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A MESSAGE
FROM OUR CEO

Dear Change-Makers,

As we close the fiscal year at United Way of Metropolitan Dallas, I extend a heartfelt thank you to every member of the LIVE UNITED movement who invested in our community, advocated for policy change or volunteered their talents over the last year. 

Thanks to supporters like you, we improved access to education, income and health for nearly 1.6 million people—more than 20% of the population in the fourth-largest metro area in the United States. That is an incredible impact we can all be proud of. Your generous support fueled highly effective programs and partnerships that address the systemic challenges that affect too many of our neighbors.

For nearly 100 years, United Way has brought together corporate partners, individuals, community-based organizations, foundations, school districts and others to address both the persistent and changing needs across our growing region.

Recent data shows that third-grade reading proficiency has jumped more than 15% in our service area, while the percentage of young adults in Dallas earning a living wage rose around 2%. Meanwhile, health insurance coverage dipped slightly, likely due to economic and population growth. With each passing year, we’re driving meaningful change and gaining momentum as we advance our Aspire United 2030 goals and move closer to our Centennial anniversary. Look for a more detailed update of our progress and impact in our 2023-2024 Impact Report, to be released in November.

We Improve Access to Education, Income and Health

Each year, thanks to dedicated supporters like you, United Way’s programs and partnerships have a measurable impact across our four-county service area in North Texas. Over our last fiscal year, we achieved:

655,000 students benefited from programs that set them up for continued educational success.

420,000 North Texans received assistance to improve their financial stability.

498,000 neighbors gained access to the resources necessary to live longer, healthier lives.

Education Initiatives

Early Literacy

We launched the Aspire United Volunteer Series, presented by Texas Instruments, with our highly anticipated Reading Day, presented by Atmos Energy. It was truly a historic day, where nearly 1,200 students, including honorary chair Mrs. Laura Bush, read to more than 20,000 local students to promote early literacy. Meanwhile, our Once Upon a Month partnership promoted the power of reading to even more families by providing free monthly children’s books to more than 11,000 students.

Early Childhood Development

United Way leads and collaborates on several parent education initiatives, including Healthy Outcomes through Prevention and Early Support (HOPES) and Texas Home Visiting Program, providing thousands of families with hands-on instruction, resources and skills that empower caregivers, encourage healthy child development and prevent child abuse.

Digital Bridges

United Way distributed nearly 1,700 laptops and provided digital literacy classes to young Southern Dallas residents through this partnership with AT&T, Texas Instruments Foundation, Richard and Mary Templeton Foundation, and The Eugene McDermott Foundation. The devices enable recipients to access education, further their learning and stay connected in the classroom and beyond.

Income Initiatives

Pathways to Work

This workforce development program trained over 20,000 workers and facilitated more than 2,900 job placements in information technology, healthcare and other fields.

Housing Stability

As a key member of the Dallas Housing Coalition, United Way helped secure historic public funding for homelessness programs and affordable housing for generations of North Texans.

Dollars for College

This program opened 166 new college savings accounts with total deposits exceeding $343,000.

Health Initiatives

Food Access

Initiatives like Southern Dallas Thrives and the Food Access Summit, supported by Bank of America’s $1 million investment and backed by research from Boston Consulting Group, aim to improve food access for every North Texan.

Healthcare Navigators

This initiative assisted more than 52,000 North Texans in signing up for health coverage.

Doorways to Health

Funded by the Kimberly-Clark Foundation, this partnership improves maternal health outcomes for Black women through holistic healthcare services.

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Our Community-Wide Movement Drives Lasting Change

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In the past year, we united individual change-seekers, corporate partners, community-based organizations, school districts and more, to improve access to education, income and health for every North Texan. Highlights include:

Social Innovation Lab

Nineteen passionate entrepreneurs graduated and joined the ranks of our distinguished alumni, who have leveraged their experience to serve more than 345,000 North Texans.

Southern Dallas Thrives Fund

Supported by PepsiCo Foods North America employees and alumni, this fund addresses challenges in the southern sector. We’ve set an ambitious goal of raising $20 million to fuel this work.

Community Impact Partners

We continued our three-year investment in 144 diverse partners working toward our Aspire United 2030 goals, with a recent $5 million gift from Tom and Karen Falk.

Targeted Impact Initiatives

Generous $1 million gifts from several corporate partners, including Arcosa, Bank of America, Boston Consulting Group, Celanese, Comerica and Vistra Energy, are driving measurable impact in education, income and health.

Accelerating Strategic Impact into Our Centennial Year and Beyond

The CEO Advisory Council provides a forum for North Texas CEOs to bring new insights to our community impact work. This unique assembly of senior corporate leaders stimulates robust conversations with actionable results, guiding the entire Live United movement toward measurable, lasting change.

