More than 80 years ago, concerned and compassionate citizens created United Way of Greater Battle Creek to help people in need, and ultimately make our community a better place to live and work.  Today, United Way represents the hopes and ambitions of thousands of individual investors and Greater Battle Creek employers who want to make a real impact by improving people's lives and shaping a stronger community.  Together, we can do more than any one donor or charity can do alone.

United Way of Greater Battle Creek is unique in its focus on community impact.  We no longer simply raise and distribute money to non-profits.  Today's complex problems require proactive, permanent solutions.  Our history of leadership enables us to spearhead comprehensive, community-wide change.  We are a catalyst, a convener, a collaborator and a change agent.  Our work brings people together to determine the root cause of our community's most challenging problems and to do whatever it takes to achieve lasting results.

Through our collaborative community assessment, Common Commitment in Action, we reach out to Battle Creek citizens to identify the issues that matter most.  We research the problems, craft smarter solutions, invest funds, deploy resources and evaluate the results.  We collaborate with social service providers and identify the best, most cost-effective ways to respond to problems.  We maximize the value of your investment by leveraging partnerships, government funding, grant support and people.  And, we measure our success, not by the number of services we fund, but by the lives we change.

Without investors like you, there would be no United Way.  That's why we work hard to earn your trust every day, not just during our annual campaigns.  We use proven practices to protect your investment and deliver the best return.  Bottom line, together, we deliver results that change lives because we know that's what really matters most.

Sincerely,

Michael J Larson
President & Chief Professional Officer