Every gift to United Way of Greater Knoxville represents a belief in what our community can accomplish when we work together. When donors choose to invest their resources, those gifts fuel organizations working every day to help children succeed, strengthen families, and improve community health across East Tennessee.

But community investment is about more than numbers on a spreadsheet. It is also about who has a voice in making life-changing decisions.

Through our Community Investment Grants, local volunteers sit at the center of the table. They review applications, ask hard questions, and guide how we distribute donor dollars across our five-county footprint. This year alone, 110 volunteers serving on 14 committees helped steward the investment of more than 3,000 donor gifts.

It Starts With Trust

Our Community Investment Grants provide two-year operational funding designed to seed, scale, and support sustainable programs in early care, economic mobility, and healthy communities. These grants are awarded through an open application process guided by community need, organizational mission alignment, and long-term impact.

For Little Chefs, Big Change, an organization helping youth discover a love for cooking and nutrition, United Way’s support helped them strengthen their programming.

“Because of United Way’s support, we’ve been able to offer more consistent programming, improve the quality of our classes, and invest in staff capacity to meet rising demand,” their team shared.

For Camp Koinonia, becoming a United Way partner has built trust and visibility as they scale their services.

“As a small but rapidly growing organization, becoming a UW partner has allowed us to communicate to the broader Knoxville community that the work we do is both trusted and impactful,” their team shared.

Shaping the Future of the Community

We believe the people who live, work, and raise a family in East Tennessee should have a central voice in how resources are managed. Our volunteers bring their own lived experiences, professional backgrounds, and neighborhood perspectives to the funding table.

For long-time volunteer Chris Spencer, this process offers a deep level of influence compared to standard volunteer opportunities.

 “I volunteer at a lot of events, but I don’t necessarily have a voice. But through the United Way of Greater Knoxville and this allocation committee, I can now express my opinions. I’d encourage anybody who wants to give back in the community in which they live to participate because they get to see great organizations, learn about things that are going on where they live, and have a say on where the community should be going.”

First-time volunteer Rachel Hester found that the experience opened doors to new connections and a better understanding of the nonprofit work happening across the region:

 “Volunteering with United Way of Greater Knoxville is definitely worth it. It’s not a huge time commitment, but you definitely learn a lot more about the community and a lot of different ways that you’re able to give back. I’ve certainly met people that I didn’t know before that help other nonprofits, and I’m hoping to keep those connections and kind of build on those going forward.”

What Your Gift Makes Possible

When donors provide gifts, volunteers bring their time and perspective, and nonprofits share what they are seeing on the front lines. United Way of Greater Knoxville weaves voices together to ensure every single dollar goes exactly where it can make the largest impact.

As Chrystal Armstrong Brown, CEO and Executive Director of United Way of Greater Knoxville, explains:

“The most significant change that we’ve made in the last few years in the Community Investment Grants process is including shared, community voice and representation in our grant funding processes. These volunteers are the cross-section of the best of our community. Our organization is better, and the movement that we’re building is better because we all are a part of it.”

Together, we are actively working toward an East Tennessee where basic needs are met, kids succeed, and working families have long-term stability. This work cannot be done by any single person or organization, because it takes all of us working together.

None of this happens without the generosity of our donors. Your gift does not just fund a local program. Your gift powers our community.

Help invest in the growth, health, and future of East Tennessee. Give today to support our community: https://uwgk.org/