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- A Letter to United Way Supporters
- 2013 LIVE UNITED T-Shirt Day
- Welcome to Our New Website!
- Watch Roger Staubach's first United Way commercial and others from the last 40 years here
- USA WEEKEND Magazine sponsors Make A Difference Day
- See who sported their t's for 2013 LIVE UNITED Tshirt Day
- Black Friday. Cyber Monday. Giving Tuesday. LIVE UNITED Today!
- Announcing...Our 2014 United Way 35 Under 35 Women's Leadership Program Participants
- United Way's new approach is intended to give donors a better picture of their return on investment
- It's not about CHARITY. It's about CHANGE.
- United Way teams up with Target to Share-A-Tree with families in need
- Blog Rss Feed
- 1 more step toward quality child care: North Dakota launches Bright & Early North Dakota statewide
- Now Accepting Nominations for the 2013 Fredrick W. Donath Campaign Award
- We have achieved and exceeded our 2013 Campaign Goal of $5.2 million!
- It's tax time! What you need to know about preparing your tax return with your gift to United Way
- Congratulations to our 2013 BE THE ONE Award Winners!
- The Power of Community Involvement
- United Way Celebrates National Volunteer Week
- Individualism or the Common Good? We need both.
- May 10 is the National Letter Carriers' Food Drive and YOU can help!
- Education That Works: Educational Leaders, the Economic Development Corporation, and United Way
- United Way Celebrates May Day by Celebrating Education
- Launching "Education that Works" for students, teachers and our future workforce
- United Way announces 2015-2016 investments in Community Partners providing Basic Needs
- $ 5 lunch on Thursday at all Hornbacher's locations! Gobble It Up for United Way
- A letter from our 2014 Board Chair, Mark Jensen-Thanks from the United Way
- 16th Annual School Supply Drive kicks off today-donation and volunteer info!
- REGISTER TO VOLUNTEER FOR SCHOOL SUPPLY DRIVE HERE
- You are invited to the 2014 United Way Kick Off Event on September 9 featuring Hugh Weber
- YOUNG PEOPLE, UNITE! The NEW Emerging Leaders in Giving Program has launched
- Applications for the 2015 35 Under 35 Women's Leadership Program are now available
- UNITED for Jefferson Neighborhood
- 35 Under 35 Alumni come together for Women’s Build for Habitat for Humanity
- Want to Stay Active and Improve Your Health as You Grow Older? Volunteer!
- Want to Stay Active and Improve Your Health as You Grow Older? Volunteer!
- Want to see what lasting change looks like?
- Monte’s Downtown launches DINE UNITED in partnership with United Way
- West Acres - BOOtiful Night: Trick or Treating
- Watch videos of the 2014 Kick Off Event
- United Way of Cass-Clay collaborates to lead first-ever regional workforce study
- 2014 LIVE UNITED T-Shirt Day
- Giving THANKS to our Volunteers!
- Essentia employee gets a VIP limo ride to work as part of United Way Campaign
- Proudly announcing the 2015 participants of the United Way 35 Under 35 Women's Leadership Program
- United Way of Cass-Clay has officially reached the $3.5 million mark on our way to the 2014 campaign
- United Way Partners with Target to spread holiday cheer
- 5 Reasons to Celebrate Volunteer Mentors
- Now Accepting Nominations for the 2014 Frederick W. Donath Campaign Award
- The 2014 Annual Report to the Community has been officially released!
- United Way welcomes new board members in 2015
- May 1st Brings 4th Annual May Day Baskets of Books!
- Local Organizations Receive National Recognition from United Way
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- Regional Workforce Study Results Announced-United Way to Take Action to Address Workforce Challenges
- Millennials Move Mountains
- 2015 School Supply Drive - How to Donate & Receive Supplies
- 2015 School Supply Drive Equips 5,260 Students for the School Year
- YOUR IRA CHARITABLE CONTRIBUTION WILL HELP IMPROVE LIVES IN OUR COMMUNITY.
- Introducing the nominees of the NEW “LIVE UNITED Catalyst of the Year” Award
- United Way names Kristi Huber as President
- Now accepting nominations for the 2016 LIVE UNITED Leader of the Year Award
- United Way makes new investment to help West Fargo students access mental health services
- You won't want to miss our Kick Off Event on Sept 14
- Applications for 2018 United Way 35 Under 35 Women's Leadership Program available on September 1
- A Day in the Life: A Perspective on Poverty
- 8th Annual Roers/Keller Williams Chili Feed is Happening on Oct 3rd!
