United Way of Greater New Bedford

What United Way of Greater New Bedford does

United Way of Greater New Bedford (UWGNB) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization headquartered at 128 Union St, Suite 403, New Bedford, Massachusetts, operating across the SouthCoast region (New Bedford, Acushnet, Dartmouth, Fairhaven, Freetown, Mattapoisett, Marion, Rochester, Wareham). Founded in 1953 per firmographic records, the organization mobilizes people, partnerships, and resources across four declared impact areas: Healthy Community, Youth Opportunity, Financial Security, and Community Resiliency. Its service portfolio combines direct-service programs (Mobile Market, Family Resource Center, Wash & Read literacy, Baby Bundles, Hunger Heroes food drops, Financial Wellness for Women / at Work, Lantern youth program), grantmaking (Changemaker Grants up to $2,500 to all-volunteer groups, Community Impact Grants, Emergency Food & Shelter Program), and a long-tenured fiscal-sponsorship role for the New Bedford Community Connections Coalition (NBCCC) and the Patch child welfare practice model funded by the Massachusetts Department of Children and Families since 1996.

UWGNB's underlying technology stack is a constellation of third-party SaaS platforms rather than proprietary systems: Harness Giving and the Harness App for donation processing (including Give Stock and recurring gifts), CommunityForce for grant applications and reimbursement management, OneCause for event ticketing and sponsorship (notably the Give & Gather Autumn Mixer), Volunteer SouthCoast (volunteersouthcoast.org) as the regional volunteer-matching connector operated by UWGNB, Amazon Wish Lists for in-kind drives, and promotion of the statewide Mass 211 hotline (mass211.org). The organization runs on Workplace Campaigns (pledge forms, payroll deduction, campaign toolkit, campaign video, refreshed "United is the Way" logo system) delivered via partner employers such as BankFive and BayCoast Bank.

Revenue is generated across five streams: individual and workplace-giving donations; non-cash giving (stock gifts, Legacy Society, Navigator Society, Alexis de Tocqueville Society); event sponsorships and ticket sales (e.g., Give & Gather tiers from Title to Heads & Tails, silent auction); grantmaking reinvestment ($441,000 awarded to local programs and initiatives per the website); and government / fiscal-sponsorship fees channeling MA DCF funding into NBCCC and Patch. The go-to-market motion is community-led and event-driven: workplace campaigns through employers, signature events (Hunger Heroes, Youth Day of Caring, Give & Gather Autumn Mixer), collection drives, and volunteer engagement via Volunteer SouthCoast. UWGNB operates with 11-50 staff, is governed by an independent volunteer board (e.g., BankFive VP Andrea Rodrigues appointed October 2025), and holds Charity Navigator Four-Star, Candid Platinum Seal of Transparency, United Way Worldwide Membership, and AL!VE Service Enterprise (2024-2027) credentials.

Name

United Way of Greater New Bedford

Legal name

United Way of Greater New Bedford

Website

https://unitedwayofgnb.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1995

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

United Way of Greater New Bedford is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that mobilizes donations, volunteers, and partnerships across the SouthCoast Massachusetts region, operating grant programs, direct-service initiatives, fiscal sponsorship, and the Volunteer SouthCoast platform across four community-impact areas.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Community Social Services

NAICS

Other Community Housing Services (624229)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Housing Assistance & Homeless Services (BPAGAEAB)

akta.pro secondary industry

Homelessness Prevention, Shelter & Supportive Housing Services (BPAIANAC)

Keywords

• Community fundraising
• Nonprofit grantmaking
• Workplace giving campaigns
• Volunteer engagement
• Community impact programs

