Last year, United Way invested more than $56 million in effective community programs across the region, and we are proud to report that our overhead rate is just 13.2%, considerably lower than most other comparable nonprofit organizations.
One of the primary reasons we are able to maintain such low overhead is the fact that only 2% of our workforce is paid staff; we are lead almost exclusively by community volunteers. In addition, we recently consolidated 54 United Ways across our region into one United Way of Metropolitan Chicago system, freeing up $4 million annually for investment in the community.
Through volunteer leadership and oversight, rigorous accounting standards and a concerted effort to be transparent, United Way continues to be the most effective way to improve lives and strengthen our community.
