United Way Chattanooga transitions to competitive funding approach

Staff Photo by Robin Rudd / Red Bank Classroom Assistant Jerrie Quering, center, supervises Red Bank High students, Gabe Cortes, left, and Lucas Honaker, right, as they volunteer pairing shoes at the Northside Neighborhood House's Red Bank Thrift store on February 2, 2022. Through an innovation grant from the United Way of Greater Chattanooga, the Northside Neighborhood House was able to hire two new staff members to expand operations at its thrift stores, which increased revenue to provide needed social services north of the river in Chattanooga.

By Elizabeth Fite February 2, 2022 5 min read

As it begins to celebrate its 100th anniversary, the United Way of Greater Chattanooga has redesigned how the nonprofit determines where to invest its money in what leaders say is an effort to keep up with rapidly changing community needs and evolving donor demands.

United Way is shifting to a competitive, application-based approach to determine where to issue grants in the new year as opposed to automatically funding the same 40 traditional partners.

Now, grant applications through the United Way are open to any 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization within the agency’s six-county footprint, which includes Hamilton, Marion and Sequatchie counties in Southeast Tennessee and Dade, Walker and Catoosa counties in North Georgia.

Local volunteer advocates will score the applications, and then a volunteer committee familiar with the community’s needs will choose which agencies receive funds in May. Agencies are then expected to use a data-driven approach to track whether the investments are improving outcomes, and applications must be re-submitted annually.

Letters of intent for interested grant applicants are due Friday, and volunteer advocate applications are due Feb. 11.