Orange County'S United Way

“Governing body & mgmt - review of form 990: the cfo worked closely with the independent tax preparer in the preparation of the organization's tax return. The final product was reviewed by the board of directors prior to filing.”

“Policies - monitor and compliance enforcement: officers, directors, trustees and key employees are required to disclose annually interests that would give rise to conflicts. Conflict statements are reviewed annually and any stated conflict is reviewed by the board development committee and by the board of directors”

“Policies - compensation: the executive compensation committee ("the committee") of the board of directors is comprised of independent directors responsible for review and approval of compensation for the chief executive officer and other key employees. Orange county's united way's executive compensation program is designed to encourage retention of high caliber executives. The committee considers numerous factors including ocuw's mission and goals, comparable compensation offered in comparable markets and overall performance of the ceo and key employees. As part of the process the committee reviews a summary of salary data published in compensation surveys from independent sources including united way worldwide and regional data from other non-profits in southern california. The committee also reviewed the performance incentive program. This plan is designed to reward performance based on both quantifiable and non-quantifiable specific organizational drivers. Finally, the committee reviewed and determined other compensation which includes health and welfare benefits and contributions to a qualified retirement plan. The committee believes the compensation program and information describ above is in line with orange county united way's mission and goals and accurately reflects a competitive program to attract and retain high level executives.”

“Disclosure - governing docs, conflict of interest policy & financials: the financial statements and tax return are available on the organization's website and guidestar. Any other governing documents are available upon request.”

“Orange county united way is committed to ensuring local students succeed, oc families gain financial security, our unhoused neighbors find a place to call home, and everyone gets connected to the assistance they need. We serve hundreds of thousands of our residents by delivering crucial programs and services directly to our communities. Our unique approach comes from an understanding that orange county's most critical issues are inter-related, and we must tackle them in an interconnected way to provide long-term solutions that break the cycle. This informs the work we focus on through our key initiatives and key service: united for student success aims to ensure local students receive the support they need to stay on track in school and graduate on time ready for college, career, and life. Program offerings: . Destination graduation aims to increase the high school graduation rate by helping both students and parents understand that higher education is attainable and accessible, regardless of background. Offerings include exciting college and career exploration, financial aid and scholarship opportunities, college field trips, application support, leadership skills, and more. . Youth career connections offers work-based learning opportunities that infuse classroom curriculums with real-world career experiences by connecting students directly to leading local employers for hands-on activities such as industry site visits, internships, and more. . Senior year mentorship program helps motivated high school seniors from underrepresented districts to stay on track and graduate on time. Mentoring from leading professionals and a robust virtual workshop series teach students essential life and career skills to position them for future success. United to end homelessness is committed to ending homelessness in orange county so that everyone has a safe and affordable place to call home and opportunities to thrive. The goal is to activate immediate and long-term housing-first solutions across our community through collaboration with the county's top business, philanthropic, governmental, faith-based, and nonprofit leaders. Programs: . Welcomehomeoc is our housing navigation and landlord incentive program, which helps individuals and families who are experiencing homelessness and holding a rental assistance voucher to secure housing in private market apartments and ensures supportive services are provided so they can remain housed for the long-term. Since the program's inception in 2019, we have helped house more than 1,150 people experiencing homelessness. . Whatever it takes is a new pilot program launched with caloptima health for members experiencing homelessness and housing insecurity. The program expedites access to flexible funds, incentivizes property owners, and coordinates with 30+ community-based organizations to find positive resolutions. . Public awareness & education: we hold workshops, host community chats, and engage in broad public awareness activities to help break down myths surrounding homelessness and provide up-to-date statistics and best practices for solving homelessness in orange county. . Housing champions advocacy network recruits, trains, organizes, and equips local residents to engage in advocacy in their communities for solutions to end homelessness. United for financial security empowers orange county families through programs that focus on the most essential tools to build financial stability. Programs: . Oc free tax prep helps families keep their hard-earned money by saving on preparation fees, claiming tax credits, and receiving their refunds quickly and safely, providing a safety net for local households to put toward bills, car repairs, groceries, and other basic needs. In 2024, the program made a $21.3 million impact on orange county residents, collectively. . Sparkpoint oc promotes financial empowerment through free one-to-one financial coaching to increase income, manage credit, and build assets thro”

“Exempt purpose achievements of 3 largest program services: 4b. Program service expense program service expense allocations are comprised of community impact grant programs and initiatives that fulfill orange county united way's mission. In addition to running our own initiatives, this includes program management of community wide collaboratives. Ocuw provides evaluation and monitoring of all grant partnerships; support of critical community partnerships; leadership and participation in coalitions and committees; community outreach efforts; capacity training for funded partners; volunteer engagement efforts; and strategic partnerships with local funder collaboratives in the areas of education, income, health and housing.”

“Exempt purpose achievements of 3 largest program services: 4c. Donor designated funding through ocuw's donor designated giving program, donors have the option to designate their gift to their charity(ies) of choice, helping to facilitate philanthropy to meet local community needs. Ocuw stewards these investments by ensuring donor designations are allocated to organizations that qualify as 501(c)(3) tax deductible organizations under current irs tax code law.”

“Other changes in net assets or fund balances: prior-year pledge loss adjustment: $428,978 contribution of net assets from 211oc: $824,400 total other changes in net assets: $1,253,378”

“At times, the organization may recieve grants and/or pledges that are recognized as contribution revenue in the period when all the critera for revenue recognition have been met but are spent in subsequent periods due to the timing of when the grants and/or pledges were received, which may result in a loss in those subsequent periods.”