WHO IS UNITED WAY?

United Way fights for the education, financial stability and health of every single person in the greater Yankton area.

What is United Way of Greater Yankton?

We are a local charitable organization with a broad focus on improving life in Yankton, South Dakota.

Everything we do is in service to our residents, which includes all living in Yankton County.

We take a multifaceted approach to some of the biggest problems facing our society.

Problems like homelessness, children's literacy, and lack of access to healthcare.

We have the ability and expertise to pool resources and conduct research

to determine where our efforts can make the biggest impact.

When you give to United Way, you're not just helping one person...

You're investing in the entire community, in the most effective and efficient way!

We are a local charitable organization whose mission is to change lives and improve the greater Yankton community by mobilizing people and resources to drive strategic impact in Education, Financial Stability and Health. United Way of Greater Yankton is an affiliate of United Way Worldwide.

UNITED WAY WORLDWIDE

United Way was founded in 1887 by four religious leaders in Denver, they recognized the need for cooperative action to address their city’s welfare problems.

These four leaders planned the first united campaign for ten health and welfare agencies and created an organization to:

collect funds for local charities
coordinate relief services
counsel and refer clients to cooperating agencies
make emergency assistance grants (in cases which could not be referred)

The result of the 1887 campaign? Denver raised $21,700 and created a movement that would spread throughout the country to become United Way.

Throughout our history, United Way has done extraordinary work to improve people’s lives and build strong communities. With our focus on community impact, United Way has a key role to play in advocating for good public policy. Without community input, our priorities in Education, Financial Stability and Health will lose critical government policy and funding support.

UNITED WAY OF GREATER YANKTON

United Way of Greater Yankton was founded September 25, 1957, for the purpose of meeting the health, welfare and recreational needs of the greater Yankton community by the development of a program that will be efficient, economical and free from duplication. The program would be financed through a single, annual appeal.

In June 1992, the Yankton Volunteer & Information Center merged with the United Way, and was known as the United Way & Volunteer Services of Greater Yankton, whose mission was to promote voluntary giving and services to support human needs in the greater Yankton area. Besides providing financial support to partner agencies, volunteer recruitment and referral is provided to these agencies and other non-profit agencies community wide.

In 2016, the United Way Board of Directors revamped the mission statement to reflect community collaboration and the impact made through not only the community campaign but priority outcomes in Education, Financial Stability and Health, the building blocks for a strong and healthy community.

The current mission of United Way of Greater Yankton is to change lives and improve our community by mobilizing people and resource to drive strategic impact in Education, Financial Stability and Health.

DIVERSITY, EQUITY & INCLUSION (DEI)
The United Way Worldwide network has strengthened its commitment to being an equitable organization and ending racism and ethnic discrimination. In doing so, United Way has made a clear statement as a network about our values and commitment to advancing racial/ethnic equity.

DIVERSITY, EQUITY & INCLUSION – STATEMENT OF PRINCIPLE

ADOPTED BY THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS ON: June 16, 2021

United Way of Greater Yankton (UWGY) nurtures and encourages an inclusive environment that leverages the unique contributions of diverse individuals and organizations in all aspects of our work. We know that by bringing diverse individuals and viewpoints together we can collectively and more effectively create opportunities for a better life for all.

UWGY opposes any form of discrimination against any individual or organization. We value, champion, and embrace diversity in all aspects of UWGY activities and respect others without regard to race, color, religion, creed, age, sex, national origin or ancestry, marital status, veteran status, sexual orientation, or status as qualified disabled or handicapped individual.

UWGY takes the broadest possible view of diversity, going beyond visible differences, to affirm the spirit of all individuals, including the realities, background, experiences, skills and perspectives that make each person who they are. Engaging the power of diverse talent and partners results in innovative solutions necessary to address complex issues.

Diversity, equity, and inclusion are at the core of what it means to LIVE UNITED.

OUR FUTURE

With a mission to unite people and resources to improve the quality of life in our area, United Way of Greater Yankton focuses on fighting for the education, financial stability and health of every single person in our community. More than 3,000 donors support United Way's Community Impact Fund, and we work with over 60 local community impact programs in a collective effort to change lives and improve community. Our annual financial impact on greater Yankton area is almost $800,000.