Making lasting change requires a great team.
Our region has thousands of nonprofit organizations working to change lives for the better. But none of us can bring about real change on our own. We know that we are most successful when we build networks of partners that bring the knowledge, expertise and on-the-ground execution to address all of the complex causes of the problems in our community.
Strategic & Lead Partners
United Way invests unrestricted funding in agencies we call Strategic and Lead Partners. In addition to flexible grant dollars, Strategic and Lead Partners actively collaborate within our network, creating opportunities and developing best practices that would otherwise never be possible.
A small group of organizations are identified as Lead Partners. Lead Partners leverage new opportunities with United Way, help set priorities for the network, and provide expert counsel and partnership to launch new ventures aimed at solving particularly entrenched problems.
Community Partners
There are many, many other organizations in our region doing important work. Although we don’t provide unrestricted funding to all of them, we are still invested in their success. We call these our Community Partners. They are the critical collaborators who make it possible to engage thousands of volunteers in doing good in their own communities. They join us in providing programming to youth and families across our footprint.
Search our complete agency list below. Current agencies can find resources and benefits in our Agency Resources section.
To begin the process for becoming a United Way partner, please click here to complete an application or visit our RFP Application Page for more information.
Agency Search
| Name | Partnership Type | Focus area(s) | Region |
|---|---|---|---|
| American Red Cross of Massachusetts | Community Partner | Moving Families Out of Poverty | Greater Boston, Merrimack Valley, North Shore, Seacoast Region, South of Boston |
|
The Red Cross provides food and shelter in emergencies, operates the largest food pantry in New England, teaches lifesaving skills, trains nursesÕ aides and certified nursing assistants, serves members of the Armed Forces, and more. All assistance from the Red Cross is free, made possible by voluntary donations of time and money from the American people. |
|||
| Asian Task Force Against Domestic Violence | Strategic Partner | Ending Homelessness | Greater Boston, Merrimack Valley, North Shore, South of Boston |
|
Asian Task Force Against Domestic Violence (ATASK) is a multilingual/multicultural organization founded 25 years ago, in 1992, to address the lack of accessible services to limited English proficient (LEP) speaking Asian victims of domestic violence (DV) in Massachusetts. ATASKÕs mission is to Òprevent domestic violence in Asian families and communities and to provide hope to survivors.Ó |
|||
| Big Brothers Big Sisters of Massachusetts Bay | Strategic Partner | Preparing Youth to Succeed | Greater Boston, Merrimack Valley, North Shore, South of Boston |
|
Big Brothers Big Sisters of Massachusetts Bay (BBBSMB) partners with under-resourced families to provide their children with transformational, one-to-one professionally-supported relationships with caring adult mentors, so that their children will thrive. Our agencyÕs primary objective is to provide the best one-to-one mentoring experience in the country, based on outcomes that support positive youth development, for the greatest number of low-income boys and girls at the most efficient cost structure possible. |
|||
| Big Sister Association of Greater Boston | Strategic Partner | Preparing Youth to Succeed | Greater Boston, Merrimack Valley, North Shore, South of Boston |
|
Our core programs advance our mission to ignite girlsÕ passion and power to succeed through positive mentoring relationships with women and enrichment programs that support girlsÕ healthy development. Big Sister Boston enrolls girls between ages 7 and 15 (grades 2-10), and supports mentoring relationships throughout their duration, or until the Little Sister reaches age 20. We do not charge families (or mentors) fees to participate in our programs; the majority of the girls we serve live in the low-income communities of Greater Boston. |
|||
| Boys & Girls Club of Greater Billerica | Community Partner | Preparing Youth to Succeed | Merrimack Valley |
|
Presently we serve nearly 650 youth a day through our three main programs: Childcare Ðwhich is operated in collaboration with Billerica Public Schools; Drop-inÑoperated on-site primarily serving middle school members; and, Aquatics. In addition, our summer program provides full-day camp to 300 youth each day. |
|||
| Boys & Girls Club of Greater Lowell | Strategic Partner | Preparing Youth to Succeed | Merrimack Valley |
|
The mission of the Boys & Girls Club of Greater Lowell (BGCGL) is ‘to inspire and enable young people, especially those who need us most, to realize their full potential as productive, responsible, and caring citizens, through a dedicated staff and innovative programs provided in a safe environment.’ |
|||
| Boys & Girls Club of Lawrence | Strategic Partner | Preparing Youth to Succeed | Merrimack Valley |
|
For 126 years, the Boys & Girls Club of Lawrence (BGCL) has been in the forefront of youth development in the Merrimack Valley of Massachusetts, working with young people from disadvantaged economic, social and family circumstances. We are the largest provider of after-school programming in the area, attracting a membership of more than 4,400 of some of the poorest children in the state. BGCL fills the void for many of those youth by providing a safe, out-of-school place where they can learn, grow and acquire the skills they will need to become productive members of our society. |
|||
| Boys & Girls Club of Lower Merrimack Valley | Strategic Partner | Preparing Youth to Succeed | Merrimack Valley, North Shore, Seacoast Region |
|
Our mission is to inspire and enable all young people, especially those that need us the most, to realize their full potential as productive, responsible and caring citizens .The purpose of the Boys & Girls Club of Lower Merrimack Valley is to promote academic success, good citizenship, and healthy life styles. |
