United Way of Kaw Valley Inc
United Way of Kaw Valley Inc. is a public charity based in Topeka, Kansas. It brings together people, companies, and nonprofits to support individuals and families, and invests in local partners serving communities in northeast Kansas. The organization says it serves Shawnee, Douglas, Jackson, and Jefferson counties.
United Way of Kaw Valley Inc at a glance
In short: United Way of Kaw Valley Inc gave $3.5M across 36 grants in 2025 (avg $97K), mostly in Kansas. 42% of 2025 grantees were new. Source: 2025 IRS Form 990.
- Annual giving (2025)
- $3,496,564
- -5.7% vs 2024
- Grants made (2025)
- 36
- -12.2% vs 2024
- Average grant
- $97,127
- +7.4% vs 2024
- Median grant
- $28,441
- Total assets
- $3,902,304
- -2.2% vs 2024
- New grantees (estimate)
- 42% first-time grantees (15 of 36, 2025)
- Primary geography
- Kansas (99% of itemized 2025 grant dollars)
- Latest 990 filing
- Form 990, 2025 View filing
Data from IRS Form 990, 2025; updated September 2026. New grantees are estimated by matching recipient names across years (methodology).
How to apply to United Way of Kaw Valley Inc
- Review Cycle
- The 2025–27 Notice of Funding Opportunity listed an application due date of March 14, 2025, at 5:00 p.m. Central Time.
- Deadline
- The 2025–27 Notice of Funding Opportunity listed an application due date of March 14, 2025, at 5:00 p.m.
- Contact
Mailing address: 1527 Sw Fairlawn Rd, Topeka, KS 66604
Phone: (785) 273-4804
Website: https://uwkawvalley.org
Application details from Grantable's research on the foundation's public materials; confirm on its website before applying.
Who United Way of Kaw Valley Inc funds
How this funder distributes its grants
Top Recipients
Top 10 recipients in 2025
The largest 2025 recipient was ERC Resource & Referral Inc DBA Child Care Aware ($782K). Together the top 10 received $2.9M.
Grant Size Distribution
204 grants across all recorded years
The most common grant size was under $50K: 133 grants of 204 (65%).
Geographic Focus
Where this funder awards grants
United Way of Kaw Valley says it serves and invests in Shawnee, Douglas, Jackson, and Jefferson counties in northeast Kansas. The 2025–27 Community Investment grant opportunity was specifically for services in Shawnee and Jefferson counties. In filing year 2025, 99% of reported grant dollars went to recipients in Kansas and 1% to recipients in Missouri.
Grant Distribution by State
Share of 2025 grant dollars across all 36 itemized grants.
Cities
Is United Way of Kaw Valley Inc open to new grantees?
42%
first-time grantees, 2025
In 2025, 15 of 36 grantees (42%) were first-time recipients. First grants averaged $70K; repeat grants $117K. How we count
Medians: $16K first-time, $50K repeat.
- 53% of 2025 grantees were also funded in 2024. Method
- Giving held roughly steady from 2022 to 2025 (−3%). Method
Estimate from itemized grant lists in IRS Form 990 filings (2019–2025). Recipient names are matched across years, so a renamed or misspelled grantee can look new; grants to individuals are left out. Methodology.
Giving History
Giving Over Time
Total grant dollars and number of grants per year
From 2019 to 2025, annual grant giving ranged from $3.5M (2025) to $4.5M (2019). In 2025 it made 36 grants totaling $3.5M.
Grants by year
Grant recipients and amounts by year
| Recipient | Purpose | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| ERC Resource & Referral Inc DBA Child Care Aware Topeka, KS | PGM Op Cost, Gen Sup | $781,662 |
| Tarc Topeka, KS | PGM Op Cost, Gen Sup | $553,887 |
| Community Action Inc Topeka, KS | PGM Op Cost, Gen Sup | $538,500 |
| Shawnee County Health Department Topeka, KS | Program Operat Cost | $389,384 |
| USD 501 - Topeka Public Schools Topeka, KS | PGM Op Cost, Gen Sup | $276,701 |
| Kansas Children's Service League Wichita, KS | General Support | $95,694 |
| Patterson Family Child Care Center Topeka, KS | Program Operat Cost | $88,002 |
| Topeka Rescue Mission Inc Topeka, KS | PGM Op Cost, Gen Sup | $72,644 |
| USD 345 - Seaman Topeka, KS | PGM Op Cost, Gen Sup | $71,456 |
| Sparkwheel Inc Lawrence, KS | PGM Op Cost, Gen Sup | $68,505 |
Ready to take the next step with United Way of Kaw Valley Inc?
