February 22, 2023 (Toronto, ON) – At United Way Greater Toronto’s Local Leaders Celebration last night, CEO Daniele Zanotti alongside Community Campaign Chair Darryl White and hundreds of supporters announced that the organization will meet its $110 million goal. The generous support means that United Way Greater Toronto shared their bold plans for a $33 million re-investment in community. Sixty-five agencies delivering 208 programs across Peel, Toronto and York Region were awarded renewals of five-year flexible funding to fight growing local poverty.

Across Peel, Toronto and York, United Way Greater Toronto funds and partners with a balanced portfolio of poverty-fighting anchor agencies to meet needs where they are greatest, respond to changes in our community, and build lasting solutions to critical issues at the intersection of poverty, equity and geography.

Anchor funding is a unique-to-United-Way model that offers longer term flexible funding for programming and core operational support. As United Way recognizes the importance of supporting agency infrastructure, the funding builds long-term capacity within these organizations and delivers solutions to meaningfully move the needle on poverty issues in our region. Flexible funding also ensures that as community and resident needs evolve these agencies can negotiate a shift in funding priorities to quickly mobilize a solution, such as responding to an unexpected crisis like the pandemic, supporting refugees, or providing food and clothes.

This achievement ensures United Way Greater Toronto can also continue investments through the Community Program Grants and by making additional investments to Indigenous, Black and other structurally disadvantaged groups later this year. United Way will also continue to push solutions at the neighbourhood-level including the Inclusive Local Economic Opportunity (ILEO) Initiative, co-convened by BMO Financial Group.