What United Way of Florida does

United Way of Florida, Inc. (UWOF) is a 501(c)(3) statewide membership association founded in 1980 and headquartered in Tallahassee, Florida, that serves as the coordinating body for Florida's 28 local United Ways, which collectively cover all 67 of the state's counties. The organization functions analogously to a chamber of commerce for its member United Ways, providing state-level advocacy, training, resource development, ALICE (Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed) research, and disaster preparedness, response, and recovery coordination across the network.

UWOF does not develop proprietary technology; it operates standard nonprofit management and disaster coordination tools. Its product surface is service-based: Capitol Days and Women United Capitol Days advocacy events, the weekly Legislative Link newsletter during Florida's 8-week legislative session, the annual Statewide Leaders Conference, the Disaster Recovery Fund, ALICE research dissemination, and the Find Your Local United Way directory. The organization is led by President & CEO Melissa Corbin Nelson (appointed June 2022) and COO Beth Meredith (with the organization since 1990), and is affiliated with United Way Worldwide, which provides policy positions and flex-credit funding support.

UWOF's business model is a hybrid nonprofit funding structure. Recurring member dues from the 28 local United Ways form the operating core (analogous to a subscription model), supplemented by conference registration fees ($295 early-bird / $325 standard for the Statewide Leaders Conference), corporate sponsorships (Publix, Florida Blue, AdventHealth, Florida Chamber of Commerce, SingleCard, StratusLIVE, For Love of Team), and event-driven Disaster Recovery Fund donations that are passed 100% to affected communities with no administrative fee retained. The organization is governed by a Board of Governors and has no venture, private equity, or public ownership.

Name

United Way of Florida

Legal name

United Way of Florida, Inc.

Website

https://uwof.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1980

Operating status

Operating

Short description

United Way of Florida is a Tallahassee-based 501(c)(3) statewide association that coordinates advocacy, training, ALICE research, and disaster response for Florida's 28 local United Ways covering all 67 counties. It is funded primarily by member dues, conference fees, and pass-through disaster donations.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Tallahassee

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Member Dues and Contributions: Local United Ways provide funding to support the state association in training, public policy, disaster, and grants arenas. This functions similar to a Chamber of Commerce model where member contributions sustain the organization.
2. Disaster Recovery Fund Donations: The organization collects tax-deductible donations for disaster recovery efforts, directing 100% of contributions to affected communities with no administrative costs taken. Donors can direct gifts to specific counties or general recovery efforts.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

United Way of Florida is a statewide nonprofit membership association that supports Florida's 28 local United Ways through legislative advocacy, training, resource development, ALICE research and advocacy, and disaster preparedness, response, and recovery coordination. It operates as a coordinating hub analogous to a chamber of commerce for its member organizations, channeling programs such as VITA free tax preparation, the Disaster Recovery Fund, Capitol Days advocacy events, and the Statewide Leaders Conference across all 67 Florida counties.

Product overview

United Way of Florida is a statewide association serving Florida's 28 local United Ways, functioning as a coordinating body rather than a technology product company. The organization operates a network-centric model connecting local United Ways across Florida's 67 counties. Its core offerings include: the Find Your Local United Way directory service; the ALICE (Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed) research and advocacy program spotlighting Florida's workforce; VITA (Volunteer Income Tax Assistance) free tax preparation services; Disaster Recovery Fund coordination; Legislative Link newsletter during sessions; Capitol Days and Women United Capitol Days advocacy events; and the annual Statewide Leaders Conference for training. These services function as interconnected community support programs rather than a unified software platform with modules.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• ALICE: Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed - a research project documenting households above poverty but below financial stability.

Products and services

• Find Your Local United Way
• ALICE (Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed)
• VITA (Volunteer Income Tax Assistance)
• Disaster Recovery Fund
• Legislative Link Newsletter
• Capitol Days
• Women United Capitol Days
• Statewide Leaders Conference

Quantifiable outcome

• $33.65 million invested in access to health (2019)
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

