Home › Philanthropy, voluntarism & grantmaking
Orange County's United Way
Orange County's United Way reported $36.6 million in revenue and $31.2 million in expenses for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2025. Of every $100 it spent, $85.18 went to program services, $6.12 to management and general costs and $8.70 to fundraising. Its largest source of revenue was contributions and grants: 98.6% of the total. Government grants made up 27.4%. The highest compensation it reported for one person was $473,510 (PRESIDENT, CEO). 28 people received more than $100,000 in reportable compensation. Revenue rose 94% between FY2020 and FY2025. Source: Form 990, FY2025.
Where $100 of spending went
The fiscal year ending June 30, 2025 · Form 990, Part IX, line 25 · total expenses $31MFor context, the median across 1,001 covered philanthropy, voluntarism & grantmaking charities: $91.65 programs, $6.50 management, $1.85 fundraising (medians computed separately, so they may not sum to $100).
Where $100 of revenue came from
The fiscal year ending June 30, 2025 · Form 990, Part VIII · total revenue $37M- Contributions & grants (non-government)$70.73 $26M
- Government grants$27.19 $10M
- Investment income$2.08 $768K
Other revenue was negative: −$262K. The bar shows the positive sources only.
The 990 scorecard · same measures for every charity, no grades
| Measure | FY2025 | Median |
|---|---|---|
| Program services Part IX 25(B) ÷ 25(A) | 85.2% | 90.2% |
| Management & general Part IX 25(C) ÷ 25(A) | 6.1% | 6.4% |
| Fundraising Part IX 25(D) ÷ 25(A) | 8.7% | 1.8% |
| Fundraising cost per $1 of contributions Part IX 25(D) ÷ Part VIII 1h | $0.08 | $0.02 |
| Contributions & grants share of revenue Part VIII 1h ÷ 12 | 98.6% | 79.9% |
| Government grants share of revenue Part VIII 1e ÷ 12 | 27.4% | 0.0% |
| Program service revenue share Part VIII 2g ÷ 12 | 0.0% | 0.0% |
| Highest reported compensation Part VII-A, columns D–F | $473,510 | $325,675 |
| Highest compensation as share of expenses Part VII-A ÷ Part IX 25(A) | 1.52% | 1.56% |
| People paid over $100,000 Part VII, line 2 | 28 | 3 |
| Net assets, in months of expenses Part X 33(B) ÷ monthly expenses | 12.8 | 56.6 |
| Independent voting board members Part VI 1a–1b | 46 of 47 | 100.0% |
A median is context, not a target: hospitals, universities, food banks and grantmakers spend in very different ways. What these measures can and can't tell you.
What the money paid for, in its own words
FY2025 · Form 990, Part III · the three largest programs by expenseOrange County United Way is committed to ensuring local students succeed, oc families gain financial security, our unhoused neighbors find a place to call home, and everyone gets connected to the assistance they need. We serve hundreds of thousands of our residents by delivering crucial programs and services directly to our communities. Our unique approach comes from an understanding that Orange County's most critical issues are inter-related, and we must tackle them in an interconnected way to provide long-term solutions that break the cycle. This informs the work we focus on through our key…
Program service expense allocations are comprised of community impact grant programs and initiatives that fulfill Orange County United Way's mission. In addition to running our own initiatives, this includes program management of community wide collaboratives. Ocuw provides evaluation and monitoring of all grant partnerships; support of critical community partnerships; leadership and participation in coalitions and committees; community outreach efforts; capacity training for funded partners; volunteer engagement efforts; and strategic partnerships with local funder collaboratives in the…
Through ocuw's donor designated giving program, donors have the option to designate their gift to their charity(ies) of choice, helping to facilitate philanthropy to meet local community needs. Ocuw stewards these investments by ensuring donor designations are allocated to organizations that qualify as 501(c)(3) tax deductible organizations under current IRS tax code law
Highest reported compensation
FY2025 · Form 990, Part VII, Section A · roles as filed; names are in the filing, not here| Role | From this org | From related orgs | Other | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PRESIDENT, CEO Director/trustee, officer, 37.5 hrs/week | $454,940 | $0 | $18,570 | $473,510 |
| CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER (OUTGOING 4/2025) Officer, 37.5 hrs/week | $226,548 | $0 | $19,855 | $246,403 |
| CHIEF TRANSFORMATION OFFICER Key employee, 37.5 hrs/week | $232,838 | $0 | $622 | $233,460 |
| CHIEF STRATEGY OFFICER Key employee, 37.5 hrs/week | $187,317 | $0 | $22,262 | $209,579 |
| EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, 211OC Key employee, 37.5 hrs/week | $200,439 | $0 | $622 | $201,061 |
| VICE PRESIDENT, IT Key employee, 37.5 hrs/week | $176,530 | $0 | $14,837 | $191,367 |
| EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, U2EH Key employee, 37.5 hrs/week | $170,793 | $0 | $13,935 | $184,728 |
| CHIEF PHILANTHROPY OFFICER Key employee, 37.5 hrs/week | $167,660 | $0 | $9,297 | $176,957 |
28 people received more than $100,000 in reportable compensation from Orange County's United Way (Part VII, line 2). Compensation of current officers, directors and key employees totaled $2.2M (Part IX, line 5).
