Impact Report
A Message from Our Leadership
Dear Supporters,
Partnerships and working together to advance equity are at the core of everything we do at United Way of Metro Chicago. We are committed to learning about, piloting, and investing in more equitable funding practices. Last fall, we announced our first grantee cohort of the United Neighborhoods Equity Fund, which awards unrestricted funding and capacity building to small Black and Latinx-led nonprofits.
This spring, our Neighborhood Network Initiative—a community-driven, resident-led approach to investing in neighborhood transformation—expanded into three new neighborhoods: Englewood, Garfield Park, and Far South. The Neighborhood Networks’ successful COVID-19 community response, coupled with a $25 million gift from philanthropist MacKenzie Scott and support from other essential funders, led to the expansion.
In June, at our Stronger Neighborhoods Awards Luncheon—back in person after two years—we announced the launch of the Commit to a Neighborhood Initiative, a new public, private, and nonprofit partnership with ITW and our community partners to stimulate equitable economic development and the creation of quality, living-wage jobs in the Austin and Belmont Cragin neighborhoods of Chicago.
In this report, you’ll read more about these programs and other highlights: the expansion of Uniting for the Holidays; the return of our April Food Day food drive and awards luncheon in the Southland; and the two-year anniversary of the launch of the Chicago Community COVID-19 Response Fund. The incredible leadership and generosity of our committed volunteers and donors have given us the sound fiscal footing, support, and platform to accelerate our positive impact.
The last fiscal year has brought progress in expanding the impact of our investments and partnerships in the region’s most disinvested neighborhoods, and we see more opportunities ahead. But there is much work to do. United Way brings people together to address community priorities. Collectively that’s what we have done and will continue to do until children have better access to quality education, communities are safer, neighbors are healthier, incomes increase, and our region prospers. Thank you for joining us as—united—we help build a stronger, more equitable Chicago region where all families can thrive.


Cheryl Francis
2021/2022 Chair,
Board of Directors


Sean Garrett
President & CEO


Sean Garrett
President & CEO


Cheryl Francis
2021–2022 Chair, Board of Directors
The Year in Review
Featured Stories
United Neighborhoods Equity Fund Supports Black and Latinx-Led Nonprofits
Historic disinvestment in Black and Latinx communities throughout Chicago has led to current racial, social, and economic issues impacting families and residents in the city’s South and West Sides and south suburban region. Small Black and Latinx-led nonprofits in these areas often face challenges connecting to funders, building rapport, and securing and sustaining support for culturally relevant strategies. This has led to significant disparities in investment in these transformative organizations.
Neighborhood Networks:
A Decade of Transformation
Following nearly a decade of success, the model expanded in March 2022 for the first time in six years, adding Englewood, Far South, and Garfield Park to our previous 10 Neighborhood Network communities throughout the Chicago region: Auburn Gresham, Austin, Blue Island/Robbins, Brighton Park, Bronzeville, Cicero, Evanston, Little Village, South Chicago, and West Chicago.
Stories of impact

The Giving Spirit at Uniting for the Holidays

Committed to Anti-Racism Through Action

April Food Day: Coming Together for the Southland

Chicago Community Response Fund: Bending the Curve of Recovery

I’m fundamentally optimistic about what’s ahead of us because we’re committed and we’re going to keep going.
Sean Garrett, President and CEO, United Way of Metro Chicago
Our Supporters
Mark Seigle
Andrew Vail
Valerie and Patrick McInerney
L. Marie Asad
John W. Rogers, Jr.
Top 25 Corporate Partners

























