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United Way of Dane County
United Way of Dane County reported $20.7 million in revenue and $22.1 million in expenses for calendar year 2024. Of every $100 it spent, $82.78 went to program services, $5.78 to management and general costs and $11.44 to fundraising. Its largest source of revenue was contributions and grants: 99.0% of the total. Government grants made up 7.5%. The highest compensation it reported for one person was $337,091 (President/CEO). 5 people received more than $100,000 in reportable compensation. Revenue fell 5% between 2019 and 2024. Source: Form 990, 2024.
Where $100 of spending went
Calendar year 2024 · Form 990, Part IX, line 25 · total expenses $22MFor 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
Calendar year 2024 · Form 990, Part VIII · total revenue $21M- Contributions & grants (non-government)$91.30 $19M
- Government grants$7.44 $1.5M
- Investment income$1.26 $262K
Other revenue was negative: −$55,663. The bar shows the positive sources only.
The 990 scorecard · same measures for every charity, no grades
| Measure | 2024 | Median |
|---|---|---|
| Program services Part IX 25(B) ÷ 25(A) | 82.8% | 90.2% |
| Management & general Part IX 25(C) ÷ 25(A) | 5.8% | 6.4% |
| Fundraising Part IX 25(D) ÷ 25(A) | 11.4% | 1.8% |
| Fundraising cost per $1 of contributions Part IX 25(D) ÷ Part VIII 1h | $0.12 | $0.02 |
| Contributions & grants share of revenue Part VIII 1h ÷ 12 | 99.0% | 79.9% |
| Government grants share of revenue Part VIII 1e ÷ 12 | 7.5% | 0.0% |
| Program service revenue share Part VIII 2g ÷ 12 | 0.0% | 0.0% |
| Highest reported compensation Part VII-A, columns D–F | $337,091 | $325,675 |
| Highest compensation as share of expenses Part VII-A ÷ Part IX 25(A) | 1.53% | 1.56% |
| People paid over $100,000 Part VII, line 2 | 5 | 3 |
| Net assets, in months of expenses Part X 33(B) ÷ monthly expenses | 9.5 | 56.6 |
| Independent voting board members Part VI 1a–1b | 34 of 34 | 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
2024 · Form 990, Part III · the three largest programs by expenseYouth Opportunity: Helping Young People Realize Their Full Potential. Every young person deserves the opportunity to thrive. At United Way, we help children get off to a good start and empower youth to reach their full potential by breaking down barriers to success. We advance early childhood education, literacy development, access to a high-quality K-12 education, college and career readiness and family engagement - fostering a future where every young person can realize their dreams. Children who start kindergarten-ready and finish high school are more likely to have the skills required to…
Financial Security: Building Financial Stability and Strength. At United Way, we believe that everyone should have the opportunity to live in an affordable, safe, stable home and for homeownership to be an achievable goal for every family. Our Family Homelessness and Affordable Housing strategies ensure that families can maintain housing and avoid evictions as they work toward financial security. Our Job Readiness & Workforce Development strategies help underemployed individuals gain full time employment at $18+/hour with benefits in order to achieve financial security. When more individuals…
Healthy Community: Improving Health and Well-Being for All. United Way works closely with community members to help people overcome barriers to healthy living by working to reduce racial health disparities and increase resiliency and trauma supports - ensuring everyone has the opportunity to live their healthiest life. While Dane County remains a top place to live, raise a family and retire, for many neighbors, education, income and health inequities and disparities remain consistent. In Dane County, your race and the zip code in which you live have a significant impact on your quality of…
Highest reported compensation
2024 · 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 Officer, 41 hrs/week | $263,878 | $0 | $73,213 | $337,091 |
| Vice President Community Impact Highest compensated employee, 40 hrs/week | $135,596 | $0 | $37,557 | $173,153 |
| CFO/Vice President Administration Officer, 41 hrs/week | $135,103 | $0 | $37,575 | $172,678 |
| Vice President of Community Engagement/Marketing Highest compensated employee, 40 hrs/week | $121,920 | $0 | $37,546 | $159,466 |
| Vice President Resource Development Highest compensated employee, 40 hrs/week | $123,224 | $0 | $19,792 | $143,016 |
5 people received more than $100,000 in reportable compensation from United Way of Dane County (Part VII, line 2). Compensation of current officers, directors and key employees totaled $985K (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
2024 · 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–1b34 · 34 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 4No
- 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 5129
- Volunteers Part I, line 67,727
Private foundation grants it received
30 private foundations reported grants to United Way of Dane County 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 United Way of Dane County's own Form 990. If one doesn't match the filing, that's our error and we'll fix it. If you work for United Way of Dane County, you can publish a response that is linked from this page.
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Of every $100 United Way of Dane County spent in 2024, $82.78 went to programs. The full breakdown, from its IRS Form 990:
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All philanthropy, voluntarism & grantmaking charities · Largest charities in Wisconsin
Questions people ask
How much of United Way of Dane County's spending goes to programs?
In calendar year 2024, United Way of Dane County reported that 82.8% of its $22.1 million in expenses went to program services, 5.8% to management and general and 11.4% to fundraising (Form 990, Part IX).
How much does United Way of Dane County pay its top executive?
The largest total compensation United Way of Dane County reported for one person in calendar year 2024 was $337,091, for the role of President/CEO (Form 990, Part VII, including compensation from related organizations and other compensation).
Where does United Way of Dane County get its money?
Of $20.7 million in revenue in calendar year 2024, 99.0% came from contributions and grants (including 7.5% from government grants) and 0.0% from program service revenue (Form 990, Part VIII).
Is United Way of Dane County a registered charity?
The IRS lists EIN 39-0817532 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
- 2024: Form 990 for calendar year 2024, object 202503179349305325 · read the filing · XML
- 2023: Form 990 for calendar year 2023, object 202433189349306818 · read the filing
- 2022: Form 990 for calendar year 2022, object 202313139349304641 · read the filing
- 2021: Form 990 for calendar year 2021, object 202233189349303118 · read the filing
- 2020: Form 990 for calendar year 2020, object 202123199349302097 · read the filing
- 2019: Form 990 for calendar year 2019, object 202023189349308237 · read the filing
All filings for EIN 39-0817532: ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer · IRS Tax Exempt Organization Search. Figures are as the organization reported them; we have not audited them.