Households out of poverty: BOLD Goal progress

As a community united in equity and lasting solutions, 3,000 households in greater Greensboro will leave generational poverty by 2030

After a year of listening to and collaborating with thousands of diverse community stakeholders, United Way of Greater Greensboro is pleased to announce this new community-inspired and developed Bold Goal aimed at taking organizational efforts of ending poverty to the next level.

“The Bold Goal was developed with diverse community stakeholder input and belongs to all of us. Collectively, thousands of people in our community stepped up to say we can work together to create equitable systems change and collaborate to produce positive outcomes for families living in generational poverty.  Breaking the cycle of poverty benefits our entire community. Fewer people living in poverty creates a shared prosperity that impacts economic, health, social, and educational well-being for all,” says Frank McCain, President and CEO, UWGG.

“United Way is committed to pursuing sustainable outcomes that reduce and end poverty by working not only to support families living in poverty, but to also change how the local system works to support those families. The Bold Goal is a step in the right direction to back up that commitment. We look forward to continuing to create partnerships that support our community’s collective effort of ending local poverty.”

Help us spread the word about these BOLD GOAL resources

Bold Goal FAQs

How was the Bold Goal developed?

The community has spoken, and we listened – Over the past year, United Way of Greater Greensboro (UWGG) worked with a diverse set of stakeholders representing multiple backgrounds, business, and community volunteer groups to develop the Bold Goal.

• Specifically, the goal incorporates the feedback gathered through:

• A communitywide survey completed by 1,200 people

• Community conversations about race and equity

• 70 Bold Goal committee volunteers

• Final focus group studies completed by 200 people.

Why 3,000 households?

• 3,000 was chosen as the target based on the number of households required to transition out of poverty to reduce greater Greensboro’s poverty rate of around 18.5% to match Guilford County’s overall poverty rate of around 16%.

• The metric of a household was chosen over the metric of a person (or people) so that progress can be measured using US Census and American Community Survey data.

• With an average household size of 2.37 people, achieving the goal would positively impact roughly 7,100 people living in poverty by 2030.

Why by the year 2030?

• Nine years establishes a realistic timeframe for the Bold Goal to be achieved. It also complements UWGGS’s strategic planning cycle, the 2030 Vision Plan for Downtown Greensboro and the City of Greensboro’s “GSO2040” plan.

Who does the Bold Goal belong to?

  • All of us – our entire community must work together to achieve the Bold Goal.

Why did United Way take the lead on developing a community-wide Bold Goal?

• Since 2015, our single focus has been to reduce the number of people living in generational poverty.

• The Bold Goal is UWGG’s next step in rallying our community around our shared interest to end local poverty.

• UWGG is committed to pursuing sustainable outcomes by working not only to support families living in poverty, but to also change how the local system works to support those families.

Why does our community need a Bold Goal?

• Poverty is an everyday reality for over 57,000 people in greater Greensboro.

• One out of every four children in Greensboro is growing up in poverty.

• There are neighborhoods in our community where over 40% of the population have lived in poverty for multiple generations.

• Poverty disproportionately impacts people of color.

How does achieving the Bold Goal / reducing poverty help our community?

• In addition to helping our individual neighbors who are living in poverty, reducing the number of households living in poverty benefits our entire community – fewer people living in poverty creates a shared prosperity that impacts economic, health, social, and educational wellbeing for all.

How will United Way support the accomplishment of the Bold Goal?

• With community-wide collaboration from nonprofits, businesses, leaders, and caring people from across our community.

• Being nimble and willing to learn and update approaches along the way.

• Specifically, we will:

• Create and fund strategic partnerships with proven outcomes that provide education, training and supports to help people get jobs that can provide for their households.

• Continue to operate our nationally recognized Family Success Centers, where children and adults are receiving coordinated services, tailored to their individual needs, in one location.

• Focus on systems change and innovation, which is why we’re developing a county-wide mobile-friendly network that will connect people to services, and coordinators who will help them identify, track, and achieve their personal goals for leaving poverty.

How will our community’s collective progress be tracked and reported?

• Community-wide tracking and reporting will rely upon continued and new collaborations that are supportive of collecting and reporting common data.

• United Way is committed to collaborating with all community partners that support the achievement of the Bold Goal to collect and report common data and provide annual updates of our collective progress along the way.

• The achievement of the Bold Goal is a nine-year, long-term strategy, and it takes time to help someone transition out of poverty. As such, it is expected annual progress may start out slow, but will build year over year as individuals continue their journeys out of poverty.

What is my role in supporting the achievement?

There are multiple ways you can help:

• Sharing the Bold Goal with your friends, family, and colleagues and discussing how you could help

• Identifying or becoming community partners and citizens who are willing to explore partnerships that work together to achieve the Bold Goal

• Identifying and advocating for local system changes that support communitywide solutions

• If you represent a company, evaluate pay rates, consider ways to help citizens gain and keep family-sustaining employment, and help employees attain educational degrees and certifications.

  • Donating to UWGG to support strategic partnerships and initiatives.