United Way of Salt Lake shared its 2010 Community Assessment: Building Blocks for a Good Life, and presented its 2010 Community Impact Plan on Friday, September 17, 2010 to an audience of business, government and nonprofit leaders at its President’s Advisory Council meeting. United Way of Salt Lake conducts a community assessment every three years to determine the most significant challenges facing individuals and families in our local community.

The overall goals of the 2010 Community Assessment were to identify and measure critical community needs. UWSL contracted with the Utah Foundation and Dan Jones & Associates to conduct the research on its behalf. The research was utilized to evaluate primary issues and key components in the areas of education, income, health as well as basic needs, to help UWSL focus its work in these areas and to create long-term changes within our community. UWSL has used this information, along with additional data related to organizational capacity, donor priorities, the current economic, political and social environment, and research into best practices for addressing certain community challenges, to develop our Community Impact Plan for 2011 and beyond.

Recognizing that UWSL cannot achieve community-level results by spreading resources “a mile wide and an inch deep,” the goal of our 2010 planning process was to identify a focused set of objectives around which we can achieve measurable community change. As a result of this comprehensive assessment, UWSL has identified the following priorities for 2011 and beyond:

  • Build a strong foundation of early learning from birth to age 8
  • Help people gain the income and financial tools to thrive
  • Improve child health and promote healthy behaviors
  • Provide food, shelter, health and safety
  • Create cohesive communities to address Utah’s changing demographics

As our 2010 Community Assessment shows, too many people in our communities are lacking what many of us take for granted – a quality education that provides a strong foundation for life, a job that pays enough to support a family and to prepare for retirement, and the tools necessary to be healthy and productive.

United Way of Salt Lake is firmly dedicated to improving the local community by focusing on education, income, health and basic needs – the building blocks for a good life.