As Metro United Way heads into its final year of a three-year transition plan toward a new impact and investment model, we will be launching a new investment strategy in 2022 aimed at creating a health and safety net for individuals and families in Jefferson County who are experiencing hardships that inhibit their ability to have their basic needs met. At MUW, we are committed to closing the Education and Wealth Gaps that persist across the communities we serve. However, we also recognize that an important step to being able to do that requires a commitment to ensuring our community’s most vulnerable citizens have access to food, shelter, healthcare, child care, and other basic necessities for daily living and working.

In this particular Request for Proposals, we seek to identify new or innovative programs and ideas that will address the basic needs of individuals and families in Jefferson County. Applications may be submitted by individual non-profit partners – both with pre-existing relationships with MUW and without – and/or as part of a multi-partner collaborative proposal. Unlike MUW’s other current open funding opportunity focused on basic needs, this RFP is focused on innovation, as defined by new programs or ideas, significant changes that will improve an existing program, or capacity building intended to improve service delivery. Recent analysis of data collected from 211, United Community and other community data sources indicate that gaps likely exist in areas such as housing, rent and utility payment, and food insecurity, where the level of need in the community is not being adequately met by the community’s existing safety net of available resources.

Eligibility Criteria

• The Internal Revenue Service has ruled the applicant to be a federally recognized tax-exempt not-for-profit organization or the organization has an application in process and a fiduciary agent.
• The applicant provides program(s) and services focused on meeting the basic needs of individuals and families in Jefferson County, KY.
• The applicant must be able to comply with MUW’s Grant Agreement (attached).
• The applicant seeks to provide innovative programming to address basic needs, as defined by changes to improve existing programming, new programs or ideas, or capacity investments that will improve service delivery.
• Applicants may be single organizations, collaboratives, or partnerships.  Organizations may submit one application as an individual applicant, and one additional application on behalf of a collaborative.