United Way of Rhode Island

We help Rhode Islanders help themselves. 

We connect them with critical services like job skills training, educational opportunities, child care, housing, health and emergency services – things that not just improve someone’s life, but can change it.

We’ve already paid for overhead, so our supporters don’t have to. That means that everything you do with us – whether it is support through payroll deduction, volunteering, or individual giving – is focused on directly helping those who need it most.

Because we demand results, we generate results. Every program we support is built to grow to meet the changing needs of Rhode Islanders throughout the state

2020 spotlighted the failure for us, and everyone involved, of the war on poverty. After 50 years, this effort has been ineffective in creating opportunity and prosperity for all members of our community.

The pandemic showed that where you live and the color of your skin is a powerful determinant of your likelihood to live or die from COVID-19. And, murders of our neighbors like George Floyd and Breonna Taylor remind us that Black Rhode Islanders are eight times as likely to be in jail as whites.

That’s why we felt it was so important that our plan explicitly address systemic inequity – i.e., policies that promote unequal opportunity and treatment of people of color. We know it’s the right thing to do morally. It’s also the smart thing to do economically.

The LIVE UNITED 2025 strategic plan will guide United Way of Rhode Island’s next five years from 2020 until 2025, just in time for our centennial celebration. You can download our full strategic plan below. Alternatively, you can read about what we’re doing right now in each of its four focus areas:

LIFT UNITED: Building economic security. (Learn more)

ACHIEVE UNITED: Advancing childhood learning. (Learn more)

INVEST UNITED: Expanding philanthropy. (Learn more)

ADVOCATE UNITED: Driving policy and participation. (Learn more)