The United Way will soon launch its 2027 fundraising campaign to support people in need throughout King County.
Next year‘s campaign will be led by a new CEO and will include a new program focused on preventing youth homelessness, among others things.
But there will also be challenges for the organization, which is a funder and a direct-service provider.
Next year’s campaign goal is to raise $42 million, down from a goal for 2026 of $43 million. At the same time, corporate and individual donations will likely be affected by the expected loss of jobs in the region, particularly at Microsoft. The tech giant is the United Way’s largest corporate donor and recently announced buyouts for thousands of employees.
“When we’re not receiving money and funds and other nonprofit agencies aren’t receiving funds we have to remember that these agencies and the ones we support are often doing tasks and things that government and other parts of our economy are just simply not doing,” said United Way CEO and President Blair Taylor. “We’re reaching people. There is a very risky domino effect when we lose jobs at companies like Microsoft.”
The United Way will adopt a popular model that addresses homelessness in general, but will focus on preventing youth homelessness by providing assistance and resources to young people at risk of being homeless.
“If we can keep a young person from being homeless or remove them from the horrors of being homeless we can make an intergenerational shift,” Taylor said of the Built for Zero movement. “According to the numbers that crisis is actually one we can potentially solve. It’s under 1,000. It would be great to have a victory. I’m hopeful.”
The agency provided $8.8 million in rental assistance to King County residents to help them avoid homelessness.
United Way will continue with successful programs such as its tax preparation program that helps lower-income residents capture federal tax breaks that are available but often overlooked. That program resulted in taxpayers receiving $19.8 million in tax credits, refunds and savings for low-income residents. The UWKC also fed 22,000 children each day this summer across 717 sites.
Though the agency helps administer federal and state grants — some directed through King County — it relies heavily on individual donors, which make up one-third of the agency’s revenue. Your donation can be made at uwkc.org/donate.