- Collaborative Investments Are Helping Rural Students Access Mental Health Services
- Generosity Is the Strength of Our Community
- LIVE UNITED T-Shirt Day & United Acts of Kindness on November 10th
- United Way Focuses on Investing to Help People Be Independent
- 800 Women UNITE to Help Give Kids the Very Best Start
- A Sign Is Worth A Thousand Words
- 2018 35 Under 35 Women's Leadership Class Announced!
- Get Informed and then Advocate...Learn More About Poverty in Our Community
- Emerging Leaders Turn Inspiration Into Action
- News & Events
- Here's What You Need to Know About Claiming Your United Way Donation This tax season
- And The Nominees Are.....
- How You Can be an Advocate for Student Mental Health in Your Community!
- Check out the 2017 United Way Annual Report to the Community!
- JUST ANNOUNCED: 2018 United Way Top 50 Most Generous Workplaces
- Congratulations to the LIVE UNITED Award Winners!
- How VITA is helping hard working tax payers receive more on their tax returns
- Register for the 2018 35 Under 35 Celebration Ceremony on June 7
- Employee Campaign Coordinators - Join us for ECC Engage on May 10 or 21
- A Lesson In Leadership
- United Way's 35 Under 35 Women's Leadership Program Celebrates 10 Years
- 7th Annual Women UNITED May Day Baskets of Books Event
- UNITED for Child Care Training Event Materials
- Gobble It Up Pre-Orders OPEN!
- Story Squad: Kid's Storytime with United Way
- Eggs & Issues: The State of Local Child Care & Its Impact on Workforce Development
- 20th Annual United Way School Supply Drive - ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW!
- Join us for the 2018 United Way Kick Off Event!
- 2019 35 Under 35 Women's Leadership Program Applications Now Available!
- 2018 Women UNITED Luncheon & Silent Auction
- 35 Women With One Thing In Common, A Desire to Make A Difference: United Way's 35 Under 35 Program
- Are You Up for the (Social Media) Challenge!?
- 2018 LIVE UNITED T-shirt & UNITED Acts of Kindness Day
- 2018 Campaign Video: I Wish My Teacher Knew
- A Song to Say Thank You
- Women UNITED Luncheon & Silent Auction Raffle WINNERS
- UNITED for Student Mental Health - Mental Health Services Expanded to 6 Rural Schools in ND
- Here’s What You Need to Know About Claiming Your United Way Donation This tax season
- Nominate YOUR Organization for LIVE UNITED Leader of the Year!
- Join us to Recognize Generosity in Our Community!
- And The Nominees Are...
- United Way of Cass-Clay: James' Story
- Congratulations to the LIVE UNITED Awards Winners!
- JUST ANNOUNCED: 2019 United Way Top 50 Most Generous Workplaces
- Community Collaborations: United Way Receives Presidents' Award for Community Partner
- Inviting all ECC's to attend ECC Engage The Power of Community on May 7 & 8
- Women UNITE to Share a Love of Learning
- Help Encourage Kids to Succeed on Their First Day of School
- The Route to Removing Barriers for Employment - United Way Helps Expand Transportation Services
- Pre Order Info for Hornbacher's Gobble It Up for United Way $5 Lunch
- A Backpacks Impact: The United Way School Supply Drive
- Will You Accept the Women UNITED Challenge?!
- Register now for the 2019 Kick Off Event on September 18
- Home For Good: Give Now to Help Welcome Families Home - For Good.
- Location Unveiled for the Future Home of United Way of Cass-Clay
- Watch the Community Kickoff Event
- Roers Chili Feed – Get your Cup of Chili Sept 15-29
- Taking Action to Help Families in Need - How the Coronavirus Response Fund is Helping
- United Way moving Dec. 18
- Our New Location: What You Need to Know
- Reaching Out: A space to serve our region for generations.
BOLD Goal 4: Lift People Out of Poverty
Why We Invest
Research shows education and poverty are strongly correlated. In order to help people out of poverty, we help parents close skills gaps to attain living-wage employment, while also helping their children access quality, affordable child care. This approach leads to the best long-term outcomes for families.
The Issue
1 in 9 people live in poverty in our community.
