Building a Brighter Future for Youth and Families

We created a community empowerment model, United 4 Youth, that assembles teams of nonprofits to co-design innovative collaborative programs that lead to positive and sustainable outcomes for our highest needs youth. 

To ensure youth have the opportunity to reach their greatest potential, the United 4 Youth collaborative provides wrap-around services and leadership support to promote:

Education & Lifelong  • Learning Health & Wellness • Economic Sustainability • Community Connection

United 2020- Bold Community Plan

United 2020 is Santa Cruz County's 5-year strategic plan to make meaningful, measurable improvements in the lives of people in our community by the year 2020. Developed by key leaders and experts in our county, United 2020 outlines key strategies that will help transform our community by addressing our most pressing needs:

• Preparing more youth to succeed in school and life
• Empower more families to be financially stable and self-sufficient
• Helping everyone to live healthy, responsible lives

To measure the community's progress toward the United 2020 goals, United Way of Santa Cruz County works with Applied Survey Research in Watsonville. Drawing from the researchers' analysis of local data including the Community Assessment Project, United Way tracks progress toward the United 2020 goals. United Way shares progress and reports with community program partners, philanthropists, corporate partners, volunteers and others to facilitate coordinated responses to the challenges.

What Gets Measured, Gets Done

United Way also leverages the data to align its work with efforts to help Santa Cruz County achieve the United 2020 goals - we want every dollar given and every hour volunteered to make the biggest impact possible in someone's life. United Way impacts Youth Success, Family Financial Stability, and Health by investing in exceptional local programs and developing initiatives that address key gaps.

Learn the United 2020 Goals and Strategies.