January 2026Impact
Tracker

VIDEO

From HARDSHIP
To HOPE

…for Every Child, Every Family, Every Neighborhood.
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Impact Tracker Sections

Thriving Kids

There’s nothing more important than ensuring our community’s children have what they need to thrive. LEARN MORE

  • Our Ready for K Alliance policy RFP received 17 Advocacy Action Grant proposals. In total, proposals requested more than $165K. Five organizations were awarded grant funds for a total of $45,500: Granny’s Birth Initiative, Healthy Beginnings Connect Us, Prevent Child Abuse Kentucky, Prichard Committee, and Young Nonprofit Foundation.
  • In December, our Ages & Stages Developmental Screening Hub partnered with the Salvation Army’s Angel Tree program to distribute over 4,000 gift bags to families picking up holiday gifts. Each bag included a toy and information on how families can enroll in the Ages & Stages Developmental Screening Hub.
  • Our Ready for K Alliance recently finalized a policy and advocacy agenda update with 2026 priorities. The new agenda can be found on the Ready for K Alliance website here: https://www.readyforkalliance.com/advocacy-policy/
  • Through our Youth Success partnership with the Bellarmine University RISE initiative, we support 7 Bellarmine students providing tutoring to students at four community partners: Wesley House, Parkland Library, Boys & Girls Club- Parkland, and Brandeis Elementary. They have provided over 1,000 tutoring hours for 70 students this semester.
  • From October 1 to December 31, 2025, our Youth Success team hosted 14 events that 152 people attended representing 42 unique organizations.
    • Eight were Youth Development workshops that promoted youth worker skill building and facilitating quality youth learning experiences.
    • Three were well-being workshops for adults who work with youth.
    • Three were networking events for the Youth Success Network to promote coordination and connection of our youth programs.

View Stories around our Thriving Kids priority

Strong Households

When families have what they need, they can break cycles of poverty and work toward a better tomorrow for future generations and our entire community. LEARN MORE

  • In the month of December, our 2-1-1 help referral line fielded 1,068 calls from members of Jefferson, Shelby, Oldham, Bullitt, Henry, Nelson, Spencer, and Trimble counties. The top request categories were related to housing and shelter (905), electric services payments (295), and community shelters (239). IN211 fielded 223 calls from Clark, Floyd, and Harrison counties in the month of December. The main requests of callers were around housing, followed by utility assistance and food provision.
  • We recently launched the Louisville Home Repair Hotline in December. The Louisville Home Repair Hotline, powered by Metro United Way, screens Jefferson County homeowners for possible assistance for home repairs. Free, anonymous, and confidential, the hotline shares details about home repair resources, reviews eligibility to receive services, and matches those in need with those who can help.Call 211 or visit metrounitedway.org/211 and fill out the online form to see if you qualify for free home repairs.

  • Our Siemer Institute effort, which supports the financial stability of families with children, saw remarkable growth in 2025, as we increased the number of families served from 318 to 462 (an increase of 45%). Among those families, 79% achieved a level of income stability, 85% achieved a level of housing stability, and 99% were able to avoid an unplanned, unsupported school move, promoting educational stability for their children. A special thanks to our six direct service partners:  Americana Community Center, Family Scholar House, Goodwill Industries of Kentucky, Jewish Family and Career Services, Salvation Army of Louisville, and Salvation Army of Southern Indiana.
  • Our workforce financial coaching continues to produce impressive gains in the financial lives of Louisville residents. Through November 2025, this multi-year effort has served 395 participants, of whom 312 (79%) have made progress in one or more financial goal areas, listed as follows: 78 have increased their income by a median of $8,536 per year; 225 have increased their savings by a median of $1,000; 125 have improved their credit by a median of 25 points; and 147 have reduced their debt by a median of $1,476.  In addition to these valuable gains, we are pleased to share that 43 clients have purchased automobiles, 10 have achieved an educational certification, and 25 have become new homeowners!
  • Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) sites opened in January to provide free tax return preparation assistance to households earning up to $70,000. Metro United Way is a proud strategic partner of this effort which annually reaches over 8,000 households and returns over $12,000,000 in refunds to hard-working families. This valuable service ensures that filers eligible for tax credits such as the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) receive the full value of this tool which is correlated with healthy birth weight babies, children doing better in school, and families be lifted out of poverty, without fostering long-term dependence. For more information, please visit metrounitedway.org/vita
  • We recently completed training for our first cohort of our new Clinical Entrepreneurship program. This effort focuses on teaching mental health clinicians the basics of how to start their own private clinical practices to promote their own financial stability and address the growing needs for behavioral health services while distinguishing their current nonprofit organizations as employers of choice. Pre and post surveys completed by participants of the six-part workshop series reveal the following impressive results: an increase of 125% in knowledge and a gain of 70% in confidence with regards to setting up a private practice.  Further out, we hope to track impact related to clinician retention, among other measures, but we are very pleased with our initial results!
View Stories around our Strong Households priority