Financial History
Multi-year comparison from IRS filings
| Filing year | Total Assets | Revenue | Expenses | Grants paid | Grants | Net Investment Income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | $3,902,304 | $4,856,041 | $5,042,041 | $3,496,564 | 36 | $47,448 |
| 2024 | $3,989,974 | $5,171,093 | $5,401,923 | $3,706,487 | 41 | $40,672 |
| 2023 | $4,197,473 | $5,575,436 | $5,541,906 | $4,187,459 | 53 | $28,191 |
| 2022 | $3,601,122 | $4,712,696 | $4,893,733 | $3,591,051 | 33 | $21,602 |
| 2021 | $3,624,491 | $4,970,890 | $5,289,622 | $4,140,857 | 41 | $20,749 |
| 2020 | $4,019,556 | $5,214,266 | $5,549,629 | $4,380,426 | 40 | $25,176 |
| 2019 | $3,683,571 | $5,403,891 | $5,742,363 | $4,463,086 | 54 | $50,289 |
Research compiled by Grantable AI from public sources. Last updated September 2026.
Mission & Focus Areas
The organization’s mission is “Creating and cultivating an unbreakable network of support.” Its vision is “Healthy and resilient communities where all can thrive.” Its website says future grants and investments will center on a Whole Family/2Gen approach to poverty. The 2025–27 Community Investment grant opportunity identified three focus areas: Youth Opportunity, Financial Security, and Healthy Community.
The 2025 filing shows support for a range of local organizations. For example, TARC describes its mission as enhancing the lives of people affected by intellectual, developmental, and related disabilities; Community Action Inc. says it helps people move from poverty toward prosperity; and Kansas Children’s Service League says it protects and promotes children’s well-being. Other supported organizations include providers whose stated missions address homelessness and hunger, emergency aid, health care, and removing barriers to people’s ability to thrive.
Grantmaking
In filing year 2025, United Way of Kaw Valley reported 36 grants totaling $3,496,564. Grant amounts ranged from $5,200 to $781,662, with a median of $28,441. The largest awards included $781,662 to ERC Resource & Referral Inc. DBA, $553,887 to TARC, $538,500 to Community Action Inc., $389,384 to the Shawnee County Health Department, and $276,701 to USD 501 – Topeka Public Schools. The stated purposes were generally program operating costs or general support.
The 2025–27 Community Investment opportunity was a two-year grant for eligible charitable organizations providing services in Shawnee and Jefferson counties, with funding beginning July 1, 2025. Applications were handled through an online grant application and management portal. The organization said it would provide technical assistance, including scheduled office hours during the proposal-writing window. The grant opportunities page lists the 2025–26 Community Investment applications as closed.
Leadership & Key People
Leadership team and compensation from IRS filings
The 2025 filing lists Marc Fried as chair, Matt All as past chair, Beth Llewellyn as chair-elect, and Lonnie Wild as treasurer. Other listed board members are Stephanie Flood, Johnathan Sublet, Amy Stutzman, Karla Hedquist, Doug Wolff, and Peter Luckey.
United Way of Kaw Valley Inc is led by Jessica Lehnherr, President since 2020 (on filings since 2019); 2 of 28 officers listed in 2025 are compensated.
