UNITED WAY OF THE BATTLE CREEK AND KALAMAZOO REGION
709 S WESTNEDGE AVENUE, KALAMAZOO, MI 49007 www.changethestory.org

---

Organizations Filed Purposes: DRIVE IMPACT BY LEADING SHARED EFFORTS THAT ENGAGE DIVERSE PEOPLE, IDEAS AND RESOURCES

THE UNITED WAY OF THE BATTLE CREEK AND KALAMAZOO REGION ENGAGES PEOPLE IN BUILDING AND SUSTAINING A VIBRANT COMMUNITY THROUGH EDUCATION, INCOME, HEALTH, AND ADDRESSING BASIC HUMAN NEEDS.

PROGRAM INVESTMENTS - THE UNITED WAY OF THE BATTLE CREEK AND KALAMAZOO REGION (UWBCKR) AND ITS DEDICATED STAFF ARE DEVOTED TO ADVANCING THE COMMON GOOD BY OPTIMIZING OPPORTUNITIES FOR SYSTEMS CHANGE AND IMPROVEMENT IN THE AREAS OF EDUCATION, INCOME, HEALTH AND BASIC NEEDS. IMPACT IS ACHIEVED THROUGH ENGAGING WITH THE COMMUNITY AND WORKING WITH COMMUNITY VOLUNTEERS AND A NETWORK OF COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIPS TO IDENTIFY GREATEST NEEDS AND INVEST RESOURCES IN COMMUNITY PROGRAMS TO ACHIEVE MEASURABLE IMPACT ON STATED OUTCOMES AND COMMUNITY GOALS. THROUGH THE GENEROUS, UNDESIGNATED GIFTS FROM DONORS, UWBCKR INVESTS IN ESSENTIAL SERVICES AND ALSO SUPPORTS COMPREHENSIVE AND INNOVATIVE APPROACHES THAT ADDRESS THE UNDERLYING CAUSES OF PROBLEMS. UWBCKR ASSEMBLES VOLUNTEERS REPRESENTING BOTH THE BATTLE CREEK AND KALAMAZOO COMMUNITIES, WHO GIVE OF THEIR TIME AND KNOWLEDGE TO DETERMINE WHAT PROGRAMS WILL ACHIEVE THE GREATEST IMPACT ON IDENTIFIED COMMUNITY GOALS. RECIPIENT ORGANIZATIONS OF UWBCKR RESOURCES ARE CAREFULLY MONITORED TO: 1) ENSURE FISCAL RESPONSIBILITY AND APPROPRIATE USE OF RESTRICTED GRANT FUNDS FROM UWBCKR, 2) ENSURE PROGRAM SERVICES ARE DELIVERED WITH FIDELITY IN ACCORDANCE WITH STATED GRANT PROPOSALS, AND 3) EVALUATE THE QUALITY OF THE PROGRAM AND THE IMPACT OF DELIVERED SERVICES ON ACHIEVING MEASURABLE PROGRESS ON THE IDENTIFIED COMMUNITY GOALS IN THE AREAS OF EDUCATION, INCOME, HEALTH AND BASIC NEEDS.STUDIES SHOW THAT STUDENTS WHO ARE UNABLE TO READ BY THE END OF THIRD GRADE ARE FOUR TO SIX TIMES MORE LIKELY TO DROP OUT OF HIGH SCHOOL. JUST 30% OF THIRD GRADERS IN ALL DISTRICTS IN THE REGION CAN READ PROFICIENTLY. ASSESSMENT OF AGGREGATE DATA PROVIDED BY UWBCKR-FUNDED PROGRAMS PROVIDING EARLY GRADE READING SUPPORTS DEMONSTRATED THE FOLLOWING RESULTS FOR 2019: OF THE 1,075 STUDENTS PROVIDED UW FUNDED READING SUPPORTS, 585 ACHIEVED THE GOAL OF READING PROFICIENTLY AT THE END OF 3RD GRADE AS MEASURED BY A STATE STANDARDIZED TEST. 13.5% OF THOSE ACHIEVING WERE AFRICAN AMERICAN STUDENTS AND 67.3% WERE ANGLO AMERICAN STUDENTS. IN OUR REGION, BABIES OF COLOR ARE 2 TO 4 TIMES MORE LIKELY TO DIE BEFORE THEIR FIRST BIRTHDAY THAN THEIR ANGLO AMERICAN COUNTERPARTS. AGGREGATE DATA COLLECTED FROM UWBCKR SUPPORTED PROGRAMS DEMONSTRATED THE FOLLOWING AS RECORDED MEASURABLE PROGRESS ON ADDRESSING THIS STATISTIC IN 2019: 82% OF AFRICAN AMERICAN MOTHERS GAVE BIRTH TO AN INFANT OF HEALTHY WEIGHT. 86% OF MOTHERS SERVED INITIATED BREASTFEEDING. 84% OF AFRICAN AMERICAN MOTHERS SERVED INITIATED BREASTFEEDING.A SIGNIFICANT, ONGOING CHALLENGE FACED BY FAMILIES STRUGGLING FINANCIALLY AND IN THE CYCLE OF POVERTY IS LIMITED FOOD ACCESS. STATISTICS SHOW THAT 1 OUT OF 4 (25%) OF THE CHILDREN IN OUR REGION DO NOT KNOW WHERE THEIR NEXT MEAL WILL COME FROM ON A DAILY BASIS. AGGREGATE DATA PROVIDED BY UWBCKR-FUNDED PROGRAMS DEMONSTRATED THE FOLLOWING RESULTS IN 2019: 74,591 FOOD-INSECURE RESIDENTS IN THE BATTLE CREEK AND KALAMAZOO REGION RECEIVED 664,745 HOT/PREPARED MEALS THROUGH MULTIPLE PROGRAMS SUPPORTED BY UNITED WAY. SOME 5,240,621 POUNDS OF FOOD WERE DISTRIBUTED THROUGH FOOD PANTRIES, 1,199,439 POUNDS OF WHICH WERE FRESH FRUIT AND VEGETABLES. UNEMPLOYMENT RATES ARE LOW, BUT THE MAJORITY OF NEW JOBS BEING ADDED IN OUR REGION PAY LESS THAN $20 AN HOUR. THE RESULT IS A LARGE POPULATION OF PEOPLE WHO WORK BUT DON'T EARN ENOUGH TO AFFORD BASIC NECESSITIES OR MANAGE A MAJOR CRISIS. AGGREGATE DATA PROVIDED BY UWBCKR-FUNDED PROGRAMS DEMONSTRATED THE FOLLOWING RESULTS IN 2019: 59% OF INDIVIDUALS WHO RECEIVED UW SUPPORTED WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT TRAINING ATTAINED CREDENTIALS AND WERE ABLE TO ATTAIN OR ADVANCE EMPLOYMENT; 88% OF THOSE WERE AFRICAN AMERICAN.

