“Oh, I didn’t know you did that!” It’s a phrase the team at United Way of Grand Forks, East Grand Forks & Area often hears, and there is truly more than meets the eye when it comes to the ways they serve the region.

Their mission has remained the same since the beginning: to uplift the lives of children and families through a comprehensive variety of direct service programs. These programs include Families First, which is addressing the growing issue of homelessness, the Backpack Program, which ensures low-income students are provided with food over the weekends, and the Kidz Closet, providing essential items to families at no cost.

In their last fiscal year alone, they served 821 families, totalling 3,343 people. Of those 3,343 people, 2,044 were children. These services include not only basic needs but also intense case management services to address the root causes of their homelessness to provide long-term stability.

This Giving Hearts Day, United Way of Grand Forks, East Grand Forks & Area took second place in new donor growth! This result is evident in the new ways they were able to expand their reach in the community, both in their social media campaign (check out their fun promotional video here!) and particularly with local businesses. Several businesses partnered with United Way to donate all proceeds or a percentage of proceeds during a specific timeframe. 

Other businesses displayed informative flyers about the mission of United Way and how they could be supported. Local pizza shops and coffee shops even placed donation QR code stickers on their pizza boxes and coffee cups during the week of GHD. The team also hosted a ribbon cutting on Giving Hearts Day at their new building, where they gave tours and talked about their many programs.

Additionally this year, the United Way team worked on some compelling video materials to get the word out to supporters and new donors. Check out their videos below!

It can be surprising to uncover the multitude of services provided by United Way, and that is why their vision is bringing families to a point where these basic needs are no longer a possibility, but rather a certainty.

GHD Awards are co-sponsored by Bush Foundation and Dakota Medical Foundation.