A Year Later
If there’s one thing 2020 made clear, it’s the power of community. This timeline starts in March 2020 and shares a lot of things that happened along the way that addressed the dual pandemics - COVID and racial equity - that we experienced. A year later, we reflect on how far we've come and the work still to do. We're confident that our best and brightest days are ahead!
Louisville was to be the host of the national event
- Released $2.2 million agency allocation funding early
- Invested $37,500 in early education teacher salary enhancements early
- Invested more than $400K of emergency funding available to provide support across our seven-county service area
- Ensured United Community and 2-1-1 equipped to manage community need and inquiries
- Expanded no charge Lyft rides through Ride United to support non-emergency transport for individuals
- Repurposed 6,192 personal hygiene items, 325 thermometers and 6,720 diapers for donation to nonprofits on front lines
- Opened our Volunteer Connection online portal to agencies to request volunteer needs and donation requests
- Connected volunteers to deliver 600+ food bundles to JCPS sites
- Created COVID response page that is updated every day with resources for parents, individuals age 60+, volunteer opportunities, facts about the virus, resources for small businesses and nonprofits, and more. You can also text COVIDHELP to 51555 to receive this link.
- Delivered urgent Child Care Assistance Program (CCAP) funding recommendation letters to Kentucky legislators leading state budget negotiations and the Ready for K Alliance
- Lobbied Kentucky’s Congressional delegation for critical nonprofit supports in the federal CARES Act (passed 3/27)
- Joined One Louisville: COVID-19 Response Fund working with Community Foundation and Metro Government to deploy emergency funding.
- Introduced virtual volunteer opportunities
- Shared stories of compassion
Census Facebook Live DJ Parties with Louisville Urban League, Rajon Rondo Foundation, Russell Place of Promise, Cities United, our city government, and others to lift up communities that were undercounted in our past Census and celebrate them with daily, virtual events
Giving Tuesday Now – “Spreading Love. Not COVID-19” Raised $115,000 for COVID relief in just 24 hours to invest in our seven-county region.
- Staff Live United video released
- Opened RFP for emergency COVID funding in Shelby, Oldham, Bullitt Counties.
- Recommended to utilize the 20% of the Jefferson County unrestricted pool to provide strategic investments that both help our community recover from the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and align with the impact areas that emerged as most pressing from our rigorous analyses conducted as part of our redesign efforts – closing the wealth gap and closing the education gap.
- LINC Virtual Party event
- Louisville recognized as #1 across the nation in filling out the Census!
- COVID response page added to resources page that outlines MUW’s response during the pandemic
Partnered with the Emerging Tocqueville Leadership Committee to host a Back-to-School supply drive August 3-7. This year we received over twice the number of requests for backpacks and school supplies than last year, with more than 25 nonprofit partners requesting over 3,000 backpacks filled with supplies.
Participated in a drive-thru Kindergarten Kick-Off event in partnership with the Louisville Free Public Library. Over 600 “I’m Going to Kindergarten” bags, t-shirts and books were distributed to families at the South Central Regional Library.
- Advocated for a fair and accurate Census throughout 2020 with a campaign to target individuals that historically didn’t respond.
- Joined the Louisville Urban League, Evolve502, Metro Parks and many other community partners to support plans to launch a network of Community Learning Hubs (CLHs) to serve young people throughout the community during the pandemic while virtual learning takes place.
- Partnered with Humana to create 2,000 healthy snack kits to help fight food insecurity across our community!
Our own President and CEO, Theresa Reno-Weber and Chief Impact Officer Adria Johnson led a second round of informative conversations about how other organizations have been affected by the COVID-19 crisis and the call for systemic racial justice across our community.
Migrated Metro United Way’s Volunteer Connection website from our current platform to a new and improved volunteer management system with a user-friendly platform providing individuals with enhanced volunteer opportunity posting features, volunteer management, engagement, communication and reporting tools.
Tiffany Johnson enrolled in Metro United Way’s AcceLOUrate Savings program, powered by the Humana Foundation, hoping to get her budget right so she could chase her dreams of owning her own business. Now “Tiffany’s Cleaning Service” is up and running and AcceLOUrate Savings has helped lay the groundwork for Tiffany’s financial empowerment.
This virtual Financial Navigation Simulation will force you to make some difficult economic and budgetary decisions that many of our community members face every day.
Distributed a total of $68,000 in equity-focused mini-grants to 54 BLOCS partner organizations to support their continued programming and re-opening efforts during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
- Celebration of Early Childhood Educators week-long virtual celebration.
- Awarded $564,837 from our Impact and Innovation Request for Proposals (RFP) in Jefferson County to 11 nonprofits.
Black L.O.V.E. (Live. Own. Vote. Excel) initiative launched to strengthen Black-led social institutions in Louisville, will work with Black leaders and philanthropic partners to invest in areas recommended by the Black Social Change Funders Network.
25 volunteer projects in seven counties during our annual DAY OF ACTION!
- New JCPS 360 Student and Family Support Center at Humana is opened.
- Liberation Identification – A movement to implement a statewide program providing state-issued photo identification to all people leaving incarceration in Kentucky.
- Invested funding into 19 nonprofit organizations through Impact and Innovation Initiative
- Three pallets of school supplies from Meijer donated to support students across our seven-county service area! Together, we are ensuring that kids have what they need to succeed!
They say hindsight is 20/20 and they were right. 2020 didn’t go as planned, but it did bring our community needs more into focus and it’s clear the time to do something bold is now.
Giving Tuesday raised $160,000 for five different initiatives in our community to build a better and brighter future for all.
- 2020 Community Research Expo held on Thursday, December 3 with findings of five outstanding community research reports that have been impacted by housing injustice and the racial wealth gap.
- Distributed $307,966 in federal funding from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS)/Federal Emergency Management Agency under the Emergency Food and Shelter National Board Program to supplement emergency food and shelter programs.
- Deployed SIX PALLETS of PPE including masks, gloves, hand sanitizer, cleaning supplies, and more! These supplies were distributed to 12 non-profit agencies across our seven-county service area. Thank you, GEA! We truly are #bettertogether!
2020 may be a year to forget, but with YOUR help Metro United Way rose to the occasion and made an impact across our communities.
Read more about the gift here.
National Press Coverage:
New York Times (Link)
CBS News (Link)
USA Today (Link)
Forbes (Link)
This mini-documentary illuminates the barriers Kentuckians face when leaving incarceration without the most basic tool needed for success—a photo ID.
Boxes of Love packed thousands of meals for families across Greater Louisville!
The Greatest Give Back looked a lot different in 2021, but that didn’t stop you from making a huge impact in the community.
February 11 = 2-1-1- Day. What is 2-1-1? It’s where ANYONE at ANY TIME can FIND HELP in our community simply by calling 2-1-1 or texting your zip code to 898211. Open 365 days, 24/7 and totally confidential! Learn More
In addition to annual allocations to nonprofit partners, MUW helped bring close to $5 million to our community to invest in COVID relief and recovery.
See all press coverage HERE