Headquarters

HQ city

New Bedford

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Others, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Individual & Workplace Giving Donations: Primary revenue stream from individual donors and employee workplace campaigns (pledge forms, payroll deduction) processed via online donate portal and Harness Giving.
2. Stock & Legacy Giving: Non-cash giving vehicles including Give Stock (appreciated securities) and Legacy Society (planned/estate gifts), plus Navigator Society and Alexis de Tocqueville Society giving circles.
3. Event Sponsorships & Ticket Sales: Fundraising through sponsored events such as the Give & Gather Autumn Mixer (title, harvester, cultivator, sustainer sponsorship tiers plus tickets, silent auction, and pumpkin patch).
4. Grantmaking Reinvestment (Changemaker & Community Impact Grants): UWGNB re-deploys donated funds as small grants to all-volunteer groups and local programs; $18,000 was awarded to 10 grantees in the most recent Changemaker cycle.
5. Government & Fiscal Sponsorship Fees: UWGNB serves as fiscal partner and home for the New Bedford Community Connections Coalition (NBCCC) and Patch, with funding channeled through Massachusetts Department of Children and Families (DCF) since 1996.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

United Way of Greater New Bedford is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that mobilizes people, partnerships, and resources across the Greater New Bedford / SouthCoast region of Massachusetts. It runs workplace giving campaigns, operates the Volunteer SouthCoast volunteer-matching platform, awards seed grants (Changemaker Grants, Community Impact Grants, EFSP), delivers direct service programs (Wash & Read literacy, Baby Bundles, Mobile Market, Financial Wellness), hosts signature fundraising events, and serves as fiscal sponsor for community coalitions.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Volunteer SouthCoast: Free online connector for volunteers and organizations serving the SouthCoast region of Massachusetts, operated by United Way of Greater New Bedford.
• Service Enterprise
• Women United
• Changemaker Grants

Products and services

• Volunteer SouthCoast (VSC) Free online connector that matches individual volunteers, students, schools, and companies with local nonprofits for one-time or long-term service projects. Supports custom user groups for schools and companies, custom pages, and monthly/annual activity/impact reporting; offers student volunteer hour tracking and resume downloads. Operated by United Way of Greater New Bedford.
• Wash & Read Women United literacy program that provides free, high-quality children's books at partner laundromat sites in Greater New Bedford, in partnership with the New Bedford Free Public Library. Since inception, over 10,000 books have been distributed to underserved families.
• Baby Bundles

Quantifiable outcome

• $441,000 awarded to local programs and initiatives
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration7 records

Feature3 records

Partnerships

14 partnerships are on record, tiered flagship, core and minor.

