United Way of Salt Lake
Every child, every step of the way
Programs and results
What we aim to solve
At United Way of Salt Lake, we know charity is not enough. We work to change the systems that keep people in poverty by addressing the inequities that kids in our communities face. Because we believe every child deserves the same chance to achieve their dreams, no matter their race, or the neighborhood they live in. We must work together to make it happen -- and that’s why we bring schools, businesses, and community leaders to the table, to make sure every child can succeed in life. This is not a quick fix. Or charity for a few. It’s preparing kindergarteners for a lifetime of learning, and helping students build confidence in reading and math. It’s watching high school seniors cross the stage on graduation day, and college graduates land their first jobs. We do this by working in schools, across communities, and at the state Capitol. Breaking down barriers from all sides.
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
Utah 211
Utah 211 is Utah’s statewide health and human services referral system. It provides a simple, one-stop way for people to find resources for help with everything from housing and utility assistance to food supplies to transportation to childcare. Utah 211 also acts as a resource in the aftermath of disasters and is free and confidential. Utah 211 resources can be accessed via phone, chat, app, email, text, or website. The data from Utah 211 calls and interactions is an important tool for community partners, legislators, and residents to see the largest needs in their community and make a plan to address them.
Racial Equity
As an organization, we are committed to changing our world by solving complex social problems at scale. We believe that this requires us to center racial equity, diversity, and inclusion in everything we do. Our Equity Roadmap provides a structured approach to identifying areas of focus and specific actions that will enable us to make significant and measurable progress in addressing inequity in our community, and we invite input from those with lived experience to help us continue our work.
Health and Education
UWSL is creating long-term change for half a million children and families in our community by increasing opportunities, building stronger academic programs, providing families with basic resources and housing security, addressing healthcare needs and social determinants of health (conditions in the places where people live, learn, work, and play), and designing community-wide safety nets. These are important steps in equalizing disparities in our local systems and effecting systemic changes that address the social and economic well-being of individuals.
*Early Education: Children who are kindergarten-ready are more likely to have a foundation that supports future learning and better health.
*Elementary Reading: Students who are proficient in reading in 3rd grade are more likely to graduate from high school.
*Middle School Math: Students who are proficient in math in 8th grade are more likely to graduate from college and be prepared for the workforce.
*High School Graduation: Students who graduate from high school are less likely to experience poverty, receive public assistance, or become involved in the criminal justice system.
*Post-Secondary Completion: Adults who earn 1-year certificates or 4-year degrees are more likely to be financially stable, live longer, healthier lives, and be more civically engaged.
Where we work
External reviews

Our results
How does this organization measure their results? It's a hard question but an important one.
Total dollar amount of grants awarded
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Age groups
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
These grants are awarded to our partners working to improve health, education, and basic needs outcomes for children and families in our community.
Total number of grants awarded
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Age groups
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
These grants are awarded to our partners working to improve health, education, and basic needs outcomes for children and families in our community.
Our Sustainable Development Goals
Learn more about Sustainable Development Goals.
Goals & Strategy
Reports and documents
Download strategic planLearn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.
Charting impact
Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.
What is the organization aiming to accomplish?
Our goal is to transform the educational environment for Utah kids, eliminating disparities in education and ensuring that every child has an equal shot at success.
United Way of Salt Lake takes a "cradle-to-career" approach to improve educational outcomes for youth, aligning with partners to share, and deploy resources to improve the following outcomes:
• Early Childhood Education
• 3rd Grade Reading
• 8th Grade Math
• High School Graduation
• Postsecondary Completion
• Health and Financial Stability
What are the organization's key strategies for making this happen?
United Way of Salt Lake's Promise Partnership takes a collective approach to community problem solving. To transform whole communities, we must think beyond individual programs or services and see ourselves as a united group sharing accountability for community-wide results. This is what it means to engage in rigorous collective impact.
Collective Impact requires that everyone work together in partnership – businesses, cities, government, schools, churches, foundations, and nonprofit organizations – to tackle our most pressing challenges and develop lasting solutions. By working this way, we all move towards the same clear goals.
What are the organization's capabilities for doing this?
Achieving system-wide change is a difficult undertaking, and many change efforts fail because they do not have the necessary support at every “level” with the system. For this reason, United Way of Salt Lake's Promise Partnership has built a multi-tiered structure to ensure support, leadership, and action at multiple layers within the education system.
Our partnership includes grassroots community engagement, full-service community schools, civic partnerships, outcome-focused networks, and a regional leadership table made up of leaders across the Wasatch Front. By coordinating action, communication, and influence across these layers, we believe we have the necessary ingredients to transform the educational landscape for Utah kids.
What have they accomplished so far and what's next?
