About Us

The United Way of the Brazos Valley was established in 1953 and is managed by a volunteer board. In 1979, the United Way formally chartered and obtained a 501(c)(3) status and hired a fulltime Executive Director. In 1999, the United Way completed a strategic plan, which included changing the name to United Way of the Brazos Valley and enlarging the service area to serve Brazos, Burleson, Grimes, Leon, Madison, Robertson, and Washington Counties, seven counties of the Brazos Valley Region.

United Way, whose mission is, “to increase the organized capacity of people in the Brazos Valley to care for one another,” benefits the Brazos Valley through the breadth and depth of its knowledge and leadership, while allowing itself to be the catalyst, in the creation of collaborations among government, business, churches, foundations and other funders, and health/human service agencies. This leadership creates solutions and associations which impact the community’s current needs. United Way’s accountability is associated with the skilled and diverse volunteer board, which provides oversight and direction for the organization. United Way funds provide services that help achieve broad community goals, such as: connecting community members with health and human service resources, helping youth learn and develop into healthy productive adults, strengthening families, promoting self-sufficiency, and building safer communities.

United Way funds over 20 agencies each year, who in turn, provide health and human services to more than 150,000 community members in the areas of: abuse, clothing, employment, food pantry, medical and prescriptions, mental health, mental retardation, rent/utility assistance, shelter, substance abuse, transportation, etc. 74.3% of the population served by the agencies are from low-income families.

Although priorities for United Way action are set locally, common themes include:

• Helping children succeed
• Strengthening and supporting families
• Promoting self-sufficiency
• Building vital and safe neighborhoods
• Here are just three examples of how United Ways and their partners have engaged communities to change conditions in ways that improved lives.