Our Mission

Core Values

Collaboration * Compassion * Excellence * Impact * Integrity

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Strategic Pillars

Health * Education * Financial Stability

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Strategic Priorities

With an emphasis on collaboration and partnership across the entire community; a focus on innovation and modernization; through a lens of equity and inclusivity; and a high priority for transparency and integrity, United Way of Lincoln and Lancaster County is committed to the following strategic priorities:

Community Impact: to be a responsive and nimble partner who can invest in the dynamic needs of the community within the areas of Health, Education, and Financial Stability; while remaining a stable and reliable partner to nonprofits, which helps ensure a safety net of services exists in our community.

Annual Community Campaign: to diversify and grow annual campaign revenue each year by increasing awareness, education, and donor engagement while exploring various giving solution options.

Revenue Diversification:  to develop additional streams of revenue beyond the Annual Community Campaign, which will increase support to the community. Specific attention will be paid to the Foundation endowment growth and grant activity.

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Strategic Goals

Community Impact Goals:

Increase proactive response to systems-level data analysis.

• Utilize collaborative community data to assess trends in strategy areas that require additional systems-level investment and proactively seek partnerships that positively impact those trends.

Implement a lens of equity within the Fund Distribution Process.

• Ensure a lens of racial diversity and inclusivity is embedded in the granting process.
• Intentionally expand the understanding of the application process within the nonprofit arena.

Broaden the community’s understanding of United Way’s impact in the areas of Health, Education and Financial Stability.

• Convene and educate the community on current needs affecting nonprofits and how United Way collaborates to make an impact. 

Annual Community Campaign Goals:

Increase donors to slow down/counter downward trends.

• Continue expansion of workplace giving.
• Partner with local organizations to find innovative ways to educate and engage new employees.
• Find new creative ways to engage retirees and young donors.
• Work to expand engagement of other organizations (for example, labor organizations, student groups, and churches).
• Continue to pursue new opportunities that attract audiences looking for specific causes to support, as well as expand and diversify revenue (for example, one-day events and mini-campaigns).

Increase dollars by pursing a diversified target with high impact opportunities.

• Create a system by which donors are more connected to United Way in multiple ways by increasing the menu of offerings and systematically inviting people to participate.
• Focus attention on local corporate matching programs.
• Emphasize major gifts/local grants on systems-wide or collaborative efforts as another means of infusing investments in the areas of Health, Education, and Financial Stability.

Broaden reach to help donors understand the value of giving to United Way.

• Enhance ways to deliver success stories and impact of giving through United Way to reach those beyond current marketing target groups, especially during times outside of the Annual Community Campaign.
• Simplify and innovate messaging for donors and the community at large.
• Identify opportunities for the Board of Directors to be inclusive of other representatives on the Board and find ways to focus on new accounts generation.
• Continue to expand volunteer engagement opportunities.

Revenue Diversification Goal:

Increase the percentage of non-campaign revenue.

• Enhance endowment fundraising for the long-term health of the organization.
• Explore non-campaign grant opportunities where a collaborative effort by providers is needed to effectuate the goal of the grant and where United Way is the financial backbone.