Category: Hidden

GREENSBORO, NC (March 16, 2021) – United Way of Greater Greensboro (UWGG) announced today that Michelle Gethers-Clark is leaving as the organization’s President and CEO, effective, April 16, to become the Chief Diversity Officer and Head of Corporate Responsibility for Visa, Inc. 

In this newly created role, Gethers-Clark will be responsible for further elevating Visa’s approach to inclusion and diversity as a business imperative. Her role will include leading a team of more than 60 professionals worldwide who are responsible for social impact efforts to drive inclusive and equitable growth with a focus on small and micro businesses. 

In addition, Gethers-Clark and her team will lead initiatives to support Visa being a responsible, ethical and sustainable company. She will start her new role on May 3 and will report to Alfred F. Kelly, Jr., the CEO of Visa, Inc.   

Since joining UWGG in 2012 as a consultant, and then being named President and CEO in 2013, Gethers-Clark and her team have generated and distributed $90 million in financial revenue to social impact programs focused on producing positive life, health and economic outcomes for children and families in the Greensboro/Guilford County community.

In addition, under her leadership, UWGG transformed its 99-year-old regional business model from general grantmaking to a single-issue focus of solving generational and systemic poverty with significant results. To achieve this shift, the United Way team convened and galvanized stakeholders to address racial, income, wealth and social inequity through partnerships with corporations, donors, volunteers and community-based organizations. 

“I’ve been blessed to work with a tremendous team at United Way. The 26 extraordinary staff members and 34-member board of directors, were willing to boldly change the way we support our community. I thank each of them for this work on behalf of those we serve,” says Gethers-Clark. “I know the power and passion of this community will continue to push forward on the path to end poverty under the leadership of our board and in partnership with the entire United Way team.” 

UWGG Board Chair, Kim Gatling says, “Michelle’s inspiring and transformational leadership has created a lasting impact that will be carried forward in the greater Greensboro community for years to come. Thanks to her collaborative efforts, thousands of local children and families have received life-changing supports and the hope they deserve. Thanks to her solid strategies, existing and future United Way leadership will continue creating partnerships that produce meaningful, equitable and lasting impact. Speaking on behalf of the entire United Way board and team, we are excited for Michelle and wish her all the best in her new global-impact role.”

Gatling and Michele Deuterman, Chair of UWGG’s Human Resource Committee will soon announce plans to conduct a CEO search for Gethers-Clark’s successor. 

END POVERTY: United Way of Greater Greensboro is leading a movement to END poverty. We create strategic partnerships and initiatives that are coordinated and work with children adults, and families across the entire community. More than 57,000 people are living in poverty in the greater Greensboro area. In the City of Greensboro, one out of every four children, lives in poverty. With community support, we’re connecting people to opportunities like housing, jobs, education and healthcare. The federal government defines poverty as a family of four earning $25,750 per year. According to local self-sufficiency standards, many four-member households need to earn around $60,000 to meet basic needs without subsidized assistance. www.UnitedWayGSO.org Local impact for 99 years and counting.

###

United Way is leveraging $1 million of recent $10 million MacKenzie Scott Gift to help households recover from the economic impacts of COVID-19

GREENSBORO, NC (March 15, 2021) –United Way of Greater Greensboro (UWGG) is pleased to announce it is leveraging the first $1 million of philanthropist MacKenzie Scott’s recent $10 million gift, by seeking grant applications for innovative solutions to address housing disparities as part of the organization’s focus on ending poverty.

In December 2020, Scott gifted over $4 billion to 384 nonprofits across the nation. UWGG was one of only two United Ways in North Carolina to receive funding. At the time, UWGG announced plans to utilize the funds to make innovative and transformational investments in solutions that work together to end poverty across the entire community.

In the spirit of supporting collaborative impact and responding to the ongoing economic impacts of COVID-19, UWGG is seeking:

Requests for Proposal: Housing and Community Recovery Grants 2021-2022.

Interested organizations can visit www.UnitedWay.GSO/Our-Grants to access additional information and application documents.

Proposals must be submitted by 5:00 p.m. on April 30, 2021 to support 300 households in Greater Greensboro to achieve one or more of the following:

• Secure permanent housing.
• Maintain permanent housing.
• Purchase home as first-time homebuyers.

