Making a difference with large-scale impact, together

At United Way of East Central Iowa (UWECI), what we do is in our name; it’s our mission. We unite the caring power of communities to invest in effective solutions that improve people’s lives.

It’s why we emphasize that only together will we solve our community’s toughest challenges. Notice that it isn’t UWECI solving all the issues. Instead, it’s when we come together as a community, our nonprofits, for-profits, municipalities, and all others, that we can change systems. This enables us to work together and impact lives at a much faster rate.

To put it another way, this time of year is when resolutions are made, many of which revolve around being healthier. It could be seeking out a nutritionist, signing up for a fitness class, or talking with your doctor. Regardless of how this process looks to you, it’s usually a combination of multiple things coming together to make a positive difference in your life, which is similar to our processes at UWECI.

It's our resolution to work on our community’s toughest challenges and focusing on the bigger picture. We have to look at the entire system, or how individual efforts from local nonprofits and others work together where improvements can be made, so our neighbors and community can thrive. Without that approach, the lack of direction and focus can slow down our community’s ability to successfully move forward.

At UWECI, we’ve been spending a lot of our time and effort focused on our community’s top issue — housing. We know that a safe, consistent home is the foundation for a stable life. That’s why we are proud to be a collaborating member in the Alliance for Equitable Housing, which works together to provide solutions for safe and affordable housing in Linn County. The Alliance for Equitable Housing has brought together diverse networks and sectors — health care, nonprofits, government, business, education, and public health — to identify gaps in our housing system, develop innovative solutions, and drive implementation.

One example of this collaboration in action is the Landlord-Tenant Success Initiative, a pilot program launched in November with funding from Cedar Rapids Bank & Trust. As a key partner in the alliance, we have taken on a central role in this initiative, which is already showing promising results. UWECI serves as the financial backbone of the project, managing the funds to make this work possible. This initiative represents a meaningful step forward in addressing affordable housing — our community’s top challenge — and demonstrates that when key partners work together, action can create real impact.

Without this coordinated work, different ideas take hold in different settings. Folks with great intentions start to duplicate work and may forego seeing the bigger vision. Without organizations like United Way, our community has a harder time utilizing its resources, both people and funding, as efficiently and effectively as possible.

United Ways across the country are known for mobilizing communities to action so all can thrive, and it’s no different here in East Central Iowa. As a “backbone” organization, we focus on building partnerships to plan, coordinate, and facilitate the process of many partners working together to move a challenging problem forward, allowing thousands of people to thrive in that moment of change. By implementing this type of change, we foster a sense of hope and opportunity for all.

Simply put, it’s us uniting our community to identify big challenges, coming up with new ideas together, and putting those ideas into action across our area, so everyone can thrive. Without organizations like UWECI, our community has great intentions, but not necessarily common goals.

United is the way to a strong and thriving community, and we accomplish that together.

Kristin Roberts is president and CEO with United Way of East Central Iowa.