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A Thank You From Our CEO

As our fiscal year at United Way of Metropolitan Dallas closes, we’d like to offer a heartfelt thank you for the life-changing impact that you make possible. Together, we increased access to education, income and health for nearly 1.5 million North Texans: more students are graduating high school prepared for success in college or career, more young adults are earning a living wage and financially stable, and more of our neighbors are living long, healthy lives.

Hear more from Jennifer Sampson, McDermott-Templeton president and CEO of United Way of Metropolitan Dallas, in the video and letter below.

Dear Change-Seekers,

As our fiscal year at United Way of Metropolitan Dallas closes, I’d like to highlight and thank you for all the life-changing impact that your support made possible. Together, we strengthened access to education, income and health for nearly 1.5 million North Texans!

It is the “united” in United Way that truly makes this impact possible. Bolstered by the trust of the North Texas community, we built successful partnerships and programs powered by donors, volunteers and advocates who stepped forward to Live United.

Despite the challenges of the last year, United Way stayed true to our focus on education, income, and health—the building blocks of opportunity. Leveraging both longstanding and new partnerships, we are efficiently and effectively working to address the ever-changing needs across our growing region – while also continuing to make progress toward our Aspire United 2030 goals and commitment to racial equity.

Creating a Positive Impact For 1.5 million North Texans By the numbers, our programs had a direct impact on more than 20% of the population in the fourth-largest metro in the United States. That is a compelling number of which each of us should be proud. Highlights include:

  • $22 million invested in United Way targeted impact initiatives, including investments in Southern Dallas Thrives, co-created with the support of Frito-Lay and PepsiCo Foods North America, Pathways to Work, launched by JPMorgan Chase, and Women in Construction, supported by Hilti North America.
  • 39 entrepreneurial ventures graduated from our Social Innovation Lab programs, powered by Accenture, including 10 Accelerator alumni and 19 Incubator alumni from our first ever Incubator cohort, with investment from Comerica, supporting women and entrepreneurs of color. In the past nine years, our alumni have gone on to raise over $30 million, form nearly 800 partnerships and serve more than 150,000 North Texans.
  • $10 million invested in Community Impact Grants to 144 diverse nonprofit organizations working together to achieve our Aspire United 2030 community goals that drive impact in education, income and health in North Texas.

The Building Blocks of Opportunity United Way programs demonstrate the power of unity and equity to create lasting change. In Education, programs and partnerships that enable more North Texas students to graduate high school prepared for success in college or career include:

  • The Once Upon a Month program delivers one free children’s book every month for a year to a child’s home, along with parent guides in both English and Spanish. A generous investment from the Boone Family Foundation will significantly expand this program to reach more than 1 million books delivered to North Texas families.
  • Digital Connections, powered by AT&T: Starting January 2022, United Way began to distribute laptops and hot spots through AT&T’s $1 million grant to provide students in grades K-12 and opportunity youth (ages 18-24) across Southern Dallas with the capacity and resources needed to access education, further their learning, and stay connected in the classroom and beyond. – United Way has partnered with Compudopt to provide refurbished laptops that come with 2 years of warranty and bilingual technical assistance. To date, we have distributed 1,500 hotspots and 730 laptops across Southern Dallas.
  • The Dollars for College savings program helps North Texas students begin to save for their dream of attending college, with a safe and easy way to open a my529 college savings account. A child with just $500 in savings is three times more likely to attend college and four times more likely to graduate. This year, thanks to our generous supporters, we opened 800 Dollars for College Accounts with total deposits exceeding $130,000.
  • Heal/Play/Learn, in partnership with the Texas Instruments Foundation and Educate Texas, brings needed social emotional support and experiential learning to hundreds of students across several North Texas school districts. Based on the promising outcomes after the first year, the program expanded this summer to now include DeSoto ISD, Cedar Hill ISD, and Lancaster ISD.

In Income, we’ve created measurable impact through programs that work to ensure most North Texas families are financially stable, including:

  • The Dallas Technology Training Consortium, funded through a $2.2 million grant from the City of Dallas, provides IT and technology skills training to individuals impacted by the COVID-19 recession. The program serves 630 Dallas residents over a two-year period, in partnership with Goodwill Industries of Dallas, NPower and Per Scholas.
  • The development and expansion of our Housing Stability work, including the Dallas Rental Assistance Collaborative, kept thousands of families in their homes during the most challenging times of their lives.
  • The Targeted Eviction Prevention Program (TEPP) is actively providing comprehensive case management to 100 families on the verge of homelessness to help stabilize their lives and mitigate eviction.

In Health, our programs and partnerships to make sure all North Texans are living long, healthy lives include:

  • The Healthcare Navigation program provides grants to train and certify Healthcare Navigators, who help uninsured individuals and families compare, understand, and select plans on the U.S. government’s Health Insurance Marketplace, as well as apply for subsidies to lower their monthly premiums. This program directly aligns with our Aspire United 2030 goal of increasing the number of people with health care coverage.
  • The North Texas Healthcare Coverage Financial Assistance Program is an innovative collaboration formed to provide six months of financial assistance to recently unemployed individuals who have lost their employer-sponsored insurance as a direct result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The goal of the collaborative is to connect individuals quickly and efficiently with health coverage and provide financial assistance to help them afford health coverage. To date, the program has helped 136 individuals secure health insurance coverage and paid over $67,000 in premium assistance.
  • The North Texas Summer and Supper Council summer meals program ensures students who rely on subsidized meal programs during the school year continue to get daily, nutritious food during summer months. During the past year, the program provided a total of 12,211,300 summer meals to students across Dallas and Collin counties to combat summer hunger.

United Way of Metropolitan Dallas has been at the forefront in creating access and opportunities for all North Texans to thrive for the last 97 years. And as we march toward our Centennial in 2025, we will continue to Lead United and Live United to drive measurable impact across the region, with a particular focus on Southern Dallas and other historically under-resourced areas of our community.

The Movement Begins with YOU
Your support strengthens the building blocks of opportunity for all North Texans – so that more North Texas students graduate high school prepared for success in college or career, more North Texas families are financially stable, and all North Texans are living long, healthy, productive lives. Thank you for being a part of this critically important movement.


With gratitude,

Jennifer Sampson
McDermott-Templeton President and CEO
United Way of Metropolitan Dallas