How a Community Foundation and a United Way Adopted Principled Grantmaking

Did you know that there are more than 1,000 community foundations and 1,800 United Way affiliates in the US alone? Chances are you have personally engaged with at least one of these organizations, and perhaps your home institution has partnered with one in the past. The growth and evolution of these two organizational structures is significant, especially when one considers the level of community support they provide and the philanthropic capital that flows through each. It’s important to note that these organizations all operate independently but, in recent years, community foundations and United Ways across the country have been exploring more collaborative ways of operating to better meet the tremendous needs in communities.  Here, we highlight two stories of evolution—at United Way of Greater Atlanta and Pinellas Community Foundation—that we hope will inspire change, both inside your organization and through partnership with locally-grounded organizations.  United Way of Greater Atlanta (UWGA)