In early 2019, StriveTogether awarded UWSL's Promise Partnership its highest designation within the network, “Proof Point.” Of the sixty-eight partnerships in the network, only eleven have received this designation; and of these, the Promise Partnership is the only one to connect grassroots engagement, community schools, promise communities, outcomes-focused networks, and a regional leadership table into a coherent vehicle for social change.
To achieve Proof Point, a partnership must have 60% or more of their cradle to career outcomes trending in the right direction and must show maturity in a number of qualitative measures as well. Our recent data shows impacts in the following areas:
Kindergarten Readiness: In South Salt Lake, where a significant number of parents speak a language other than English, 70% of 0- to 5-year-old children are developmentally on track -- thanks, in part, to UWSL's grassroots initiative to engage parents of young children.
3rd Grade Reading: 3rd Grade Language Arts Proficiency has increased an average of 10.75% in Title I community schools, where UWSL works to help implement a multi-tiered strategic approach to early grade reading.
8th Grade Math: Math scores doubled from 2014-2017 for students of color at Granite Park Jr. High, with strategic alignment of resources and support from UWSL.
High School Graduation: Graduation rates at Cottonwood High School increased by 5% for all students, and 10% for English Language Learning students from 2014-2018.
Youth Development: UWSL has built strategic partnerships aimed at supporting more kids in and out of school, resulting in a 45% reduction in juvenile arrests in Kearns from 2014-2017, and a 29% reduction in juvenile arrests in South Salt Lake.
How we listen
Seeking feedback from people served makes programs more responsive and effective. Here’s how this organization is listening.
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How is your organization using feedback from the people you serve?
To identify and remedy poor client service experiences, To identify bright spots and enhance positive service experiences, To make fundamental changes to our programs and/or operations, To inform the development of new programs/projects, To identify where we are less inclusive or equitable across demographic groups, To strengthen relationships with the people we serve, To understand people's needs and how we can help them achieve their goals
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Which of the following feedback practices does your organization routinely carry out?
We collect feedback from the people we serve at least annually, We take steps to get feedback from marginalized or under-represented people, We aim to collect feedback from as many people we serve as possible, We take steps to ensure people feel comfortable being honest with us, We look for patterns in feedback based on demographics (e.g., race, age, gender, etc.), We look for patterns in feedback based on people’s interactions with us (e.g., site, frequency of service, etc.), We engage the people who provide feedback in looking for ways we can improve in response, We act on the feedback we receive, We ask the people who gave us feedback how well they think we responded
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What challenges does the organization face when collecting feedback?
It is difficult to get the people we serve to respond to requests for feedback
Financials
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Operations
The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.
Connect with nonprofit leaders
SubscribeBuild relationships with key people who manage and lead nonprofit organizations with GuideStar Pro. Try a low commitment monthly plan today.
- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? Learn More about GuideStar Pro.
Connect with nonprofit leaders
SubscribeBuild relationships with key people who manage and lead nonprofit organizations with GuideStar Pro. Try a low commitment monthly plan today.
- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? Learn More about GuideStar Pro.
United Way of Salt Lake
Board of directorsas of 01/19/2023
Kirk Aubry
Savage
Scott C. Ulbrich
Paul G. Child
Susan J. Marks
Colleen Larkin Bell
Mark Bouchard
Rebecca Chavez-Houck
Chris Christiansen
Bill Crim
Jeff Larsen
Mark Lucas
Jane Marquardt
Kathie Miller
John Milliken
Mikelle Moore
Kevin Potts
Sean Slatter
Scott Ulbrich
Tanya Vea
Todd Weiler
Michael Anglin
Jackie Biskupski
Nate Boyer
Rob Carpenter
Jennifer Danielson
Zeke Dumke
Jose Enriquez
Jorge Fierro
Scarlett Foster-Moss
Kieu Frisby
Matt Gnau
Terry Grant
Alex Guzman
Mike Kirby
Karen Kwan
Crystal Low
Matt Lyon
Benjamin McAdams
Kris Mecham
Sean Mulvihill
Christina Ortega
Michael Petrogeorge
Mike Rasmuson
Scott Sperry
Bryan Thomas
Art Turner
Heidi Walker
Tricia Warnken
Ruth Watkins
Don Sorensen
Gary B. Porter
Clint Spindler
Clint Spindler
Don C. Sorensen
Gary B. Porter
Clint Spindler
Gary B. Porter
Clint Spindler
Clint Spindler
Board leadership practices
GuideStar worked with BoardSource, the national leader in nonprofit board leadership and governance, to create this section.
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CEO oversight
Has the board conducted a formal, written assessment of the chief executive within the past year ? Yes
Organizational demographics
Who works and leads organizations that serve our diverse communities? Candid partnered with CHANGE Philanthropy on this demographic section.
Leadership
The organization's leader identifies as:
Race & ethnicity
No data
Gender identity
No data
No data
Sexual orientation
No data
Disability
No data