DONOR DESIGNATIONS - UWBCKR ALLOWS DONORS TO DESIGNATE GIFTS TO OTHER UNITED WAYS OR OTHER QUALIFYING AGENCIES. APPROXIMATELY 2,565 DONORS DESIGNATED THEIR GIFTS TO 620 AGENCIES IN THE 2019 CAMPAIGN.

COMMUNITY IMPACT/SERVICE DIVISIONDEDICATED STAFF DEVOTED TO ADVANCING THE COMMON GOOD BY OPTIMIZING OPPORTUNITIES FOR SYSTEMS CHANGE AND IMPROVEMENT IN THE AREAS OF EDUCATION, INCOME, HEALTH AND COMMUNITY SUPPORTS. THIS IS ACCOMPLISHED THROUGH ONGOING COLLABORATION, ASSESSMENT AND WORK WITH COMMUNITY VOLUNTEERS AND A NETWORK OF COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIPS TO UNDERSTAND THE NEEDS AND TO INVEST FUNDS IN TARGETED OUTCOME AREAS AND COMMUNITY PROGRAMS WITH MEASURABLE OUTCOMES.

---

---

Data for this page was sourced from XML published by IRS (public 990 form dataset) from: https://s3.amazonaws.com/irs-form-990/202042309349302804_public.xml