Strategies to achieve these goals can address gaps in existing services and resources. The scope of services can include,but are not limited to, the following:

• Rental and utility assistance and eviction prevention
• Foreclosure prevention and mortgage assistance
• Case management and supportive services
• First time homebuyer assistance

Grants will be awarded for a minimum of $100,000 not to exceed the available pool of $1,000,0000.

“We are thrilled that through this investment, 300 households will be provided with extra support in helping them to recover from the impacts of COVID. An investment of $1,000,000 by UWGG will help our city build a future that leaves poverty behind through permanent, stable housing,” says Frank McCain, UWGG Vice President, Community Investment & Impact

“Stable housing is the foundation of well-being. The temporary and permanent housing industry in Greensboro is rocky at best. Research has solidified the housing industry as an economic engine and if history repeats itself, will propel our post COVID-19 recovery. In the past, communities that made investments in housing its’ residents have experienced economic recovery after virtually every major downturn.”

Why is UWGG issuing the RFP specific to housing?
While significant and needed federal funds have entered the community for rental and utility assistance, gaps in assistance remain. There is a need for unrestricted and flexible funding. 

Eviction moratoriums will eventually end. And the housing disparities that existed before COVID-19 must still be addressed. UWGG wants to support permanent housing along a continuum – from short-term crisis assistance all the way to home ownership, a critical strategy for building the wealth and assets needed for ending generational poverty.

Why is UWGG leveraging $1 Million of the grant money?
There is no better opportunity than now to strategically leverage the Mackenzie Scott gift. The funds allow UWGG to make larger, high-impact investments in innovative solutions that will accelerate the recovery of our community, post COVID-19. The UWGG investment will stimulate a longer-term impact.

Gift will be used over the next three years to make innovative investments to lift local children and families out of poverty

Greensboro, NC (December 16, 2020) – United Way of Greater Greensboro (UWGG) has received a $10 million gift from MacKenzie Scott, renowned philanthropist and novelist, to invest in efforts that lift local children and families out of poverty. The gift is the largest received in UWGG’s 98-year history. 

“We are honored to have our work of ending local poverty acknowledged in such a remarkable way. This historic moment gives us encouragement to innovate further in the work that the greater Greensboro community has entrusted us to complete,” said Michelle Gethers-Clark, President and CEO, UWGG. 

UWGG will utilize the funds over the next three years to make innovative and transformational investments in solutions that are working together to end poverty across the entire community. 

Scott has committed to giving the majority of her fortune to philanthropic causes, and UWGG’s gift is among $4,158,500,000 she recently gifted to 384 nonprofits across the nation. In a statement released HERE, Scott announced she and a team of advisors researched thousands of nonprofits before selecting those receiving gifts.  

“They took a data-driven approach to identifying organizations with strong leadership teams and results, with special attention to those operating in communities facing high projected food insecurity, high measures of racial inequity, high local poverty rates, and low access to philanthropic capital. Because our research is data-driven and rigorous, our giving process can be human and soft,” said Scott. 

Prior to the pandemic, over 57,000 people in the greater Greensboro community were living in poverty, including one out of every four children in Greensboro. The federal government defines poverty as a single person earning $12,760 or a family of four earning $26,200 per year. 

According to Gethers-Clark, being selected to receive Scott’s gift was made possible thanks to the hard work and dedication of local community members and corporations who have supported UWGG over the past 98-years. 

“To be selected as one of 384 organizations across the nation is humbling and affirming. This is a moment to celebrate and double-down as a community. These dollars are going to be used to make smart investments in our community,” said Gethers-Clark, who added, “We are confident this monumental gesture will inspire others to learn about and support the work of UWGG.”  

Greensboro, NC (November 6, 2020) – United Way of Greater Greensboro (UWGG) is pleased to announce the release of its 2019-20 Annual Report.

In the 2019-20 fiscal year, United Way created 30 partnerships that supported 59 holistic programs and initiatives that are working together to end local poverty. Over the year, more than 56,000 people were helped in greater Greensboro and volunteers gave 25,951 hours of their time.

The report additionally highlights the tremendous impact generous donors and community members make possible by highlighting specific outcomes, success stories, and financial updates. 

To view the annual report, please visit unitedwaygso.org/annualreport.