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.

United Way of the Plains serves south central Kansas, including Sedgwick, Butler, Cowley, Sumner, Harper, Barber, Pratt and Kingman Counties, and parts of Reno and Harvey Counties.

GUIDED BY RESEARCH

We start with research to understand what the greatest needs are in our community.

2021 Community Conditions Report

View the report here. Download the report here.

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.

Red "United Way Helps Here" hanging on a fence outside a funded partner's office.
Hands of various people stacked on top of each other to illustrate how we're working together to solve problems.

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. 

Looking for help? Dial 211 to get connected to community resources.

Looking for help?
Get connected. Get answers.

A gift-in-kind program that accepts corporate donations and gives them to nonprofits, for free.

A gift-in-kind program that accepts corporate donations and gives them to nonprofits, for free.

Our Volunteer Center matches people with projects at local nonprofits.

Matching volunteers with opportunities at nonprofits to transform our community.

Whether it is a tornado, flood,, wildfire or pandemic, we help our community respond and recover.

Whether a natural disaster or a pandemic, we help our community respond and recover.

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.

A tutor helps a middle school student with their homework.
A woman types on a laptop.

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.

$0
worth of grants were obtained in 2023.

RESULTS OF OUR WORK

Over the past five years, United Way of the Plains has helped people succeed more than
0 times

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.

A dollar bill to illustrate stewardship.
$1 Donation Becomes…
Stack of money to illustrate stewardship.
$2.37 Worth of Impact

GET INVOLVED

United, we help our neighbors thrive. United, we strengthen our community. United, we get results that last for generations.

Icon of hands donating money to support our community.
Give

Donate today and shape the future.

A megaphone to help spread the word about the work and results of United Way.
Advocate

Use your voice to power change.

Icon of a woman with a heart on her shirt to show how volunteering makes a difference in people's lives.
Volunteer

Find a project you can put your muscle into.

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.