Become a Partner
The 2025-26 Community Impact Grant window has closed. No additional applications will be accepted at this time. Applicants will be contacted for next steps and potential presentations in April. Funding determination notifications will be sent to applicants in the first week of July.
Organizations that submitted a request have been notified of the status of their phase one application. Organizations invited to phase two of the process have been provided with additional application materials and next steps in the process.
Year-end reports for currently funded agencies are due June 12, 2025. The report will be shared with Partner Agencies via email at the beginning of May.
DO YOU QUALIFY?
If your nonprofit program helps families and individuals increase their financial stability, you may be eligible to apply for a grant from our Community Impact Fund.
To qualify for funding, you must be a 501c3 serving Whatcom County residents in one or more of the following areas:
Basic Needs
- Combating food insecurity
- Stable, attainable, affordable housing
- Health and mental health care access
Economic Mobility
- Financial literacy and training
- Vocational readiness training and support
- Adult education programs
Breaking the Cycle of Poverty
- Affordable childcare and early learning programs
- Academic programs to increase student attendance and achievement
- Parenting support
- Addiction treatment and recovery
- Abuse prevention
Our funded programs are more than just grant recipients, they’re partners.
In addition to working together to help clients and our community, we meet regularly to connect, collaborate, and advocate for each other in the name of positive community change. It’s our pleasure to highlight the amazing work we are helping to fund, and we’re forever grateful to these nonprofits for speaking out about what it means to be part of the United Way network.
We Live United. Together.
Emergency Food & Shelter Program
United Way helps facilitate is the Emergency Food and Shelter Program (EFSP). The EFSP National Board allocates grant funds to local communities using national population, unemployment, and poverty data. These dollars come in phases and support local agencies providing emergency food and shelter. Local United Ways are often the community organizations that lead this process. So while United Way doesn’t actually cut the checks, we do handle the process that allows Emergency Food and Shelter Program dollars to come into our community.
Unfortunately, EFSP has been put on hold indefinitely, which means Whatcom County’s allotted $103,291 for Phase 42 may not get to the agencies that need these dollars to keep people housed and fed. We will keep this page updated as the situation evolves.
We want long-term solutions for our community, but emergencies happen. We’re grateful for the federal funds Whatcom County receives to supplement local emergency food and shelter programs and hope we can continue to serve as the fiscal agent for these funds, working with local government and nonprofit organizations to determine allocations to local programs.
STANDARDS FOR ELIGIBILITY
- Nonprofit or government agency in Whatcom County
- Eligible to receive federal funds
- Uses evidence-based practices that affect community metrics
- Non-discriminatory
- Active board of directors
- Sound financial management
- Demonstrated ability to deliver emergency food and/or shelter
MATERIAL FOR APPLICANTS
ADDITIONAL EFSP RESOURCES
