Quote of the Day

ShareThis

“In San Francisco, 1 in 5 adults and 1 in 4 children live at or near the poverty line”
- Paul Ash, Executive Director of the San Francisco Food Bank

Did you know that United Way’s 211 call center serves as the public phone number for the San Francisco Food Bank and several other Bay Area nonprofits? As a result, these nonprofits can focus on service delivery instead of fielding phone calls. Learn more about our partnership with the Food Bank.

United Way Welcomes Stuart Canning as Chief Development Officer

ShareThis

Stuart Canning has joined United Way of the Bay Area as chief development officer.

Stuart has more than 15 years of experience in resource development, working most recently as associate director of development, overseeing all individual giving programs with the San Francisco Symphony.

As United Way’s chief development officer, Stuart oversees all fundraising and donor services, including the workplace campaigns that United Way conducts in more than 500 offices around the region. He will focus on engaging donors to support United Way’s community-impact programs, which include SparkPoint Centers, Earn It! Keep It! Save It! and 211.

“Stuart brings strong record of leading high-performing fundraising campaigns; we are fortunate to have him join our team,” said Anne Wilson, chief executive officer of United Way of the Bay Area. “Under Stuart’s leadership, we will continue to engage donors in delivering powerful and relevant solutions that create pathways out of poverty for Bay Area families.”

Read the press release about Stuart’s appointment.

The Right Thing at the Right Time

ShareThis


Last year we returned more $57 million dollars to Bay Area families

For Anna Jackson-Hill – a college student juggling tuition, housing expenses and books – free tax help was exactly the break she needed. Rather than paying for taxes, she was able to leverage United Way’s’ Earn It! Keep It! Save It! program, which provides free, high-quality tax help to low-income workers.

“For the past three years, I have been a faithful client to H&R Block,” Anna said. “Unfortunately, on more than one occasion, I was either dissatisfied with the services or contacted by the IRS because of incorrect information. It was extremely frustrating to spend money I didn’t have, to get bad service.” A family member told her about Earn It! Keep It! Save It! Anna worked nearby and gave the service a shot.
“The tax service was exactly what I needed. I received excellent service and got my biggest return yet,” she said. “They answered every question I asked and put my mind at ease. The process of doing my taxes had never been that simple and successful.” This year, Earn It! Keep It! Save It! helped 51,963 Bay Area workers get back more than $57 million in tax
refunds.
These amazing results were possible only with the help of 4,000 trained volunteers who ensure each client takes advantage of every tax credit for which they are eligible, including the education tax credit for students like Anna. Anna is planning to recommend the program to everyone she knows .
“They have changed the way I do taxes for the better,” she said. “I look forward to seeing them next year.”