United Way of Greater Kansas City

Fighting for the health, education and financial stability of every member of our community

#KCStrong Update: Fund Delivery Process in Motion 

In the aftermath of the February 14th parade day shooting, United Way of Greater Kansas City, in partnership with the Kansas City Chiefs, quickly established a special emergency fund to support our community in its efforts to heal and become more resilient.  

The local, national, and global communities responded in a major way. More than $1.8 million was contributed from 4,000+ donors ranging from large corporations to foundations, individuals, nonprofit partners and small businesses. The fund was officially closed as of April 30th and is no longer accepting donations.  

“Time and time again, Kansas City proves itself to be an incredibly generous community,” said Chris Rosson, United Way of Greater Kansas City President and CEO. “We are deeply grateful not only to those who donated, but also for those whose lives will be impacted by this fund.”

What’s happened and how we’re moving forward: 

  • United Way has met regularly with the Jackson Co. Prosecutor’s Office to verify shooting victims.  
  • We’ve secured outside counsel with Judges Jay Daugherty and Charlie Atwell, who will act as mediators and have identified a victim allocation process.  
  • Verified victims have now been identified and we are working with them directly and/or in partnership with the Jackson Co. Prosecutor’s Office to ensure they have the information they need to move forward. 
  • Eligible individuals are being issued claimant forms, starting May 1st. 
  • The claimant process will continue and requests will be reviewed for an allocation determination by our outside legal counsel. 
  • At the same time, we’ve done a landscape analysis of nonprofit organizations that meet the criteria of support previously outlined. We’re finalizing organizational grantees in partnership with the United Way Board of Directors. The grantees will be announced by the end of June. 

We extend our gratitude to everyone who has pledged support to #KCStrong. In this time of need, you showed the true power of our community. 

Anyone with outstanding questions regarding #KCStrong should contact: kcstrong@uwgkc.org