Meanwhile, we’re expanding our use of local data to develop collective solutions for our community. Through our partnership with the Parkland Center for Clinical Innovation (PCCI) we’ve developed the Aspire United Community Vulnerability Compass (CVC), which provides hyper-local, micro-level data on education, income and health that enables us to pinpoint areas of greatest need. Utilizing the CVC, the United Way Data Capacity Building Initiative—a new partnership with PCCI—will have a multiplier effect on United Way and partner programs, driving meaningful progress toward the Aspire United 2030 goals. Join us October 2 for an exclusive preview of the Data Capacity Building Initiative.

United Way of Metropolitan Dallas CEO Advisory Council

Fueled by the passion, expertise and insights of dozens of local business leaders, the CEO Advisory Council enables United Way to tap into diverse thinking and strategic networking to guide the entire Live United movement toward our collective 10-year Aspire United 2030 goals. Thank you to our co-chairs and members.

Co-Chairs

  • Curt Farmer
    UWMD Annual Campaign Chair, 2023-2024

    Chairman, President and CEO,
    Comerica Incorporated and Comerica Bank

  • Jean Savage
    Annual Campaign Chair, 2022-2023
    Chief Executive Officer and President,
    Trinity Industries
  • Steven Williams
    UWMD Board Chair, 2022-2024
    Chief Executive Officer,
    PepsiCo Foods North America

  • Jim Burke
    President and CEO, Vistra Corp.
  • Antonio Carrillo
    President and CEO, Arcosa
  • Mike Hsu
    Chairman and CEO,​ Kimberly-Clark Corporation
  • Ken Hersh
    President & CEO, George W. Bush Presidential Center
  • Haviv Ilan
    President and CEO,​ Texas Instruments
  • Aasem Khalil
    Head of Dallas Office, Goldman Sachs
  • Chris Kleinert
    President and CEO,​ Hunt Investment Holdings, LLC​
  • Michael Levy
    Chief Executive Officer, Crow Holdings
  • Lorie Logan
    President and CEO,​ Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas​
  • Tom Luce
    Founder and Chairman Emeritus, Texas 2036
  • Fred Perpall
    Chief Executive Officer, The Beck Group
  • Troy Rudd
    Chief Executive Officer, AECOM
  • G. Brint Ryan
    Chairman and CEO​ Ryan, LLC
  • Lori Ryerkerk
    Chairman, Chief Executive​ Officer and President,​ Celanese Corporation​
  • John Stankey
    Chief Executive Officer,​ AT&T
  • Rich Templeton
    Chairman of the Board, ​ Texas Instruments
  • Brian Tyler
    Chief Executive Officer, ​ McKesson Corporation ​
  • Jim Umpleby
    Chairman and CEO, Caterpillar, Inc.

The Future is Bright For North Texas

Thank you to everyone who made this past year an undeniable success. This Live United movement has demonstrated the lasting impact we can achieve when we work together. I’m continually inspired by the extraordinary change-seekers who serve North Texas by investing their time and talent to United Way.

Special thanks to our Board Chairs, Steven Williams and Terri West, for their vision and dedication. I also extend gratitude to Curt Farmer, our 2023-2024 campaign chair, for his leadership and momentum as we head into our 100th year of service and impact.

We will formally celebrate Curt’s achievements in November, when he passes the reins to our 2024-2025 Campaign Chair, Steven Williams. As we march toward our Centennial, I’m confident that our collective excitement and impact will continue to build.

Finally, thank you to our Ruth Sharp Altshuler Tocqueville leaders for their outstanding engagement and inspiration of new Tocqueville members. Tocqueville co-chairs Erin Nealy Cox, and her husband, Trey Cox, provide extraordinary leadership and passion to all our Tocqueville volunteers.

Together, we’re transforming lives

For the past 99 years, United Way of Metropolitan Dallas has been a pillar of our community, creating access and opportunities for all North Texans to thrive.  

As the Live United movement prepares to celebrate United Way’s Centennial in 2025, we will continue to drive meaningful, measurable change that lasts for generations, positively impacting nearly 1.6 million North Texans each year.

With gratitude,

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

2023-2024 Leadership
  • Curt Farmer
    Annual Campaign Chair
  • Steven Williams
    Chair, Board of Directors
  • Charlene Lake
    Immediate Past Chair
  • Antonio Carrillo
    Vice Chair, Board of Directors
  • Michelle Vopni
    Treasurer, Board of Directors
  • Terri West
    Chair, United Way Foundation of Metropolitan Dallas
  • Jennifer Sampson
    McDermott-Templeton President & CEO

Ruth Sharp Altshuler Tocqueville Society
  • Tocqueville Campaign Co-Chairs:
    Erin Nealy Cox
    Trey Cox
  • Tocqueville Circle Co-Chairs:
    Laura Downing
    Jason Downing
  • Women of Tocqueville Chair:
    Michelle Horton