• Massachusetts Department of Children and Families (DCF)flagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerDCF funds NBCCC and Patch, and operates as a partner in the Patch child welfare practice model linking DCF protection work with NBCCC prevention work for two Patch units serving families through the DCF New Bedford Area Office. UWGNB has been the fiscal partner and home of NBCCC since 1996.
• New Bedford Fire DepartmentcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAnnual Toy Drive partner: each December UWGNB partners with the New Bedford Fire Department to collect and distribute toys and gift cards to local organizations for kids.
• Aldi (Dartmouth Mall location)coreGTM or Marketing PartnerHosts UWGNB's Hunger Heroes Spring Edition Food Drop in its parking lot (Saturday, March 21), providing a high-traffic community collection site for kid-friendly food items to be packaged into 1,000 meal packs.
• Fun 107 (radio)coreGTM or Marketing PartnerMedia partner on the Hunger Heroes Spring Edition Food Drop, helping promote food drives and donations for the kid-friendly meal pack effort.
• WBSM (radio)coreGTM or Marketing PartnerMedia partner on the Hunger Heroes Spring Edition Food Drop alongside Fun 107.
• New Bedford Free Public LibrarycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerTeams up with Women United / Wash & Read to deliver free, high-quality children's books to Wash & Read partner laundromat sites; also a current Changemaker Grants recipient ("Friends of the New Bedford Free Public Library" was awarded $1,000).
• High Point Treatment CentercoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborates with NBCCC to deliver the Nurturing Program for Families in Substance Abuse Treatment & Recovery, a weekly parent education and support group focused on the effects of substance use on families and the parent-child relationship.
• AL!VE (Association of Leaders in Volunteer Engagement)flagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerAL!VE administers the Service Enterprise initiative; UWGNB serves as the local coach for organizations pursuing Service Enterprise Certification in the SouthCoast region. UWGNB was originally certified in 2016 (Points of Light) and re-certified in 2024 under AL!VE.
• Massachusetts Service Alliance (MSA)flagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerAdministers the Service Enterprise program locally in Massachusetts; partners with UWGNB to deliver Service Enterprise certification to regional nonprofits.
• Laundry Cares Foundation / Coin Laundry AssociationminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerNational initiative that inspired UWGNB's Wash & Read program (established 2018); Women United adapted the Laundry Project model to place free children's books at partner laundromats.
• Mass 211 / Massachusetts 211 (mass211.org)coreTechnology or IntegrationUWGNB promotes Mass 211, the 24/7 free telephone (dial 2-1-1) and online resource that connects Massachusetts residents to essential health and human services, available in 150+ languages; UWGNB also helps surface Mass 211 as a resource through its Healthy Community impact area and Call2Talk/988 mental health line.
• SouthCoast HealthminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerListed as a Service Enterprise Certified organization in the SouthCoast, engaged with UWGNB's Volunteer SouthCoast platform and Service Enterprise coaching track.
• PACE (People Acting in Community Endeavors)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerService Enterprise Certified organization in the SouthCoast; Pam Keuchler of PACE also sits on the NBCCC Advisory Board.
• Charles River Community Health (CRCH)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerRecently welcomed into UWGNB's Financial Wellness at Work (FWW) program, expanding the FWW partner network in the SouthCoast.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• VolunteerMatch: National online volunteer-matching platform. Comparable technology model to UWGNB's Volunteer SouthCoast, but operates nationally at much larger scale; represents both a potential partner and a competitive reference point for VSC's roadmap.
• The Boston Foundation: Major Massachusetts community foundation. Comparable community-impact grantmaking and donor-advised-fund model at significantly larger scale; useful peer for benchmarking UWGNB's grantmaking economics and corporate-partner strategy.
• United Way of Rhode Island: Statewide United Way affiliate adjacent to the SouthCoast region. Comparable operating model (workplace campaigns, impact grants, AL!VE-aligned volunteer strategy) at larger geographic scale, providing a benchmark for UWGNB's growth potential.
• United Way of Massachusetts Bay: Larger Massachusetts-based United Way affiliate (Boston metro). Operates the same United Way brand, workplace-campaign channel, and impact-area framework as UWGNB, but at materially greater scale and broader geography.

Direct peers

• SouthCoast Community Foundation: Regional community foundation serving Bristol and Plymouth counties in Massachusetts. Directly comparable to UWGNB as a regional grantmaker and donor-advised fund vehicle in the same SouthCoast service area; the foundation is also a disclosed UWGNB funding source.
• United Way of Greater Fall River: Neighboring United Way affiliate serving the greater Fall River / SouthCoast region of Massachusetts. Operates the same workplace-campaign, community-impact grant, and volunteer-engagement model with overlapping SouthCoast geography and similar employer donor base.
• Massachusetts Service Alliance: State-level nonprofit capacity-builder that administers the AL!VE Service Enterprise program locally in Massachusetts and partners with UWGNB as the local coach. Comparable in volunteer-engagement and Service Enterprise delivery model.

Regional players

• Greater New Bedford Community Health Center: Regional health-services nonprofit serving the Greater New Bedford community. Comparable geographic concentration and overlapping beneficiary population with UWGNB's Healthy Community and Financial Wellness programs.
• Coastal Foodshed: New Bedford-area food access nonprofit. Directly comparable to UWGNB's Mobile Market and Hunger Commission programs in mission and beneficiary population within the same SouthCoast service area.

Emerging players

• Idealist (by Arizona State University): National nonprofit jobs, volunteer, and event platform. Comparable volunteer-matching and nonprofit-discovery functionality to Volunteer SouthCoast, serving individual volunteers and small nonprofits across the U.S.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/unitedwayofgnb
• Facebookfacebook.com/unitedwayofgnb

Compliance4 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about United Way of Greater New Bedford