United Way of Greater St. Louis

What United Way of Greater St. Louis does

United Way of Greater St. Louis is a private nonprofit organization founded in 1922 that operates as the regional coordinating safety net for 16 counties across Missouri and Illinois, serving nearly 3 million residents and positively impacting over 1 million people annually. The organization is structured around five impact areas: essential needs, early childhood and youth success, health and wellbeing, jobs and financial mobility, and community stability and crisis response. It runs an annual community campaign model that aggregates donations through individual giving, corporate workplace campaigns at 1,100+ companies, leadership giving societies (7,000+ givers at $1,000+), planned giving vehicles, and grants from entities such as The Regions Foundation.

The organization's core technology and service platform centers on United Way 211, a 24/7 multi-channel helpline (call, text, chat, web) backed by a comprehensive resource database of nonprofits across Missouri and Illinois, which handled approximately 205,793 calls last year. Layered on top is the Community Information Exchange (CIE), a shared technology platform connecting major health systems, community-based organizations, and schools to share client information and coordinate care. The 211counts dashboard, co-developed with Washington University's Health Communication Research Laboratory, converts call data into a real-time barometer of regional community need. The STLVolunteer.org Volunteer Center is the region's largest, mobilizing 40,000+ volunteers and putting $4.1 million back into the community. Programs also include the Emergency Food and Shelter Program, United For Families, the Building Union Diversity pre-apprenticeship program, free tax preparation, and the United Way Life insurance charitable-giving vehicle.

The revenue model is entirely donation- and grant-based, with no commercial pricing. Funds flow from individual donations, workplace giving campaigns, leadership giving societies, planned giving, appreciated securities and DAFs, qualified charitable distributions, and grants. Distribution is carried out via direct donor engagement, corporate campaign infrastructure, the 211 navigation system, an online volunteer portal, regional offices in St. Louis and Illinois (Shiloh and East Alton), and a network of 160 vetted partner nonprofit agencies. Governance is by an independent board chaired by Roman P. Wuller of Thompson Coburn LLP, with campaign leadership drawn from Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner and the St. Louis Blues, and operational leadership under President and CEO Michelle D. Tucker.

Name

United Way of Greater St. Louis

Legal name

United Way of Greater St. Louis, Inc.

Website

https://helpingpeople.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1922

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

United Way of Greater St. Louis is a nonprofit founded in 1922 that coordinates a 16-county safety net across Missouri and Illinois through a 24/7 211 helpline, a volunteer center, a Community Information Exchange, and 160+ partner agencies, serving over 1 million residents annually via donations and workplace giving.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Community Social Services & Nonprofit Philanthropy

NAICS

Other Individual and Family Services (624190), Emergency and Other Relief Services (624230), Community Housing Services (62422)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Community Centers & Neighborhood Support Services (BPAGAEAL)

akta.pro secondary industry

Affordable Housing & Community Development (Housing, Community Land Trusts) (BPAGALAC)

Keywords

• Community fundraising campaigns
• Social services navigation
• Workplace giving programs
• Volunteer coordination services
• Disaster relief assistance

Headquarters

HQ city

St Louis

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Individual Donations: Individual giving through one-time donations, monthly recurring gifts, and leadership giving at $1,000+ levels. More than 7,000 Leadership Givers contribute annually.
2. Workplace Giving Campaigns: Corporate workplace campaigns where more than 1,100 local companies engage employees in charitable giving through payroll deduction and corporate matching programs.
3. Planned Giving: Charitable bequests, charitable remainder trusts, charitable lead trusts, and charitable gift annuities provide long-term revenue streams from donors' estate planning.
4. Appreciated Securities & DAF: Donations of appreciated stock and contributions through Donor Advised Funds offer tax-advantaged giving options for donors.
5. Qualified Charitable Distributions: QCDs from IRA Required Minimum Distributions allow donors 70½ or older to exclude donated amounts from taxable income.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

United Way of Greater St. Louis is a community-impact nonprofit that mobilizes charitable giving, volunteer engagement, and coordinated service delivery across a 16-county bi-state region. It connects residents in need to thousands of social services through its 24/7 211 helpline, channels workplace giving campaigns and leadership gifts from 1,100+ companies and 7,000+ Leadership Givers, and distributes funding to 160 nonprofit partner agencies across five impact areas: essential needs, early childhood/youth success, health and wellbeing, jobs/financial mobility, and community stability/crisis response.

Product overview

United Way of Greater St. Louis operates as a community services organization offering a coordinated portfolio of programs and initiatives rather than a traditional product platform. The core offerings include United Way 211 (a 24/7 helpline connecting residents to social services via phone, text, chat, and web), the Community Information Exchange (a shared technology platform enabling coordinated care across health systems and community organizations), and the Volunteer Center (STLVolunteer.org, mobilizing thousands of volunteers). Additional services include the United Way Life insurance program, free tax preparation, disaster recovery (United For Storm Recovery), the 100 Neediest Cases holiday program, Emergency Food and Shelter, United For Families family stability initiative, and workforce development programs like the Building Union Diversity pre-apprenticeship program and 3Rs workforce engagement initiative.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• United Way Life®: A program offering charitable tax deductions through premium payments on life insurance policies, allowing donors to make a lasting impact while benefiting from immediate tax advantages.
• 211
• 211counts
• Community Information Exchange (CIE)
• United for Families
• 100 Neediest Cases
• Service2Go
• United Way Life® Insurance
• de Tocqueville Society
• Charmaine Chapman Society
• Men's Leadership Society
• Women's Leadership Society
• Multicultural Leadership Society
• United Young Leaders

