United Way of Greater Milwaukee & Waukesha County will invest $51.2 million into the community during the 2015-2016 funding cycle.

The investment represents more than $24.8 million that will be invested directly into United Way’s Education, Income and Health strategic focus areas and over $23 million in donor designations to specific agencies.

United Way raised a record $54 million during the 2014 Greater Milwaukee Community Campaign and United Way in Waukesha County raised $4.3 million. The difference between the amount raised and projected community investment includes uncollectable pledges, in-kind/sponsorship dollars, as well as fundraising, programmatic and administrative costs.

The newly merged organization remains committed to identifying and focusing more dollars on the root causes of community problems, including important initiatives such as Helping Kids Succeed and Financial Stability in Waukesha County. The distribution of funds remained the same for the current funding cycle, however, when the 2015 Community Campaign is successful; United Way hopes to deploy more resources into our community in programs that show results.

“The measure of United Way is how we continue to invest dollars into collaborative community efforts that ultimately change the conditions for the better of all,” said Mary Lou Young, president and CEO. “Because of the generosity of so many, we are able to invest in quality programs that create needle-moving change.”

Investing in 220-plus programs at over 110 agencies, United Way serves a wide spectrum of individuals and families from diverse ethnic and economic backgrounds, supporting people through all of life’s stages. Key community partnerships and initiatives include, Teen Pregnancy Prevention, Healthy Birth Outcomes, Milwaukee Succeeds and Continuum of Care. For a complete list of agency program partners, visit unitedwaygmwc.org/What-We-Fund

Funding decisions are based on a robust annual review process that measures financial health, as well as programmatic impact. United Way operates at a high rate of efficiency, investing almost 90 percent of the money raised in the annual community campaign back into the community. This far exceeds the 65 % minimum considered acceptable for a non-profit to be living up to its mission, according to Charity Navigator, the non-profit industry watchdog.