2021/2022 Executive Volunteers
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Chairperson
Cheryl A. Francis
Linda T. Coberly
Manuel Flores
David C. Blowers
Patrick J. Canning
David R. Casper
Jeffrey Devron
Paulette Dodson
Andrew Dunn
Kenneth Escoe
Linda L. Imonti
Rev. Larry L. Jackson, MDiv
Lisa N. Johnson
Darren Jones
Carina Markel
Charles Matthews
Edward W. McGrogan
Eileen M. Mitchell
Neil Murray
Kristie P. Paskvan
Alicia Ponce
Mark Prindiville
Robert Reiter
Jud Snyder
Scott C. Swanson
Julia Morsch Sznewajs
Brooke Thompson
Wolfe Tone
Kelly R. Welsh
Johanns Williams
Board Emeritus
Deborah L. DeHaas
Board Emeritus
Lester McKeever
Andrew J. McKenna
E. Scott Santi
Frederick H. Waddell
Sean Garrett
EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
Cheryl A. Francis
Linda T. Coberly
Jeff Devron
Linda L. Imonti
Charles Matthews
Robert A. Sullivan
Compensation & HR Committee
Chair
Jeffrey Devron
CHICAGO COUNCIL COMMITTEE
Kant Desai
Andrea Durbin
Maura McCauley
Jennifer Shimp
Peter Tobin
Equity Committee
Chair
Linda T. Coberly
Finance & Audit Committee
Chair
Manuel Flores
Carina Markel
Paulette Dodson
Martha Hinchman
Mark Prindiville
Julie Scott
Brooke Thompson
Nominating Committee
Robert A. Sullivan
Patrick J. Canning
Cheryl A. Francis
Lester McKeever
Neil Murray
Strong Neighborhoods Committee
Kristie P. Paskvan
Manuel Flores
Cheryl A. Francis
Bridget Gainer
Rev. Larry L. Jackson, MDiv
Janet Katz
Anna Lee
Marcia MacPhearson
Eileen Mitchell
Tawakalitu Mitchell
Neil Murray
Alicia Ponce
Mark Prindiville
Kelly R. Welsh
Campaign Cabinet
Linda L. Imonti
John Oliver Hudson III
Thurman Smith
Steven C. Bauer
Lisa N. Johnson
Wolfe Tone
David C. Blowers
Henry Munez
Teresa Wilton Harmon
Neil Murray
Laura M. Adams
David C. Albright
Jennifer (Shook) Bahra
Jamie Baisley
Chuck Beitel
David Berezin
Michael Berger
Justin Brown
David Burden
Katie Jahnke Dale
Dmitry Dukhan
Polly Melton Eldringhoff
Shane M. Foley
David Freeman
Natasha Galavotti
Thomas Harmening
Jack Hennessey
Sara Kowalczyk
Dawn Lauderdale
Susan C. Levy
Rogelio Lopez
Christopher Miceika
Jackie Nagel
Mike Paulsen
Linda Peddle
Shane Print
Brad Reid
Greg Tait
Bill Thomson
Sarah Vehlow
Don V. Villar
Andrew Vouziers
Melissa Washington
Patrick (Pat) Whiteside
Christopher L. Williams
Tocqueville Committee
David C. Blowers
Wolfe Tone
Chuck Beitel
Niamh Kristufek
Brad Reid
North-Northwest Suburban Regional Board
Chair
Edward W. McGrogan
Alan Bromberg
Samuel Boebel
Marc D. Wallace
Scott H. Budd
Janet Katz
Chuck Adler
Sue Ehlers
Barbara Ferguson
Shaun M. Goldfarb
Jeffrey W. Kreye
Satish Kumar
Venetial Valley
Eric Witherspoon
South-Southwest Suburban Regional Board
Chair
Johanns Williams
Victor Roberson
Hannah Hayes
Mayme C. Buckley-Leonard
Jeff Cohn
Barbara Suggs-Mason, Ph.D.,
Robin Bettenhausen
L. Marie Asad
Dr. Lakshmi Emory
Rev. Larry L. Jackson, MDiv
Desiree Watkins
West Suburban Regional Board
Andrew Dunn
Mark Skerjan
Jason Meslin
Jose Alvarez
Linda Anderson
James Grana
Marcia MacPhearson
Tara Nieberding

We help individuals meet their basic needs and work alongside neighborhood partners to address local priorities and create communities where all people can thrive. United, we are building a stronger, more equitable Chicago region.
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