Officers on the 2025 filing
Jessica Lehnherr
President
CEO → President, 2020
On filings since 2019
40 hrs/week
$107K (2019) → $104K (2025)
Marc Fried
Chair
Board Member → Chair Elect, 2023
Chair Elect → Chair, 2024
On filings since 2019
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Valerie Thieme
CFO
CFO & Finance → CFO, 2020
On filings since 2019
40 hrs/week
$58K (2019) → $72K (2025)
Matt All
Past Chair
Chair-Elect → Chair, 2022
Chair → Past Chair, 2024
On filings since 2019
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Tonya Barta
Board Member
On filings since 2019
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Trey George
Board Member
On filings since 2019
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Doria Watson
Board Member
On filings since 2020
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Jacque Russell
Board Member
On filings since 2020
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Sarah Sharp
Board Member
On filings since 2020
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Bill Cochran
Board Member
On filings since 2021
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Mario Edmonds
Board Member
On filings since 2021
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Amy Stutzman
Board Member
On filings since 2022
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Johnathan Sublet
Board Member
On filings since 2022
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Megan Burgess
Board Member
On filings since 2022
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Stephanie Flood
Board Member
Treasurer → Board Member, 2024
On filings since 2022
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Beth Llewellyn
Chair Elect
Board Member → Chair Elect, 2024
On filings since 2023
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Brooklynne Mosley
Board Member
On filings since 2023
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
David Jordan
Board Member
On filings since 2023
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Joe Beasley
Board Member
On filings since 2023
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Peggy Johnson
Board Member
On filings since 2023
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Ward Slocum
Board Member
On filings since 2023
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Bella Wood
Board Member
On filings since 2024
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Arianna Riley
Board Member
New on the 2025 filing
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Doug Wolff
Board Member
New on the 2025 filing
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Karla Hedquist
Board Member
New on the 2025 filing
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Lonnie Wild
Treasurer
New on the 2025 filing
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Maja Holmes
Board Member
New on the 2025 filing
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Peter Luckey
Board Member
New on the 2025 filing
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Former officers (37)
- Former: John Fager (2019–2024) — Board Member
- Former: Judy Corzine (2019–2024) — Board Member
- Former: Marlou Wegener (2019–2024) — Board Member
- Former: Matt Dinkel (2019–2024) — Board Member
- Former: Morgan Franklin (2019–2024) — Board Member
- Former: Adrian Revels (2022–2024) — Board Member
- Former: Freddy Mawyin (2022–2024) — Treasurer
- Former: Bryce Liedtke (2023–2024) — Board Member
- Former: Kate Campbell (2023–2024) — Board Member
- Former: Krystal Loomis (2023–2024) — Board Member
- Former: Mina Bischmann (2023–2024) — Board Member
- Former: Jared Rudy (2019–2023) — Board Member
- Former: Susan Duffy (2019–2023) — Past Chair
- Former: Will Lawrence (2019–2023) — Board Member
- Former: Shayden Hanes (2022–2023) — Board Member
- Former: Bryan Beall (2019–2022) — Board Member
- Former: Misty Kruger (2019–2022) — Board Member
- Former: Shelli Crow-Johnson (2019–2022) — Board Member
- Former: Peyton Wilson (2022) — Board Member
- Former: Becky Holmquist (2019–2021) — Past Chair
- Former: Carl Downing (2019–2021) — Board Member
- Former: Corey Carnahan (2019–2021) — Board Member
- Former: Lindsey Brees (2019–2021) — Treasurer
- Former: Matt Pivarnik (2019–2021) — Board Member
- Former: Nancy Burkhardt (2019–2021) — Board Member
- Former: Sarah Sanders (2019–2021) — Board Member
- Former: James Jeffries (2020–2021) — Board Member
- Former: Sam Pomeroy (2020–2021) — Board Member
- Former: Dusty Douglas (2019–2020) — Board Member
- Former: Hayli Morrison (2019–2020) — Board Member
- Former: Luke Domme (2019–2020) — Board Member
- Former: Chief Bill Cochran (2020) — Board Member
- Former: Allan Towle (2019) — Board Member
- Former: Claire Leffingwell (2019) — Board Member
- Former: Frank Henderson Jr. (2019) — Board Member
- Former: John Guyot (2019) — Board Member
- Former: Larry Robbins (2019) — Past Chair
Data from IRS Form 990 filings, 2019–2025. "On filings since" is the earliest filing we hold that lists the person; hours are average hours per week as reported.
Compensation Overview
From 2025 IRS filing
The highest reported compensation on the 2025 filing was $104K, to Jessica Lehnherr (President &). 2 officers or directors reported compensation on that filing.
Frequently asked questions about United Way of Kaw Valley Inc
How much does United Way of Kaw Valley Inc give each year?