16 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Children's ForumcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerListed as a strategic partner working on children's issues in Florida. The organization collaborates on early childhood education and development initiatives.
• Children's Movement of FloridacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerStrategic partner focused on children's advocacy and services in Florida.
• FLAEYC (Florida Association for the Education of Young Children)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerStrategic partner working on early childhood education issues in Florida.
• Florida 2-1-1coreStrategic or Co-development Partner24/7, free, confidential service that connects people with expert, caring help. 4 United Ways serve as central hubs covering roughly half of Florida for disaster information.
• Florida Chamber of CommercecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerStrategic partner on business and economic development issues. Mark Wilson from Florida Chamber of Commerce serves on the Board of Governors.
• Florida Dept. of Children & FamiliescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerState agency partner on child welfare, family services, and related policy issues.
• Florida Dept. of Elder AffairscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerState agency partner on issues affecting Florida's elder population.
• Florida Dept. of Veterans' Affairs / Forward MarchcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner on veteran services and issues. United Way has a Mission United initiative focused on veterans and military-connected families.
• Florida Nonprofit AlliancecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerStatewide nonprofit alliance partner working on sector-wide issues and advocacy.
• SingleCard (formerly FamilyWize)minorGTM or Marketing PartnerDiscount prescription card program sponsor for conferences. FamilyWize provides prescription savings cards distributed through United Ways.
• Publix Super Markets, Inc.coreGTM or Marketing PartnerConference sponsor and board member organization. Rhett Bagwell from Publix serves on the Board of Governors. Publix CEO Todd Jones presented at the 2023 Leaders Conference.
• United Way WorldwidecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerParent organization providing policy positions, flex credit programs, and global network support. Josh Dickson from UWW provides policy briefings at Capitol Days.
• United for ALICEcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerResearch organization providing ALICE (Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed) data and methodology. Dr. Stephanie Hoopes leads ALICE research presented at Capitol Days.
• Florida BluecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHealth insurance partner joining United Way CEOs on panels at Capitol Days for health and wellbeing discussions.
• AdventHealth SystemcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMichael Griffin, Chair of AdventHealth System, serves as Board Chair for United Way of Florida 2026-27.
• For Love of TeamminorGTM or Marketing PartnerWinston Faircloth, CEO of For Love of Team, engaged to assist with organizational vision. Conference sponsor. Winston Faircloth serves on the Board of Governors.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• United Way Worldwide: The global parent organization and national umbrella for all United Way affiliates. Directly comparable as the apex membership body whose policies, flex credit programs, and brand United Way of Florida relies on, but operating at national/international scope rather than as a single state association.
• Florida Chamber of Commerce: Florida's statewide business association that UWOF explicitly models itself after ("Chamber of Commerce model"). Comparable in operating as a Tallahassee-based membership association conducting advocacy, training, and event programming, though focused on the for-profit business community rather than nonprofits.

Direct peers

• United Way of California: The California state association of United Ways, the closest peer in role and structure: a statewide membership association that supports local United Ways through advocacy, training, and disaster response coordination. Operates as a state-level sister association to UWOF.
• United Way of Texas: Another state-level United Way association providing training, advocacy, and resource development to local Texas United Way affiliates. Highly comparable in mission, member-base model, and revenue structure to UWOF.
• Florida Nonprofit Alliance: Florida's statewide alliance of nonprofit organizations providing advocacy, training, and sector-wide coordination. Comparable because it is a Florida-based membership association for nonprofits with a similar Chamber-of-Commerce-like value proposition to its members.
• United Way of New York State: State-level United Way association for New York, supporting local United Ways through advocacy, training, and disaster recovery coordination. Direct structural peer with identical member-network business model.
• Habitat for Humanity Florida: The Florida state support organization for Habitat for Humanity affiliates, providing advocacy, training, and resource development to local Habitat affiliates. Operates the same statewide-affiliate-coordination model as UWOF, applied to affordable housing rather than health/education/income.
• Feeding Florida: Florida's state association of Feeding America food banks, coordinating statewide hunger-relief programming across regional affiliates. Comparable as a Florida-based umbrella membership organization that aggregates and amplifies the impact of local nonprofit affiliates through shared advocacy and operational support.

Regional players

• Volunteer Florida: Florida's state commission on volunteerism and national service, focused on disaster volunteer coordination and AmeriCorps programming. Comparable because it is a Florida-based coordinating body for volunteer-driven community impact, including disaster response, with a similar statewide-network orientation.

Emerging players

• United Way of Greater Atlanta: A large metropolitan United Way that, like UWOF's largest members, combines local fundraising with advocacy, VITA, and community impact programming. Comparable as a downstream constituent of the United Way network that UWOF is designed to support.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/united-way-of-florida-inc

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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 Florida