Products and services

• United Way 211

Quantifiable outcome

• 167,000+ households stabilized with basic needs support annually
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

16 partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• MetroTixminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2026New partnership that turns every ticket purchased through MetroTix into community impact, allowing audiences to support United Way through entertainment purchases.
• Auffenberg Dealer GroupminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2026Donated a new 2026 Ford vehicle for the Watch.Enter.Win! community campaign contest, creating engagement and awareness.
• Local Tax CoalitionscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025Partnership with local tax coalitions to provide free tax preparation services through over 600 certified volunteers, filing nearly 19,000 returns and helping families receive over $16 million in refunds.
• AmerencoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025Partnership providing energy bill assistance programs including Dollar More and Warm Neighbors Cool Friends. Ameren contributed $2 million each for Missouri and Illinois in December, with over $140 million in energy assistance available through these partnerships.
• Energy Assistance FoundationcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025Partnership to distribute energy assistance funds across Missouri and Illinois, supporting customers with energy bill payments.
• St. Louis Post DispatchcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLong-standing partnership for the 100 Neediest Cases program, raising $1.7 million last year to help over 11,000 individuals with holiday dinners, clothing, household goods, and basic needs. 100% of funds raised go directly to clients.
• FreeWillminorGTM or Marketing PartnerFree online will-planning tool partnership helping donors create wills in 20 minutes. United Way receives bequests through this vehicle.
• St. Louis Central Labor Council AFL-CIOcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner80-year partnership with AFL-CIO providing coordinated volunteer efforts and community services to working families. More than 600 families receive confidential help each year through this partnership.
• Southwestern Illinois Central Labor Council AFL-CIOcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership providing labor liaison staff and coordinated volunteer efforts supporting union members and the broader community.
• Greater Madison County Federation of Labor AFL-CIOcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLabor partnership engaged in joint actions driven by community needs, serving union workers and community members.
• Wells Fargo AdvisorsminorOthersStock transfer partner for appreciated securities donations. DTC #: 0141, Contact: Chris Kuhn, Phone: 314-991-7847
• Edward JonesminorOthersStock transfer partner for appreciated securities donations. DTC #: 00057, Contact: Bob Zerega, Phone: 314-515-3129
• KSDK (NBC affiliate)coreGTM or Marketing PartnerMedia partnership for TV PSAs, Show Me St. Louis segments, and awareness campaign coverage across the 16-county region.
• KMOV (CBS affiliate)coreGTM or Marketing PartnerMedia partnership for awareness campaign PSAs and community coverage on St. Louis news programming.
• Fox 2 (KTVI)coreGTM or Marketing PartnerMedia partnership for awareness campaign TV spots and Unite With Us Days community coverage.
• Washington University Health Communication Research LaboratorycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration creating the 211counts dashboard providing real-time community needs data and insights.

Scale indicators14 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• United Way Worldwide: National umbrella organization for the United Way federation; UWGSTL is an independently governed affiliate that operates under the United Way brand, fundraising model, and 211 network. Most directly comparable as the parent brand and federation operator.
• United Way of Greater Chicago: Largest United Way affiliate by revenue, serving a comparable urban/bicoastal region with similar workplace giving campaigns, 211 helpline, and partner nonprofit network — the most direct functional and operational peer.
• Greater Kansas City Community Foundation: Regional community foundation serving the KC metro area with comparable grantmaking, donor-advised fund, and community impact programs; competes for the same regional philanthropic dollars and corporate giving relationships.
• Feeding America / St. Louis Area Foodbank: Regional food bank that is itself one of United Way's 160 partner agencies and a major recipient of UW funding; provides directly comparable food security, hunger relief, and emergency food programs in the same geography.
• Points of Light Foundation: National nonprofit focused on volunteer engagement and civic service; directly comparable to UWGSTL's Volunteer Center (STLVolunteer.org) and competes for corporate volunteer engagement programs in the same geographic regions.
• Community Action Agency of St. Louis County (CAASTLC): Local Community Action Agency providing anti-poverty programs (LIHEAP, housing, weatherization, emergency assistance) in the same service area; competes for federal anti-poverty dollars and serves overlapping low-income client base.
• 211 San Diego / 2-1-1 San Diego: Original and largest 211 service provider in the U.S.; directly comparable as a regional 211 helpline operator offering the same multi-channel resource navigation and referral services that UWGSTL provides in MO/IL.
• United Way of New York City: Another large metro United Way affiliate operating workplace giving campaigns, 211, and a similar safety-net partnership model in a major U.S. metro; functionally identical operating model and revenue mix.

Broad incumbents

• The Salvation Army Greater St. Louis: Larger global nonprofit providing overlapping services (emergency assistance, basic needs, disaster relief) in the same St. Louis region; broader mandate but directly competes for donor dollars and volunteers.
• American Red Cross Missouri-Illinois Region: National humanitarian organization providing overlapping disaster response, emergency relief, and basic needs services across the same bi-state geography; competes for corporate giving campaigns and disaster response funding.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/unitedwaystl
• Facebookfacebook.com/unitedwaystl
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/united-way-of-greater-st-louis
• Instagraminstagram.com/unitedwaystl
• TikToktiktok.com/@unitedwaystl

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles12 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

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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 St. Louis