United Way of Kaw Valley Inc gave $3.5M across 36 grants in 2025, according to its 2025 IRS Form 990. In 2024 it gave $3.7M across 41 grants.
What is United Way of Kaw Valley Inc's typical grant size?
United Way of Kaw Valley Inc's median grant in 2025 was $28,441, and its average grant was $97,127, across 36 grants on its 2025 IRS Form 990. Organizations receiving their first grant from United Way of Kaw Valley Inc that year got $70K on average.
Where does United Way of Kaw Valley Inc give grants?
United Way of Kaw Valley Inc gives mostly in Kansas: 99% of the grant dollars itemized on its 2025 IRS Form 990 went to recipients there. The most frequent recipient cities were Topeka, KS (21 grants), Lawrence, KS (6 grants), Wichita, KS (4 grants) and Kansas City, MO (2 grants).
Does United Way of Kaw Valley Inc give general operating support?
Yes: 19% of United Way of Kaw Valley Inc's 2025 grants with a stated purpose (7 of 36) were for general or operating support, per its 2025 IRS Form 990. Recurring purposes include "PGM Op Cost, Gen Sup" (24 grants) and "Program Operat Cost" (5 grants).
Who are United Way of Kaw Valley Inc's largest grantees?
United Way of Kaw Valley Inc's largest 2025 grantees include ERC Resource & Referral Inc DBA Child Care Aware ($781,662), Tarc ($553,887) and Community Action Inc ($538,500), according to its 2025 IRS Form 990. Together they received 54% of its itemized 2025 grant dollars.
How large is United Way of Kaw Valley Inc?
United Way of Kaw Valley Inc reported $3.9M in total assets on its 2025 IRS Form 990. Its revenue that year was $4.9M.
What does United Way of Kaw Valley Inc fund?
The organization’s mission is “Creating and cultivating an unbreakable network of support.” Its vision is “Healthy and resilient communities where all can thrive.” Its website says future grants and investments will center on a Whole Family/2Gen approach to poverty. See mission & focus areas ↑
How do I apply for a grant from United Way of Kaw Valley Inc?
United Way of Kaw Valley Inc has no public application process in the sources Grantable reviewed. Check uwkawvalley.org for current guidelines, or contact the foundation directly before submitting a request.
What is United Way of Kaw Valley Inc's EIN?
United Way of Kaw Valley Inc's EIN (Employer Identification Number) is 48-0561978. IRS Form 990 filing data is available on this page for 2019–2025.
Data last updated September 2026. Sourced from IRS Form 990 filings. Research dossier generated September 2026.
Data update history
(7)
When this profile's IRS filing data changed on Grantable
- Updated Form 990 for fiscal year 2019 (received by the IRS March 25, 2020)
- Updated Form 990 for fiscal year 2025 (received by the IRS April 1, 2026)
- Updated Form 990 for fiscal year 2020 (received by the IRS March 30, 2021)
- Updated Form 990 for fiscal year 2021 (received by the IRS March 29, 2022)
- Updated Form 990 for fiscal year 2022 (received by the IRS March 30, 2023)
- Updated Form 990 for fiscal year 2023 (received by the IRS February 27, 2024)
- Updated Form 990 for fiscal year 2024 (received by the IRS April 1, 2025)
Live grants for the work United Way of Kaw Valley Inc funds
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Cite this profile
Grantable. (2026). United Way of Kaw Valley Inc funder profile. GrantGraph. Retrieved October 22, 2026, from https://grantable.co/funders/united-way-of-kaw-valley-inc-morg_82712ac513fa4e3da4b310e96fef9b05
BibTeX
@misc{grantable_480561978_2026,
author = {{Grantable}},
title = {{United Way of Kaw Valley Inc funder profile}},
howpublished = {GrantGraph},
year = {2026},
url = {https://grantable.co/funders/united-way-of-kaw-valley-inc-morg_82712ac513fa4e3da4b310e96fef9b05},
note = {Accessed 2026-10-22. Data licensed CC BY 4.0}
}The figures on this page are open data under CC BY 4.0: reuse them with credit to Grantable and a link. Download the data.
Figures come from United Way of Kaw Valley Inc's IRS filings (methodology). AI-written summaries, news items and logos are not covered by the open licence. Spot an error? Email hello@grantable.co.
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