United Way of King County

A Word from Our Leadership

As we move toward greater clarity on the results of the presidential election, it is important to remember that the work of United Way of King County will continue, building a community where people have homes, students graduate and families are financially stable.  

The economic downturn caused by the coronavirus pandemic will continue to have a disproportionate effect on Black, Indigenous and communities of color, so our work at United Way will go on to support these communities.

We will continue to raise funds and work with our partners, who provide rental assistance and deliver healthy food to our neighbors affected by the health and economic impacts of the pandemic.

As an anti-poverty organization, we will take care of each other and help our neighbors.

United Way will continue to fight for social justice and against the root causes of poverty and homelessness: systemic and structural racism.

Stay safe, stay well and stay connected with your neighbors.

Our Mission

We bring caring people together to give, volunteer and take action to help people in need and solve our community’s toughest challenges.

Racial Equity Matters

Because of institutional and systemic racism, people of color disproportionately experience inequities in our community.

This looks like overrepresentation in homelessness populations—the number of people of color experiencing homelessness is higher than it should be given the general population. This looks like students of color being disciplined more, graded lower and having fewer role models in the classroom than their white peers. This looks like more families of color experiencing poverty than white families.

Race-based inequities are driven by past and present racism and it is imperative that we recognize, acknowledge and address racism in order to make progress towards a community with equal opportunity for all—where people have homes, students graduate and families are financially stable.

At United Way, we’re addressing racial inequities head on. We know that with our funding and policy-making influence—and donor support—we can change racial inequities in King County. Read about our racial equity work here.