• Live United Day at the Capitol 2023 was a huge success, more than 35 staff and advocates joined United Ways from across Kentucky for a day of advocacy in Frankfort. This time includes meetings with nine legislators about Metro United Way’s policy agenda.

  

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    United Way visits the Capitol
    – Commonwealth Journal

• Our Youth Success RFP available to youth-serving organizations in Jefferson, Bullitt, Oldham, and Shelby counties in Kentucky and Clark, Floyd, and Harrison counties in Indiana received 108 completed applications with a total of $7 million requested investments for year one. Our staff and volunteers are currently reviewing applications, scoring, and make recommendations to our Community Impact Cabinet and Board for investment recommendations in March. We will notify all applicants whether receiving investments or not, in April.
• Metro United Way will be hosting the third community conversation of 2023 on Monday, February 27 at 9am on Head Start and Early Head Start. Registration opened this week.
• Our MUW early care and education team presented at GLI’s City Champs program on the work of MUW and how new Louisvillians can become involved in MUW, especially by volunteering.
• Ready for K’s Healthy Development Action Network has launched our first-ever parent and caregiver advisory group, which the group named the R4K Healthy Development Community Council. This groundbreaking work will create a precedence for how MUW and R4K can equitably include parent and caregiver voices in our work.
• MUW community partners have been invited to preview the new early childhood index that the MUW analytics team has developed. The index will be shared with the full Ready for K alliance at the quarterly meeting in June.
• Working with our public policy team to form partnerships across Kentucky to support HB129 which would allow birthing centers in Kentucky​.
• Participating in the planning of Black Maternal Health Week, April 11- 17. Including participating in a committee focused on finding experts in the community to speak on various topics related to Black maternal health.
• We’re planning our annual Annual Early Childhood Educators Celebration to celebrate early care and education leaders. It’s scheduled for Thursday, March 30. More details to come.

• Our first cohort of Black entrepreneurs through our new partnership with FundBLACKFounders launched. This initiative will include coaching and support to assist with training, capacity-building, raising capital, and identifying customers. Applications will remain open until Monday, March 6. Apply HERE.
  

  Metro United Way to support 15 Louisville-based founders through FundBLACKFounders -Louisville Business First

  Louisville nonprofit matches crowdfunding grants to support Black entrepreneurs -WAVE3

• For the new American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) Healthcare Workforce Innovation Coalition initiative, we will be serving in multiple roles: 1) leading the coordination of financial coaching support for individuals participating in workforce training; 2) connecting fundraising support to entrepreneurs from marginalized communities; and 3) coordinating consultation for employers to promote inviting workplaces for diverse populations. Read more about this $40 million investment in our community HERE.
• VITA (Volunteer Income Tax Assistance) sites are open for the tax season. Qualifying for one of the tax filing options is easy and simple! Visit this website for more information
• Volunteer-supported tax preparation program returns that are prepared and electronically filed (In order to qualify, your household income should be $66,000 or less). Please view 2023 Tax Preparation Sites Brochure to find a location and hours of operation for all tax services. There is never a charge for any of the volunteer-supported services. There are also options for preparing yourself. The self-file options are free as long as you meet the income qualifications. More information can be found here.

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• We will be launching a Farmers Feeding Families RFP on Wednesday, March 15 to support food-related needs in Shelby County. More details to come!
• 435 organizations are now currently using United Community with over 16,000 licensed users.
• Another successful Build-A-Bed in Southern Indiana on Saturday, February 18. 200 beds…the most we’ve built in one day…and support kits including sheets, bed in a bag, pillow, and personal care items were provided to kids in five school districts.

  

  Prosser students to build beds for area students who don’t have a bed – News and Tribune

  150 volunteers help put together over 200 beds for those in need in southern Indiana – WDRB

  Metro United Way, Prosser build beds for kids in southern Indiana – WLKY

• MUW’s Robert E. Gunn Jr., Chief Equity and Impact Officer and Trent Findley, Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, featured on WAVE Country with Dawne Gee to talk about Black History Month.

• Our Racial Wealth Gap Simulation (RWG) continues to be a powerful learning and engagement tool. In honor of Black History Month, we are offering a free and open-to-the-public RWG. It’s scheduled for Tuesday, February 21. In less than a week we were at capacity so opened up more spaces!
• Our next Beyond Buzzwords event is planned for Wednesday, February 22 and will feature best-selling author and one of Time Magazine’s most influential leaders of the year – Dr. Ibram X. Kendi. Register HERE. More than 750 registered already with groups from Humana, Kentucky Science Center, Bellarmine, and Heaven Hill showing to larger audiences.

  

• Our Black L.O.V.E. partnership has continued with Resilia and our cohort of grantees to strengthen and build capacity as they work toward real community change. Also, a retreat is being planned to both foster shared accountability and explore needs and gather data to inform the future of Black L.O.V.E.