Living in poverty (living on less than $25,750 a year for a family of four) is one of the single greatest threats to a child’s development.
The Action
We expanded the Workforce Development Case Manager program. Six Case Managers provided 400 low-income individuals and new Americans with supportive services necessary to obtain and maintain living-wage employment.
We invested in child care scholarships that provide opportunities for 98 children of low-income working families to access quality early childhood education.
An on-demand public transportation service called TapRide was launched to provide reliable transportation services to individuals in the Fargo Industrial Park.
The Fargo-Moorhead community is a growing community, with a growing need for workers. According to Gateways for Growth, since 2009, the Fargo-Moorhead population has grown by 19,545 people, or 11.7%. The immigrant population has increased by 3,593 people, or 50.8%. Over 16% of the overall population growth in the area comes from immigrants. This growing population is a major contributing factor to the workforce and has tremendous spending power and tax contributions. Again, according to Gateways for Growth, although the immigrant population is 5% of the area’s overall population, they make up 5.7% of its working-age population with the highest contributions to the workforce in: *
- Manufacturing (8.1%)
- Education Services (7.9%)
- Recreation and Accommodation (7.7%)
- Professional Services (6.5%)
- Health Care and Social Assistance (5.3%)
This population contributes $543 million to the gross domestic product (GDP) and produces another $150 million in spending power. These statistics demonstrate the need to engage with foreign-born populations and provide educational and skill-building opportunities for the working-age population to ensure they can fill the necessary demands for a growing workforce.*
According to a workforce development study commissioned by the Chamber, EDC, FM Area Foundation, and United Way, the new American population offers opportunities to bolster the current and future workforce but needs more educational support. In many roundtable discussions over the course of the project and subsequent study, participants recognized that the new American population offers a resource for employers seeking to fill certain jobs. About 1,100 refugees have been resettled in the Fargo/West Fargo area over the past three years. Employers who have hired these new Americans had positive things to say about their work ethic. They did, however, note the need for English language acquisition and orientation to culture in the workplace.**
There are multiple offerings for English language classes provided by Adult Basic Education (ABE) and workforce readiness and training programs offered through community and technical schools as well as ethnic based community organizations, but participating families often face multiple barriers to accessing programming, such as:
- Lack of childcare
- Lack of transportation or funding for transportation
- Lack of time off from work that aligns with school schedules
A patchwork system of community-based organizations, nonprofits, and cultural groups do offer basic needs and supportive services for new American families, but there is a lack of coordinated effort between community-based organizations and education institutions to provide services.
United Way sees opportunity in aligning and coordinating efforts to increase access and remove barriers to services by working with ethnic-based community organizations and nonprofits to address specific needs of their communities while addressing the community need of the workforce.
The two-generation model is a model to support workforce development and provide opportunities for low-income families to obtain family-sustaining-wage employment. There is substantial evidence that supports the success of the two-generation model both in outcomes for children and parents. The concept is to tap into the untapped and underutilized talent that already exists in our community while at the same time supporting the workforce of tomorrow by providing a strong foundation for our community’s children. Research has demonstrated that educational attainment and poverty are strongly correlated, and this approach grows the workforce by providing training, education, and support to low-income families to meet the skills gap.***
By providing this two-generation model, we are not only growing the workforce of today but also preparing the workforce of tomorrow through high-quality early childhood education.
There are three key components of a two-generation model: education, economic support, and social capital.***
- Education – Connect families to skill development and training that is correlated with high-demand jobs for parents while simultaneously providing high-quality early childhood education to their children. Whenever possible, the high-quality early childhood education will be provided through the Lakes & Prairies Head Start program or Childcare Scholarships while the parent education will be provided by higher education institutes in the high-demand job areas.
- Economic Support – Connect families to economic assistance including housing, transportation, financial education, asset development, tax credits, childcare subsidies, health insurance, and food assistance to provide stability to families during the transition.
- Social Capital – Provide career coaching and supportive services to build on the strengths and resilience of families to achieve economic security and success.
By providing coordinated access to services, more individuals will have access to services that will assist them in becoming self-sufficient. This will reduce unnecessary duplication of services provided by multiple programs and ensure that individuals are connected with the right services at the right time and in the right location.
Sources:
*Gateways for Growth | Gateways for Growth Challenge Communities
**Greater Fargo-Moorhead Regional Workforce Study
*** The Annie E. Casey Foundation | Creating Opportunity for Families