A Larimer United for Equity

United Way of Larimer County

We are a Larimer United. We believe everyone should have the opportunity to thrive in Larimer County. We believe that equity is achieved when systemic, institutional, and historical barriers based on race, gender, sexual orientation, and other identities no longer predict socioeconomic, educational, and health outcomes. At United Way of Larimer County, we actively seek opportunities to learn with and from our partners and supporters to understand the needs of all of our community members. We are committed to advancing equity and justice through practice and policy changes, and catalyzing a shift from charity to change-making within our focus areas of Youth & Education, Financial Stability, Nonprofit Excellence, and Community Engagement. 

As part of our commitment to equity, we are shifting our grant processes to make them more accessible to smaller grassroots organizations and focusing on how we can help these organizations build capacity to serve more Larimer County residents.  We also hosted the inaugural Northern Colorado Nonprofit Equity Symposium and are working with various content experts to help guide our own internal staff on this journey of growth and learning. 

In response to feedback from our nonprofit partners, United Way of Larimer County invited local nonprofit professionals, volunteers, and board members to take part in the full-day Northern Colorado Nonprofit Equity Symposium on May 31, 2022, to learn how we can all advance equity in our work. This conference included knowledge areas like inclusive marketing, utilizing data to advance equity, community-centric fundraising, and more.

86% of attendees agreed or strongly agreed that their specific conference track was engaging and provided them with valuable information. 

We look forward to continuing this important work with future trainings to help Northern Colorado nonprofit organizations be more inclusive and equitable. 

Our staff and board have also started this learning journey alongside content experts, which includes looking at our internal processes, how we work as a team, and how we can weave equity and accessibility throughout our work.  We know that incorporating diversity, equity, and inclusion into our practices is an ongoing learning process where mistakes will happen and we will continue to learn as we go. We hope you will join us in making Larimer County a community where everyone feels safe, valued, and is given the opportunity to thrive. 

Learn more about our work at www.uwaylc.org