United Way of Dane County Investment Process

At United Way of Dane County, we’re proud to invest in and partner with programs that focus time and energy on helping local families and individuals overcome barriers and access the building blocks of well-being – a quality education, a family-supporting job and health supports. Because we know that when we connect the dots across these areas, families get what they need to succeed in school, work and life.

Impact Grants
We are excited to release a Request for Proposals (RFP) for our Impact Grants in early April 2024 for funding from Jan. 1, 2025 – Dec. 31, 2026. Eligible organizations will apply for grants of $15,000 and above through e-CImpact, United Way’s grants application and reporting site. Check back soon for more information on this funding opportunity, or contact impact@uwdc.org to be notified via email when more information is available. 

Micro-Investments 
United Way of Dane County is pleased to announce the availability of $25,000 in grant funding through its 2024 Micro-Investment Grants Initiative.  

Through this initiative, one-time grants of up to $5,000 will be awarded to grassroots organizations: community groups, nonprofit agencies, faith-based organizations and others who propose projects to support the goals and strategies identified by residents of the Harmony Apartments in Madison, WI.   

Residents and non-residents may apply for these funds using the linked applications, below. Applications open March 8 and close April 15. Please carefully review the Request for Proposals: 2024 Micro-Investments Grants Initiative before applying. 

2024 Micro-Investments Scoring Rubric

Residents 
Resident Application 

Non-Residents 
Non-Resident Application 

FEMA Emergency Food and Shelter Program 
Approximately once a year, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) allocates funds to local jurisdictions around the country to support its Emergency Food and Shelter Program (EFSP). United Way of Dane County is a designated leader in convening a local board that makes funding decisions at the County level to eligible nonprofits that provide services to those in need of food, shelter, and/or rental assistance. The process requires interested nonprofits to complete a grant application; the local board reviews all applications and determines how to best allocate the current funding provided by FEMA. 

The next Request for Proposals for FEMA EFSP funding (Phase 41) will open March 13, 2024 at 9 am and close on March 27, 2024 at 4 pm Central. A total of $159,467 is available in Dane County. 

Please click here for more information about FEMA EFSP and to determine if your agency is eligible to apply. This link to the application for FEMA EFSP funding (Phase 41) will be live March 13.
Click here for instructions for logging into e-Cimpact
Click here to apply after 9:00 AM, March 13.

By Youth for Youth (BYFY) 
By Youth for Youth (BYFY) is a collaborative program with UW-Madison, United Way of Dane County, the City of Madison, and Dane County that has occurred annually since 1993. High school students from across Dane County work together to identify issues that affect youth, review and evaluate grant applications, and award funds to youth-designed or youth-serving projects in Dane County.  

If you are interested in participating on the youth team, applications open in September of each year. If you are interested in applying for funding, grant applications open in December of each year. Click here for more information. 

LE Grants 
Nonprofit agencies, community organizations, and faith-based groups are encouraged to apply for up to $5,000 in funding from the United Way Foundation-Loaned Executive Grants program. This is an annual grant program made possible by United Way of Dane County Foundation’s interest earnings. Each year the program adopts a different focus, the 2024 program designed to combat family homelessness and housing insecurity, to help applying organizations more effectively fulfill their missions and create change in Dane County.  

The grant Request for Proposals and application will be available here on May 22. Proposals are due July 15, and will be recommended for investments by the 2024 United Way Loaned Executive class, which will go to the United Way Board of Directors for approval. 

State Employees Combined Campaign (SECC) & Other Combined Campaigns 
State Employees Combined Campaign (SECC) is the workplace giving campaign that includes all Wisconsin state employees, University of Wisconsin employees, and UW Hospital and Clinics employees. Individual non-profit organizations are not allowed to contact or solicit employees in these workplaces on their own. They can, however, be included in the State’s annual fundraising campaign if they are affiliated with an umbrella organization like United Way of Dane County. Umbrella organizations apply on behalf of their affiliates to be listed in the public sector campaign materials through a defined process that is run by state employees.  

Eligible 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations can affiliate with United Way of Dane County to join the SECC – Dane County campaign, also known as Partners in Giving, as well as the Dane County Employees, City of Madison Employees, Madison Metropolitan School District (MMSD), and Madison College Combined Campaigns.  

Each nonprofit organization will be screened by United Way staff and the SECC Eligibility Committee to determine that it: 
• is a charitable organization; 
• is a member of an umbrella organization that participates in the state campaign; 
• uses the funds contributed by state employees for the announced purposes; 
• submits a copy of an IRS certificate showing that it is a tax-exempt, non-profit organization under Section 501 (c) (3); 
• has registered with the Wisconsin Department of Financial Institutions and filed annual reports; 
• has a detailed annual budget prepared and approved at the beginning of each fiscal year by its board of directors; 
• follows accepted fundraising practices; 
• has a formal policy and procedure of non-discrimination; 
• prepares an annual report that is available to the general public, includes a full description of its charities, identifies the types of solicitation it uses to obtain contributions, names its chief administrative personnel, and fully discloses the sources and uses of contributions. 
• has furnished information with a certification by an independent certified public accountant showing that it follows standards of accounting and a financial system that is based on generally accepted accounting principles. 

Nonprofit organizations must also operate within and serve residents of Dane County in order to affiliate with United Way of Dane County. 

The process to submit materials to be included in the next calendar year’s campaigns begins each November. Contact impact@uwdc.org to learn more and to find out if your organization may be eligible to join.