A message from our CEO, Chris Rosson:

At United Way of Greater Kansas City, we hold steadfast to our commitment to do things differently and to bring about real transformational change in our community.

Over the last year, your passion and generosity has continued to inspire every aspect of the work we do. It’s enabled us to lead and power some exciting, new efforts to make sure people who are struggling, and who may even feel like they’ve been forgotten, can find a partner that places trust and resources within their communities to enhance the opportunities for health, education, and financial stability for all.

This year, we brought our community together for the first-ever campaign kickoff at Kauffman Stadium. It was the perfect celebration to launch the workplace campaign giving season. The relentless dedication of all the employee campaign managers, corporate champions and volunteers who come together to make these efforts a success is simply phenomenal. The time, talent, and energy you invest ensures essential services like 211 that thousands of our neighbors rely on day in and day out can continue without fail.

Building a better Kansas City includes a dynamic roadmap of thoughtful and progressive action. We’ve invested hundreds of thousands of dollars into keeping the shelves of community food pantries fully stocked, at a time when sky-high grocery prices have made it nearly impossible for working families to get by each month without assistance from our community partners. We rolled out one-time inflation assistance in the form of debit cards to help our most vulnerable neighbors cover the increased cost of living. We secured $3.35M in additional state grant funding  to prevent homelessness for up to 600 local families through our eviction prevention program.

And we’re partnering with the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation to heavily invest in nonprofit partners led by and primarily serving communities of color. These nonprofits are striving to uplift those long held back – yet they often find it hard to get investor and financial industry backing. United Way’s Nonprofit Catalyst Grant Fund is breaking those barriers, and we can’t wait to see the generational impact this funding resource will have.

The momentum is powerful and growing. I’m excited about where we’re headed and deeply value your support. We hope you’ll continue to invest your time, resources, and voice. There are a million ways to be United. What’s yours?