Funders come in all shapes, sizes, and capacities. How can United Ways use their influence and capabilities within the community to end homelessness? 

United Ways play a unique role in the community serving as funders and conveners, but even more, their value is highlighted through their deep relationship with local businesses through the workplace campaign fundraising model. This position provides an opportunity to play an important role in community’s efforts to prevent and end homelessness.

At Funders Together, we work to facilitate information sharing and scale best practices. One of the ways we do this is through issue- and community-based learning communities.

Current Communities

PSOs for Housing Justice 

PSOs for Housing Justice, led by Funders Together for Housing Justice and Fund for Housing and Opportunity, convenes cross-sector issue-based philanthropy serving- and mobilizing- organizations (often called PSOs) to strengthen our collective work towards racial justice and liberation through a housing justice focus.

Learn more about PSOs for Housing Justice

Health Funders for Housing Justice 

Health Funders for Housing Justice centers on the inextricable link between healthcare and homelessness systems and the belief that housing is healthcare. This network is open to health systems, healthcare conversion foundations, and staff at any other type of funder interested in housing and health. 

Learn more about Health Funders for Housing Justice

California Homelessness & Housing Policy Funders Network

This network provides dedicated and candid space for California funders at various knowledge levels to gain insight around various issues related to housing and homelessness policy in the state, aims to lead funders to move towards policy engagement, and aids the understanding and knowledge of policies that directly impact housing affordability and stability across California.

Learn more about the California Homelessness & Housing Policy Funders Network

Funders Network for Youth Success 

Born from our youth-focused community of practice, Foundations for Youth Success, the Funders Network for Youth Success is a national network of funders supporting strategic, innovative, and effective solutions to prevent and end youth homelessness. Members of this network receive resources, opportunities convene with colleagues and partners working in the youth homelessness field, and much more. Participation in this network is open to full and basic members. 

Learn more about the Funders Network for Youth Success

United Ways Partnering to End Homelessness

United Ways are distinct and valued organizations within the Funders Together membership, providing both funding and direct services, along with advocacy and convening power within their communities. This network gathers United Way full members of Funders Together every other month for peer learning, problem-solving, accountability, and relationship-building. 

Sign up for the United Ways network by emailing Michael Durham, Director of Networks.

Past Communities

Foundations for Racial Equity

Despite all the programs and structures designed to prevent and end homelessness and because of historical and contemporary structural racism, people of color disproportionately experience homelessness. To truly end homelessness, we must change the systems that perpetuate racial inequity. Doing so is not an easy or quick task, but together, we can take steps to educate ourselves and use our voices to push the field toward greater racial equity.    

To address this, Funders Together for Housing Justice (formerly Funders Together to End Homelessness) is launched a two-year community of practice called Foundations for Racial Equity to help funders move the needle toward greater racial equity in homelessness and housing.  

From 2019-2020, we convened philanthropic leaders working at national and local levels to build relationships with other funders, learn together about systemic racism in housing and homelessness, and lead the field in creating a more equitable world. 

Learn more about Foundations for Racial Equity.

Foundations for Employment and Housing

Communities across the country are increasingly becoming aware of the need to connect the homelessness and employment systems to better serve vulnerable populations with both housing and jobs. This learning community is exploring the intersections of the homelessness and employment systems, and the role of funders in advancing the efforts of both. This community started in 2018 and concluded in 2020.

Learn more about Foundations for Employment and Housing.

Foundations for Youth Success (FYS)

From 2015-2016, Funders Together for Housing Justice (formerly Funders Together to End Homelessness) hosted a Community of Practice focused on funders’ roles in ending youth and young adult homelessness. This community, Foundations for Youth Success (FYS), brought together philanthropic leaders -- large, national funders as well as those working at the local level -- to identify best practices in implementing effective solutions for our young people. Throughout this two-year initiative, members participated in regular virtual meetings and came together in person twice a year. 

Resources and learnings from this community can be found on the youth homelessness page. 

Join our new Funders Network for Youth Success for continued learning with FYS participants and other funders by emailing Michael Durham, Director of Networks and Programs, at [email protected]

		1501 Pacific Avenue, Ste 400  Tacoma, WA 98402 Phone: 253-597-7491 www.uwpc.org

Organization Type

United Way

Mission

United Way of Pierce County is committed to making measurable improvements in the lives of people in our community.

Our mission is best executed when we identify critical issues and then use your gift to fund a combination of programs and initiatives to best address those issues.

Funding Areas

• Education
• Health care
• Housing

Supported Strategies

• Affordable housing
• Education about homelessness
• Emergency shelter
• Funding advocacy
• Permanent supportive housing
• Prevention
• Public policy/systems change
• Rapid re-housing
• Supportive services
• Transitional housing
• Workforce development