Harvey Community Investment Grants

The Harvey Community Investment Grants, facilitated by the Harvey County United Way, aim to empower local non-profit and community organizations by funding programs focused on education, health, and income stability. With over 65 years of experience, the organization emphasizes measurable outcomes and sustainable impacts. Grant applicants must demonstrate a clear community need, illustrating their program's effectiveness in addressing issues like educational access, health care, and financial stability for residents. The initiative underscores a partnership approach, ensuring ongoing support beyond the grant.

Background
For over 65 years, Harvey County United Way has had one mission: mobilizing communities to create lasting changes in community conditions that improve lives. The most visible example of our work is the annual community investment grant round.
Community Investment grants are financial investments in area non-profit and community organizations working the focus areas of education, health and income. Each application must demonstrate a community need and the actions taken to meet that need.
We fund programs not agencies. For some organizations, with only one major service offered, there is no distinction between the two. However, for organizations with multiple programs and areas of work, this is an important clarification to consider before completing the grant application.
We fund ongoing services and understand this is not always the case in the world of grant funding. Our focus is on the core foundation of program services: meeting a community need, making lasting impact through measurable outcomes, sustainability, adaptability to environmental changes (external and internal), board development, leveraging HCUW funds, etc. Harvey County United Way is committed to helping as many Harvey County communities and residents as possible.
This means the relationship does not end when the award letter is sent. We are here for you in the form of technical support, consultation and marketing your program. We need to know if leadership staff changes (executive director), program adjustments are needed, or if your organization is struggling. Think of it this way, every dollar you receive is a donation from a local individual or business.
Applicants must focus on one of our main areas:

• Education

Education is the cornerstone of individual and community success. But with more than 1.2 million children dropping out each year, America faces an education crisis. The cost? More than $312 billion in lost wages, taxes and productivity over their lifetimes. These trends are reversible, but only when communities and public, private and nonprofit sectors work together.
Harvey County United Way is helping individuals achieve their potential by:

• Improving access to affordable, quality child care and early childhood learning opportunities to improve kindergarten readiness.
• Partnering with schools and parents to improve student success rates.
• Providing after-school, mentoring and leadership programs for children and teens
• Health

Whether it is a neighbor without health insurance, a victim of abuse, or someone struggling with mental illness or an addiction, United Way partners are working to improve the health of the community. Healthy and safe children are more successful in school. Healthy adults are more productive employees. And healthy elders are able to respectively age in their own homes.
Harvey County United Way is helping improve health of residents by:

• Responding, investigating and preventing abuse/neglect of children and families.
• Providing access to Health Care and Chronic Disease Reduction
• Supporting elders aging in place with activity centers and meals delivered to the homebound.
• Securing medical equipment for the disabled and respite care for caregivers.
• Income Stability

As many as one-third of working Americans do not earn enough money to meet their basic needs. Wages have not kept pace with the rising cost of housing, healthcare, and education and currently, 40 million Americans are working in low-paying jobs without basic health and retirement benefits. For families walking a financial tightrope, unable to save for college, a home, or retirement, United Way is here to help.
Harvey County United Way is helping families become financially stable and independent by:

• Supporting basic needs while improving financial education
• Child care scholarships so families can stay at work
• Homelessness prevention
• Disaster response services

Eligibility

Demonstrate a tax-exempt status under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Service Code; or be an instrumentality of state or local government.The primary outcome that the program delivers must be Education, Income and/or Health.
At this time, applicants are free to self-identify the community need addressed with grant funds.