Let’s Start a Conversation

From advancing healthy community, youth opportunity, and financial security to strengthening community resiliency, United Way of Bay County mobilizes the community into action so we can all thrive.  Through community conversation and research, we identify priority areas and programs that address these most pressing needs are funded through campaign donations. We recognize unmet needs and gaps in services that we can fill. We coordinate volunteers and connect resources. Our collective impact model is a collaborative approach to community-wide issues.

ALICE is an acronym that stands for Asset Limited, Income Constrained; Employed.

27% of Bay County residents fall into this category, and an additional 15% in poverty, where they are living paycheck to paycheck, and unable to afford basic needs.

To learn more about this study, visit unitedforalice.org/Michigan.

Your donation to the United Way of Bay County is guaranteed to be spent wisely because we take a collective impact approach that reduces duplication of services and encourages collaboration.

We bring together the programs that are the most aligned with our priority focus areas to work together and address the needs in our community hand in hand.

Each funded organization is held accountable to report proven success through measurable outcomes.

LIVE UNITED. It’s our mission. Our goal. Our reminder that it takes every person in the community working together to make the biggest impact. To Give. To Volunteer. To Advocate.

Only United Way addresses the needs of our community as a whole. Why? Because we believe in a collective impact model, which allows us to make an impact in all of the most critical priority areas in our community with every donation we receive.

By bringing together over 24 programs that collaborate together we can ensure they are efficiently and effectively improving people’s lives and making a positive impact with measurable results.

The United Way of Bay County offers multiple ways to donate. We partner with many employers who run workplace campaigns, offering payroll deduction that makes it so convenient to give. Another simple way is online giving through our website or by mailing a donation to our office.

For every dollar you donate to the United Way, 87 cents will go directly back into the community. The value of a dollar is increased with the United Way of Bay County by leveraging relationships, securing grant funds, and with the many volunteer hours that are put back into the community. A single gift to the United Way will address many challenges in Bay County and impact thousands of people.

Yes. The United Way of Bay County is a 501c3 non-profit organization, so your monetary or in-kind donation is tax-deductible. Check with your tax preparer to get details specific to your situation.

Yes. You can designate your donation to any of our currently funded Impact Partners providing programs in Bay County. Please be assured that any non-designated donation will be applied towards over 24 programs focused on a healthy community, youth opportunity, financial security and community resiliency.

Any 501c3 non-profit organization that has a program serving Bay County and aligning with one of our impact areas is eligible to apply during an open funding cycle. The next cycle runs from July 2026 – June 2028, with a new application opening in October 2026.  You can call the United Way or check back on our website for more information.

Applications for funding are reviewed by a panel of volunteers from the community committed to making an impact in Bay County through a process that includes scoring written and live presentations utilizing a rubric. Once recommendations are made from this committee, they are presented to the Executive Board and then the Board of Directors for approval before awards are officially announced.