Nonprofit Funding Allocations

This program has been United Way's bread and butter since we began in Shawano in 1968. Each year we open up applications prior to our campaign season for organizations that meet our criteria and decide after campaign season as a Board of Directors how to distribute funds raised. Here is an overview of our process:

1. Application Period
   1. Applications open around mid-August and close in early October. Current status: closed.
      1. Organizations applying must be:
         1. Working in the areas of improving education, health, or financial stability
         2. Applying to use the funds in our service area of Shawano and Menominee Counties
         3. A registered and official 501(c)(3) organization in good standing
         4. Able to complete application before the deadline and answer any follow up questions
2. Campaign Period
   1. At the end of October, we kickoff our campaign season and adjust our campaign goal based off of the total amount requested by applied agencies.
   2. From October to December, we host our campaign season and work to raise funds supporting our programming and operations as well as our funding allocations for the year.
3. Allocation Voting
   1. Results from the campaign start coming in during January and in February our Board of Directors meet to vote on which agencies will receive funding that year.
   2. The Board reviews each application and adjusts how much we can grant out based on several factors.
4. Funding Period
   1. Agencies are notified of decisions by the end of February.
      1. Selected agencies will receive their funding in three disbursements throughout the year depending on the size of allocation they have received.
5. Reporting
   1. This will have some big changes in 2026 including a new online reporting system. Previously we had asked for reports to start coming in during our campaign season by letter. This system has proved inefficient and we will be updating it accordingly.

As long as organizations meet the criteria, they are able to apply. We do not a have a set cycle of needing to wait to apply year over year. More information will be posted to this section after our new Allocations Committee is formed and works on updating our allocations policies.

In 2025, we launched the Volunteer Opportunities Database which has become the official volunteer resource of the Shawano Country Chamber of Commerce. You can view the current database here: Volunteer Opportunities | Shawano Area United Way

Database Listing

To get listed, please send us an email at unitedwayofshawanocounty@gmail.com with the following details:

1. Name of organization
2. Contact information for the volunteer manager from your organization
3. Name and/or date of the opportunity
   1. If it is a one time event, please specify that
   2. If it is recurring, please let us know and we can adjust the listing
4. Describe the opportunity
   1. How many volunteers do you need
   2. What kind of work will they be doing
   3. Timing of the event
   4. Where is it happening
5. Any special requirements needed such as a background check
6. Your logo or a picture you want included with the listing

We will work with you to get the event listed and get your final approval once it's on our website. We then check in twice a year to see if there are updates that need to be made or if you have any changes you can send them our way at any time.

Organized Events

Alongside the Volunteer Opportunities Database, we have also begun organizing curated events for our corporate partners. This works in two ways.

Way 1) The business reaches out to us with details about what they are looking for. This includes date, time, number of volunteers they have, if the event is able to be off site or has to be on site, and if their employees have any interests or passions. We then work with our partner agencies to see if a nonprofit in the area has any needs matching the requested description.

Way 2) The nonprofit reaches out to us with a special event they are hoping to host with the same information listed in way one and we reach out to our network of businesses and corporations. 

In 2025, we began offering free or low-cost education opportunities for Shawano Area nonprofits and community building events. We try to offer these once a quarter. In 2025, these included:

• A Nonprofit Community Potluck
• Connections for Change - A community volunteerism event
• A free training in partnership with United Way of Wisconsin about 211 Wisconsin including how to get listed and ways to pull data from the website
• A Lunch and Learn Event in partnership with the Fox Valley Community Foundation and NPLI about grant writing opportunities and other services available from all three of our organizations

In 2026, we are still coordinating our events but will be offering Connections for Change again and another volunteerism learning opportunity. Please join our newsletter to stay up to date on upcoming offerings by completing the form at Newsletter Sign Up | Shawano Area United Way