Equitable Community

We envision the Greater Louisville region as a place where zip code doesn’t determine destiny and everyone has the opportunity to grow into their full potential. LEARN MORE

  • We’ve continued meeting with community partners and stakeholders in preparation for the launch of our new H.O.P.E. United Fellowship, now officially set to begin in February 2026. The program is designed to support, equip, and elevate young Black men in our community through mentorship, leadership development, and systems-level engagement.
  • Our Black L.O.V.E. Philanthropic Partnership’s Community Hope & Resilience RFP officially closed its review and evaluation period. Advisory committee members and internal staff collaborated closely to select agency partners who will be notified of their award distributions and grant agreements in the coming weeks. We are excited to make this critical investment in community-based solutions to reduce youth gun violence and support healing and hope.
View Stories around our Equitable Community Priority

Upcoming Events

Tuesday, February 24, 2026

Beyond Buzzwords featuring
Dorothy A. Brown

Reckoning with Wealth Inequality

Join us virtually for our next Beyond Buzzwords speaker series event featuring Dorothy A. Brown, author of Getting to Reparations: How Building A Different America Requires A Reckoning with Our Past (Crown, 2026) and The Whiteness of Wealth: How The Tax System Impoverishes Black Americans – And How We Can Fix It (Crown, 2021)

Tuesday, February 24, 2026
12:00 – 1:00 PM
Virtual Event
Zoom link will be provided upon registration

RSVP

Thursday, February 26, 2026

Your Community.
Your United Way.

Hear from Executive Leadership about the crucial work of Metro United Way in the Greater Louisville region and how we are working to ensure we have thriving kids, strong households, and an equitable community! You’ll learn insights into how Metro United Way transforms our community and unique opportunities to get involved.

Thursday, February 26, 2026

Arrival and Check-In: 11:30 AM
Program: 12:00 – 1:00 PM

Metro United Way
334 East Broadway, Louisville, KY 40204

Lunch will be provided. RSVP to August.Acostarose@metrounitedway.org

RSVP

Tuesday, April 21, 2026

Community Impact "IMMIES" Awards

Our Community Impact “Immies” Awards celebrate and recognize the extraordinary companies, organizations, and individuals who make significant contributions to improving lives in our community. We shine the spotlight on those who lend their voice, support, influence, and passion to make a big impact. You won’t want to miss this signature event.

Tuesday, April 21, 2026

Additional details coming soon!

Learn More

Thursday, September 24, 2026

The Greatest
Give Back

Each year, the Muhammad Ali Center and Metro United Way partner to host “The Greatest Give Back,” a day of service honoring The Greatest and Louisville’s own humanitarian legend, Muhammad Ali. The Greatest Give Back is a signature event and service project done every year to honor Muhammad Ali’s legacy of service to others. In Ali’s spirit of humanitarianism, volunteers engage in service projects throughout the day, fulfilling Ali’s lifelong commitment to his hometown and demonstrating Louisville is a truly compassionate city.

Details coming soon!

Learn More

This Impact Tracker covers the past month.
Previous impact trackers:

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