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 |
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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. |
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Asian American Civic Association | Strategic Partner | Moving Families Out of Poverty, Preparing Youth to Succeed | Greater Boston, South of Boston |
The Asian American Civic Association’s (AACA) mission is to provide limited English speaking and economically disadvantaged people with education, occupational training and social services enabling them to realize lasting economic self-sufficiency. AACA’s vision is to become the beacon of hope for all immigrants and their families, enabling them to succeed as productive workers, participating citizens and community leaders, and to be seen as the premier workforce solution for employers and those it serves. |
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Asian Community Development Corporation (ACDC) | Strategic Partner | Moving Families Out of Poverty | Greater Boston, South of Boston |
Asian Community Development Corporation (ACDC) works to build healthy, vibrant neighborhoods and a strong Asian American community. |
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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 |
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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. |
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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. |
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Boston Center for Independent Living | Strategic Partner | Ending Homelessness, Moving Families Out of Poverty | Greater Boston, North Shore, South of Boston |
The organization was created by people with disabilities seeking full integration into society. BCIL accomplishes this by empowering people of all ages with a wide range of disabilities with the practical skills and self-confidence to take control over their lives and become active members of the communities in which they live. At the same time, BCIL engages in advocacy and community organizing to promote access and change within society. |
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Cambridge Family and Children’s Service | Strategic Partner | Preparing Youth to Succeed | Greater Boston, North Shore, South of Boston |
Since our founding in 1873 as the Avon Home orphanage, the range of services we offer to children and families has changed dramatically, to meet the needs of the community. Throughout our history, Cambridge Family and ChildrenÕs Service (CFCS) has remained committed to successfully providing critical services while evolving to meet changing needs. |
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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. |
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Child Witness to Violence Project at Boston Medical Center | Community Partner | Supporting Young Children | Greater Boston, North Shore, South of Boston |
The Child Witness to Violence Project (CWVP) is a therapeutic, advocacy, and outreach project that focuses on the growing number of young children who are hidden victims of domestic and community violence and other trauma-related events. CWVP is staffed by a multi-cultural staff of social workers, psychologists, early childhood specialists, a consulting pediatrician and consulting attorney. |
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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. |
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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. |
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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. |
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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. |
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Early Childhood Family Navigator | Strategic Partner | Supporting Young Children | Greater Boston, South of Boston |
The mission of Boston Medical Center is to provide consistently excellent and accessible health services to all in need of care, regardless of status or ability pay. The Early Childhood Family Navigator program is designed to increase parenting skills among women who grew up in abject poverty and have low literacy and limited English proficiency. |
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Father Bills & MainSpring, Inc. | Strategic Partner | Ending Homelessness | South of Boston |
Father Bill’s & MainSpring (FBMS) is committed to ending and preventing homelessness in Southern Massachusetts with programs that provide emergency and permanent housing and help people obtain skills, jobs, housing, and services. We help people who are struggling with homelessness or are at risk of homelessness to achieve self-sufficiency. For 30+ years, FBMS has been strategic in its response to community need, including the conversion of our shelters to a triage assessment model for rapid re-housing and the advancement of our innovative Housing First approach. |
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Girl Scouts of Eastern Massachusetts | Strategic Partner | Preparing Youth to Succeed | Greater Boston, Merrimack Valley, North Shore, South of Boston |
For more than 100 years, Girl Scouts has been delivering diverse out-of-school programs with the mission to build girls of courage, confidence, and character who make the world a better place. Through Girl Scouts, girls explore the world around them, gain self-esteem and leadership skills, and connect with strong women role models. All programming is designed to be safe and fun, and help girls increase self-esteem, try new things, and experience activities to which they may not otherwise have access. |
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Health Resources in Action | Strategic Partner | Preparing Youth to Succeed | Greater Boston, Merrimack Valley, North Shore, South of Boston |
Founded in 1957, Health Resources in Action (HRiA) works to help people live healthier lives and create healthy communities through policy, prevention, health promotion, and research. This mission statement has remained consistent throughout HRiAÕs history and is reflected in the organizationÕs core services, including strategic planning, policy, research/evaluation, advocacy, training/capacity building, and grant making. With a commitment to focusing on the multi-faceted issues facing vulnerable populations, HRiA has earned a national reputation as a leader in promoting health and equity. |
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Homes for Families | Strategic Partner | Ending Homelessness | Greater Boston, Merrimack Valley, North Shore, South of Boston |
Homes for Families is committed to ending family homelessness. We are guided by parent and provider perspectives and take a holistic approach in leveraging policy change.Homes for Families was founded on the premise that homeless parents and service providers needed to be at the forefront of the movement to end family homelessness. |
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Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Boston | Strategic Partner | Moving Families Out of Poverty | Greater Boston, Merrimack Valley, North Shore, South of Boston |
JCRCÕs purpose is to define and advance the values, interests and priorities of the organized Jewish community of Greater Boston in the public square. To achieve our shared values effectively, JCRC and the Greater Boston Jewish community work toward a strong infrastructure of community relations, articulated through building our communityÕs connection and commitment to civil society, developing the next generation of Jewish leaders, weaving a strong network of Jewish organizations, and investing in deep ties with actors in the public square. |