the best ideas and resources. But we don’t do it alone. We inspire others to join the fight. We enable individuals, groups and companies to make a difference – individually and collectively – through their time, talents and treasure.
Together, we’re an unstoppable force for good.
OUR FOCUS
Our focus is on health, education, financial stability and basic needs — the building blocks for a good quality of life and a strong community. Click below to learn more about what we’re doing, the programs we invest in and our lasting impact in each area.
WHERE WE SERVE
United Way of the Plains serves south central Kansas, including Sedgwick, Butler, Cowley, Sumner, Harper, Kingman, Pratt, and Barber Counties, and parts of Reno and Harvey Counties.
HOW WE HELP
We take multiple approaches to tackle our community’s toughest issues at their root causes:
CHARITABLE PROGRAM INVESTMENTS
United Way of the Plains invests in the community through three nonprofit grant opportunities: Promise on the Plains, Impact on the Plains and Opportunity on the Plains. Each supports our work to advance the common good in our focus areas of health, education, financial stability and basic needs. We invite charitable programs in south central Kansas who provide services in these areas to review our funding opportunities. See the programs we’ve invested in here.
COLLECTIVE IMPACT
Some community problems are beyond the scope of any one organization or service sector. To tackle those issues, we’ve adopted a unique problem solving approach called collective impact. For example, the Coalition to End Homelessness in Wichita/Sedgwick County brings together partners from multiple sectors, including nonprofits; faith community; federal, state, and local governments; businesses; and persons with lived experience to achieve functional zero homelessness in our community. United Way serves as the backbone organization to support the work of the coalition. Learn more about how they are working to make homelessness rare, brief and non-recurring for all our neighbors in Sedgwick County.
DIRECT SERVICES
To fill the gaps in the social services landscape, United Way provides direct services. Where there is a need, there is your United Way.
SPECIAL PROGRAMS
In addition to funding local programs through the grant review process, we also partner with other organizations to support special programs, such as Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library and free income tax prep services.
Visit our focus areas of education, health, financial stability and basic needs to see how we are partnering with organizations to address pressing needs in each of these areas.
GRANT WRITING
We research, apply for and manage grants that can impact the needs of our community, including the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (H.U.D.) grant for homeless services and the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance grant that funds the free tax prep program. By leveraging grant dollars, we help donor dollars go further and have a larger impact.
RESULTS OF OUR WORK
Over the past five years, United Way of the Plains has helped people succeed more than
Who are they? Could be the guy in the cubicle next to you, the teenager who rang up your groceries at the store, or the elderly woman who walks her dog by your house every day. They are people like you and me, who live here in south central Kansas and need our help.
We multiply your gift
When you give to United Way, we MORE THAN DOUBLE your gift by serving as policy experts, creating efficiencies, leveraging resources and building relationships across all business sectors to drive impact. In addition to operating programs that add value and meet the community’s most pressing needs, we also fund charitable programs. Your gift has the greatest impact when given through United Way.
$1 Donation Becomes…
$2.37 Worth of Impact
LEARN MORE
Explore this site, check our Frequently Asked Questions page or contact us today at (316) 267‑1321.
Want to join our team of #HandRaisers and #GameChangers? Check our current job openings.