Founded in 1914, United Way of Erie County (United Way) served as a charitable funding conduit functioning as a pass-through fundraising entity, directing funds to a select number of “partner” agencies in the community.
While United Way was channeling funds to outside organizations doing “good work,” the impact was isolated and not focused on changing underlying conditions to improve community outcomes for the long-term.
United Way’s Board of Directors agreed that doing the same thing and expecting different results was no longer a viable strategy. Thus, they went through a thoughtful process to shift to an issue-focused, social impact organization.
In 2016, United Way began its shift from the outdated transaction pass-through model to the social impact model with their launch of the Community School Model in five pilot elementary schools. It transformed into what is now the backbone organization for a nationally recognized best practice model for full-service community schools.
A staggering 36% of children in Erie County live in poverty, one of the worst rates in Pennsylvania and well above the national average.
According to the most recent data, in the City of Erie, the child poverty rate is double that of the state and national average, followed closely by the county rate.
United Way’s leadership recognized the urgent need for dramatic change. We embarked on a journey to transform into an organization leading work to break the cycle of generational poverty.
We knew we had to focus on increasing student academic achievement to reach this bold goal because success in school is undeniably the very foundation for success in life.
Since launching in the 2016-17 school year, the powerful equity strategy known as the Community School Model, has expanded to include 17 schools in four districts throughout Erie County, serving more than 10,500 students and their families. Our community schools are in areas of extreme poverty, targeting our most vulnerable youth and aiming to level the playing field for their success in school and in life.
We are seeing results and the promise of more children growing toward academic proficiency with every year. But this is not a quick fix and requires a long-term commitment from the entire community.