|||
| Cambodian Mutual Assistance Association of Greater Lowell | Community Partner | Preparing Youth to Succeed | Merrimack Valley |
|
Our mission is to improve the quality of life for Cambodian Americans and other minorities and economically disadvantaged persons in Lowell through educational, cultural, economic and social programs. |
|||
| Catholic Charities | Lead Partner | Ending Homelessness, Moving Families Out of Poverty, Preparing Youth to Succeed, Supporting Young Children | Greater Boston, Merrimack Valley, North Shore, South of Boston |
|
For more than 100 years, Catholic Charities has continued its mission of building a just and compassionate society rooted in the dignity of all people. As one of the largest providers of social services in Massachusetts, Catholic Charities of Boston offers nearly 75 programs and services in 26 locations around Eastern Massachusetts. From Lawrence to Brockton and Natick to Boston, our service sites throughout Eastern Massachusetts helped 185,000 of our neediest neighbors of all faiths last year. |
|||
| Children’s Law Center of Massachusetts | Strategic Partner | Preparing Youth to Succeed | Greater Boston, Merrimack Valley, North Shore |
|
The mission of the Children’s Law Center of Massachusetts is to promote and secure equal justice and to maximize opportunity for low-income children and youth by providing quality advocacy and legal services. |
|||
| Children’s Services of Roxbury | Strategic Partner | Preparing Youth to Succeed, Supporting Young Children | Greater Boston, Merrimack Valley |
|
Children’s Services of Roxbury (CSR) mission is to provide high-quality services to economically-disadvantaged children, youth, families, and individuals thereby promoting and strengthening family life and individual growth. |
|||
| Citizens’ Housing and Planning Association (CHAPA) | Strategic Partner | Ending Homelessness | Greater Boston, Merrimack Valley, North Shore, South of Boston |
|
CitizensÕ Housing and Planning AssociationÕs mission is to encourage the production and preservation of housing that is affordable to low and moderate income families and individuals and to foster diverse and sustainable communities through planning and community development. Every person in Massachusetts should have a safe, healthy, and affordable place to call home. We achieve this by advocating for opportunity, expanding access to housing, and developing the field. |
|||
| Clarendon Early Education Services, Inc. | Community Partner | Supporting Young Children | Merrimack Valley |
|
Clarendon Early Education Services, Inc. is a leading child care and nutrition agency in Massachusetts.Clarendon provides a year-round, full-day educational child development program for children ranging in age from birth to 13 years. |
|||
| Combined Jewish Philanthropies of Greater Boston | Community Partner | Ending Homelessness | Greater Boston, Merrimack Valley, North Shore, South of Boston |
|
Combined Jewish Philanthropies combines expertise and resources to create positive, life-changing results for people in need, for our friends in Israel and for the future of the Jewish community. |
|||
| Community Action, Inc. | Strategic Partner | Supporting Young Children | Merrimack Valley, North Shore |
|
Community Action, Inc. (CAI) provides resources and opportunities for individuals, families and communities to overcome poverty. CAI works with low income families to secure basic resources such as: shelter; food; clothing; heating assistance; homeless aid; emergency rent; and utility assistance. CAI offers opportunities for learning, care and education through: WIC (nutrition, health education and other services to low income pregnant and postpartum women and children under the age of 5); child care; early education; adult education; English literacy classes; and referrals to state programs. |
|||
| Community Labor United | Strategic Partner | Moving Families Out of Poverty | Greater Boston, Merrimack Valley, North Shore, South of Boston |
|
Community Labor United empowers community-based organizations and labor unions to build strategic campaigns that protect and promote the interests of low and middle-income working families in the Greater Boston Area. |
|||
| Community Teamwork | Strategic Partner | Ending Homelessness, Moving Families Out of Poverty, Preparing Youth to Succeed, Supporting Young Children | Merrimack Valley, North Shore |
|
The mission of Community Teamwork is to serve as a catalyst for social change. We strengthen communities and reduce poverty by delivering vital services and collaborating with key stakeholders to create housing, education and economic opportunities. As a Community Action Agency, our core programming must have a direct alignment with the mission of the organization. We are mission driven and we focus on efforts that will have the greatest impact on those we serve to help them become and remain self-sufficient. |
|||
| Disability Law Center | Community Partner | Ending Homelessness | Greater Boston, Merrimack Valley, North Shore, South of Boston |
|
DLC is a Protection and Advocacy (P&A) Agency. The P&A System is a national network of congressionally mandated, legally-based disability rights agencies. As MassachusettsÕ P&A agency, DLC has extraordinary federal authority to access places providing services to people with disabilities to ensure people with disabilities are free from abuse and neglect. DLC is a private non-profit organization that receives federal, state, and other private funding but is not part of the federal or state government. |
|||
| Dorchester Bay Economic Development Corporation | Community Partner | Ending Homelessness | Merrimack Valley |
|
Dorchester Bay EDC acts to build a strong, thriving, and diverse community in BostonÕs Dorchester neighborhoods. Working closely with neighborhoods, residents, businesses and partners, we access resources to: Develop & preserve home ownership and rental housing across income levels |
|||