The United Way’s mission seeks to improve lives through strengthening resilience to advancing health, opportunities for young people and financial security in communities.

The global network of nonprofits raises money to get resources to community programs that aim to improve lives. Now, it’s working toward a $40 million fundraising goal that will become an endowment fund, ensuring its mission will continue.

In the current, three-year funding cycle, 19 projects serving Butler County received money from the $21 million available through the United Way of Southwestern Pennsylvania. That dollar amount represents a 5% increase, the number of funding requests increased by 30% in the same time period.

There are 500 applications to review this year and the United Way has decided an endowment fund — the Fund for Transformation and Resilience — is the way to fulfill more projects with at least an additional $2 million per year.

The $21 million available in this cycle will benefit 138 programs in Allegheny, Armstrong, Butler, Fayette and Westmoreland counties through fiscal year 2029.

Butler County organizations — including the Center for Community Resources, the Lighthouse Foundation and the Alliance for Nonprofit Resources — received funding.

The $40 million endowment target is part of honoring the organization’s 100th anniversary in 2027. So far, about half that amount has been raised by foundations and corporations.

Now it’s time for the public to help reach this goal.

Give Big United 100th anniversary is an online giving campaign in partnership with Pittsburgh Magazine, powered by $70,000 in matching funds from Comcast. Give Big runs through Tuesday, June 30.

Individuals can visit uwswpa.info/100thAnniversary to make a contribution that will benefit area programs.

The United Way may seem like a large nonprofit that does work all over the world — and it is. But it’s also the organization that — from July 2024 to June 2025 — helped 12,929 Butler residents with program investments.

Specifically, the United Way of Southwestern Pennsylvania in Butler County helped 856 households receive utility payment assistance, answered 825 housing assistance requests, worked with 222 requests for employment or income assistance and helped 188 people who needed food assistance.

Helping to fund this endowment means helping our neighbors who need it most. That should be something we can all get behind.

— KL