6 years of filings
Form 990, Parts I, VII, IX and X · each row is that year's own filing, linkedGovernance answers, as filed
FY2025 · the organization's own yes/no answers; explanations, if any, are in Schedule O of the filing · what each means- Voting board members, and how many are independent Part VI, lines 1a–1b47 · 46 independent
- Audited financial statements Part XII 2bYes
- Conflict-of-interest policy Part VI 12aYes
- Whistleblower policy Part VI 13Yes
- Document retention policy Part VI 14Yes
- Independent process for top executive pay Part VI 15aYes
- Board given the 990 before filing Part VI 11aYes
- Family or business ties among insiders Part VI 2No
- Aware of a significant diversion of assets Part VI 5No
- Excess benefit transaction with an insider Part IV 25aNo
- Loans to or from insiders outstanding Part IV 26No
- Lobbying, or a 501(h) election in effect Part IV 4Yes
- Over $15,000 of professional fundraising services Part IV 18No
- Over $10,000 of activity outside the U.S. Part IV 14bNo
- Employees Part I, line 5161
- Volunteers Part I, line 69,241
Largest outside contractors
FY2025 · Form 990, Part VII, Section B · businesses onlyIndividuals listed as contractors are left out. 3 contractors were paid more than $100,000 in all.
Private foundation grants it received
23 private foundations reported grants to Orange County's United Way totaling $2.0M on their tax year 2023 Form 990-PF returns. See which foundations, on WHOFUNDS.
Source: WHOFUNDS open grant graph, matched from Form 990-PF Part XV.
Correct a figure or respond
Every number above is copied from Orange County's United Way's own Form 990. If one doesn't match the filing, that's our error and we'll fix it. If you work for Orange County's United Way, you can publish a response that is linked from this page.
Share or embed this breakdown
Of every $100 Orange County's United Way spent in FY2025, $85.18 went to programs. The full breakdown, from its IRS Form 990:
Embed on your site
Similar-sized charities in this cause
- Whitefish Community FoundationWhitefish, MT · revenue $36M · programs 98.5% · 2025
- Jefferson Scholars FoundationCharlottesville, VA · revenue $37M · programs 82.4% · FY2025
- Equation Campaign and Global Climate Legal DefenseNovato, CA · revenue $36M · programs 84.3% · FY2025
- Nevada Community FoundationLas Vegas, NV · revenue $37M · programs 94.2% · FY2025
- Midway USA FoundationColumbia, MO · revenue $36M · programs 91.2% · 2024
All philanthropy, voluntarism & grantmaking charities · Largest charities in California
Questions people ask
How much of Orange County's United Way's spending goes to programs?
In the fiscal year ending June 30, 2025, Orange County's United Way reported that 85.2% of its $31.2 million in expenses went to program services, 6.1% to management and general and 8.7% to fundraising (Form 990, Part IX).
How much does Orange County's United Way pay its top executive?
The largest total compensation Orange County's United Way reported for one person in the fiscal year ending June 30, 2025 was $473,510, for the role of PRESIDENT, CEO (Form 990, Part VII, including compensation from related organizations and other compensation).
Where does Orange County's United Way get its money?
Of $36.6 million in revenue in the fiscal year ending June 30, 2025, 98.6% came from contributions and grants (including 27.4% from government grants) and 0.0% from program service revenue (Form 990, Part VIII).
Is Orange County's United Way a registered charity?
The IRS lists EIN 33-0047994 as a 501(c)(3) organization (publicly supported organization (170(b)(1)(a)(vi))), and its records show contributions as tax-deductible. Form 990 filings on record here cover tax years 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024. A filing shows what the organization reported; it doesn't by itself show whether a program works.
Sources
- FY2025: Form 990 for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2025, object 202610939349301341 · read the filing · XML
- FY2024: Form 990 for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2024, object 202540929349301254 · read the filing
- FY2023: Form 990 for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2023, object 202420649349301552 · read the filing
- FY2022: Form 990 for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2022, object 202300659349301020 · read the filing
- FY2021: Form 990 for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2021, object 202201339349310090 · read the filing
- FY2020: Form 990 for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2020, object 202110779349300646 · read the filing
All filings for EIN 33-0047994: ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer · IRS Tax Exempt Organization Search. Figures are as the organization reported them; we have not audited them.