You Can Help Guide the Community Investment Process

United Way of Racine County is committed to improving the health, education, financial stability and basic needs of every person in our community. Our Volunteer Advisory Team (VAT) members help make recommendations on how we can best invest our community campaign dollars in local nonprofits.

The process begins with nonprofit community-based organizations applying for funding for programming. Our community investment process is highly competitive and is designed to award funds to programs that demonstrate community need and program efficacy, and deliver measurable outcomes and effective services.

Volunteers are placed on a team that aligns with their expertise or interest. Each VAT is centered around one of the United Way’s focus areas. Funding proposals are shared with the relevant VAT team. Volunteers read and score the proposal using the community investment rubric before their meeting. At the VAT meeting, volunteers share their views on the proposal and individual scores with the rest of the team. Through discussion, the group collectively determines a single score and rationale for the proposal. This score ranks the proposal and guides funding recommendations.

A specialized VAT, the community investment financial team (CIFT), examines the financial status of the organizations requesting funding. The findings are shared with the VAT teams.

After their meetings, the VAT teams submit scores, funding rationales and recommendations to United Way’s staff and the Community Investment Committee (CIC). CIC reviews this information and forwards its recommendations to United Way of Racine County’s Board of Directors for review and approval.

In the spring 2023 funding cycle, 27 volunteers served on VAT teams. These local issue experts and community leaders are directly responsible for helping to fund the critical work being done in our community.

If you are interested in this amazing opportunity, we are currently looking for additional volunteers to serve on our health, education, financial stability and essential services VAT teams and our CIFT team. Help share your expert skills and familiarize yourself with your local community!

Apply by the end of the year!

Hear from current VAT volunteers