2025 has been a year of meaningful impact at United Way of Salt Lake. Every event, program, and initiative contributed to improving basic needs and education outcomes for Utah kids and families. As the year comes to an end, we wanted to share some of the milestones and highlights from 2025 – all of which were made possible by our generous donors, partners, volunteers, and supporters. Together, we are proving that United is the Way to ensure 100% of Utah kids and families are thriving.
First Year of Promise Baby & You
In January, the Promise Baby & You program launched in South Salt Lake and Davis School District, offering a free, nine-week workshop series for parents and caregivers of children ages 0-3. During the first year, seven cohorts took place across both locations, and 108 families completed the program. Not only did families gain practical skills and knowledge to support their child’s development, but they also connected with organizations and resources in their community and built relationships with the other families in their cohort. The first year of Promise Baby & You was a huge success, and cohorts are already scheduled throughout the next year to support more families with young children.
United Boardroom Launched First Cohort
United Way of Salt Lake held the first cohort of the United Boardroom. Launched in April of this year, this six-week workshop series empowers current and emerging leaders with skills and confidence to serve on nonprofit boards and committees. In the first cohort, twenty participants from across sectors completed the workshop series. The United Boardroom introduced program participants to local organizations while also providing interested nonprofits with a pool of trained candidates who are eager to step into leadership roles.
State Policy Wins
During the 2025 legislative session, the United Way of Salt Lake policy team successfully advocated to expand the Child Tax Credit to include children under six in HB106 Income Tax Revisions. Our advocacy work also contributed to defeating HB178 Noncitizen Health Insurance Policies Amendments, which would have eliminated the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) that provides health insurance to immigrant children. With the help of community voices, United Way of Salt Lake’s advocacy work is advancing policies that support strong public education, healthy children and families, and economic mobility for all Utahns.
Year of Action
United Way of Salt Lake’s signature Year of Action events support work in education by ensuring schools have resources to provide a safe, positive learning environment. At the heart of these events are the dedicated volunteers who give their time and energy each year. In 2025, 1,568 volunteers rolled up their sleeves and contributed 2,956 hours of service! Here’s a breakdown of the impact this year:
- Read Across America Day
This year, more than 150 volunteers participated in Read Across America Day events at 24 schools! These literacy events encouraged a love of reading for more than 5,000 elementary school students. Over 1,500 books were distributed to kids in schools across the Wasatch Front. - Stuff the Bus
This year’s Stuff the Bus campaign was a huge success, with 50 supply drives and over $76,000 in funds raised to serve over 10,000 Utah students and meet every request from 30 schools and six nonprofit partners in Davis and Salt Lake Counties. Additionally, 249 volunteers showed up to help count and sort donated supplies and to stuff backpacks with pencils, notebooks, folders, and more. In total, we distributed 8,554 backpacks and 110,655 individual school supplies! - Day of Caring
Through Day of Caring, nearly 1,000 corporate and community volunteers completed 40 service projects at schools and nonprofit partners across the Wasatch Front. Collectively, Day of Caring volunteers completed over 2,500 service hours! - Season of Service
During Season of Service this year, we distributed warm winter gear, gift cards, and basic need essentials to 16 schools. Throughout November and December, corporate and community volunteers packed 250 hygiene kits, 1,653 weekend meal kits, 100 snack kits, and 50 Thanksgiving baskets. Thanks to generous Enbridge employees, we also provided $3,000 in gift cards for schools to distribute to families this holiday season.
10th Anniversary of the Deborah S. Bayle Scholarship Fund for Youth
2025 marks the 10th anniversary of the Deborah S. Bayle Scholarship Fund for Youth. The scholarship provides post-secondary education resources and support for students whose lives have been impacted by the work of United Way of Salt Lake. This year, we celebrated the college graduations of 14 scholarship recipients with degrees ranging from information technology and biomedical engineering to social work and nursing. United Way of Salt Lake also awarded scholarships to three high school seniors graduating from Kearns and Hillcrest High Schools. Over the past decade, more than 100 students have received support from the scholarship, many of whom are the first in their families to attend college.
Promise Student Advocates
2025 saw significant progress in developing and expanding strategies to increase high school graduation rates. Promise Student Advocates is an initiative that pairs students with a caring adult mentor who helps them navigate school, postsecondary planning, and life. Students and their Advocates work together to create individualized success plans to graduate on a college or career path. As of October 1, 416 students are getting support from a Promise Student Advocate, nearly a 200% increase from last year, and exceeding our goal of 400 students for the year.
United Way 211 Emergency Relief Fund
In response to the longest federal government shutdown in U.S. history, United Way of Salt Lake partnered with United Way of Northern Utah and United Way of Central and Southern Utah to create the United Way 211 Emergency Relief Fund. Together, we raised $251,000 in funds that provided direct support to federal employees who were furloughed or working without pay and bolstered local organizations supporting Utahns impacted by the lapse in federal work supports like the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). Additionally, we provided essential resources and support through the 211 Navigation Center, which recorded more than 25,000 interactions during the shutdown. The emergency relief fund helped ensure the basic needs of Utahns were still met during the shutdown.
20th Anniversary of Women United
This year, United Way of Salt Lake celebrated the 20th anniversary of Women United—a group of passionate individuals who come together to remove barriers and create opportunities so everyone in our community is thriving. Women United members support our annual Year of Action events and host the annual Power of Your Purse fundraising gala. This year’s gala was a record-breaking event for funds raised to support basic needs and education initiatives.
Women United members have embraced Promise Baby & You and the Deborah S. Bayle Scholarship Fund for Youth as two priority programs to focus their volunteerism and philanthropy. Additionally, United Way of Salt Lake recently introduced new membership options with levels ranging from a $500 to $2,500 monetary donation combined with recommended volunteer hours. These different options make joining and growing with Women United more accessible to potential members.
VIP Breakfast Briefing & Economic Mobility Partnerships Roundtables
United Way of Salt Lake hosted a VIP Breakfast Briefing featuring Geoffrey Canada, nationally recognized Founder and President of Harlem Children’s Zone and Founder of William Julius Wilson Institute at Harlem Children’s Zone. Canada shared about his life’s work to build a comprehensive system of supports that empowered children in inner-city New York to succeed, go to college, and break the cycle of intergenerational poverty. This event gathered an influential group of board members, philanthropists, and community leaders to learn more about how local efforts are transforming the lives of Utah kids and families.
United Ways of Utah partnered with Promise Partnership Utah and other local organizations to hold roundtable events in seven communities across the state. These events helped attendees better understand how community-based partnership initiatives improve education outcomes and economic mobility for Utah’s youth. In addition to a presentation by the Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute, the roundtables featured national partners and local leaders who talked about how community-based strategies support Utah youth throughout their entire educational journey. The Economic Mobility Partnerships Roundtables provided an exciting opportunity to increase understanding and gain support to sustain and expand this work statewide.
211 Utah: From Information Referral to Service Navigation
In 2025, 211 Utah prioritized evolving from an information-and-referral model to service navigation. We recognized that truly serving clients means doing more than providing phone numbers. By walking alongside individuals to help them access critical resources, we are living out United Way of Salt Lake’s core value of continuous improvement—constantly refining how we work so that every person receives the support they need to thrive. From January 1 to December 14, 211 Utah Service Navigators connected Utahns to vital services and resources through 68,394 referrals. They went one step further by creating follow-ups for 82% of cases to ensure clients received the help they needed.
