Rose wants to finish school, keep her apartment, and build a brighter future.
You can help her get there.
With your help, we mobilize support and solutions for the biggest challenges facing our community—making a difference, one person at a time.
1 in 4 Bay Area Households cannot afford basic necessities like food, housing, and childcare.
676,000 individuals in the Bay Area are food insecure—enough to fill Oracle Park just shy of 15 times.
12,912,020 Meals Provided. That’s the equivalent of feeding 35,000 people every day for a year.
At United Way Bay Area (UWBA), we believe the Bay Area is at its best when everyone has equal opportunities and resources to thrive. Every day, local families face impossible choices: rent or groceries, medicine or childcare, gas or the power bill. We help make those choices possible. UWBA connects people to short term needs like food, housing, and job support, while also fighting for long-term systems changes so fewer people end up in crisis in the first place. We’re neighbors helping neighbors, mobilizing the Bay Area to dismantle the root causes of poverty and build equitable pathways to prosperity.
Meeting basic needs like food, healthcare, and housing is the first step. With stability, people like Rose can focus on better job and educational opportunities.
Your gift today ensures that safety-net programs are protected so Bay Area families can thrive.
Your donation moves fast: it connects a neighbor to nearby food and benefits in one call, covers short gaps so dinner stays dinner, and helps a tight budget last the whole month. Will you make a gift this season?
When many of us give, big change happens.
That is the United Way
What Does Poverty in the Bay Area Look Like?
Step into the daily decisions thousands of Bay Area families face. This interactive experience shows how housing, food, childcare, and transportation choices add up—and why so many neighbors fall short even while working hard. Explore the real tradeoffs behind poverty and discover how community support can create lasting stability.
You’ll have to make tough choices. Can you make it through?
Progress
overty isn’t simply a lack of income—it’s a barrier to opportunity, stability and dignity in the Bay Area and beyond. In this five-blog series from United Way Bay Area, we break down what poverty really is (and isn’t), how it’s defined in our region, where it shows up in everyday life, who is affected and why it matters, and finally—what it will take to end it. Explore the full story to deepen your understanding, build empathy, and become part of the solution.
From helping 380,000+ neighbors to advancing long-term solutions to poverty, your support made a real difference. Explore the stories, data, and progress in our 2024 Annual Report. Explore the 2024 Annual Report
CEO Corner
When disaster strikes, it’s community resilience—not just response—that determines who recovers and who gets left behind. In her latest blog, our CEO reflects on why building preparedness and connection before the crisis is essential to fighting poverty in the Bay Area.
Get United Way Bay Area updates and find out how to take action.
We’re out to change that by building a more equitable Bay Area.
Our Basic Needs programs, partnerships, and policy work, support people in our community to meet their basic needs.
Learn more about meeting basic needsWe believe that access to education and employment opportunities is necessary to ensure that individuals are successful in school and in their careers.
Learn moreabout employment and career opportunitiesOur programs address various aspects of financial stability to make sure individuals and families can thrive in their daily lives, reach their goals, and recover from a crisis quickly
Learn More about financial stabilityUWBA is deepening our focus on improving access to stable, affordable housing and homelessness prevention resources.
Learn More about housing justiceOur Basic Needs programs, partnerships, and policy work, support people in our community to meet their basic needs.
Learn more about meeting basic needsWe believe that access to education and employment opportunities is necessary to ensure that individuals are successful in school and in their careers.
Learn moreabout employment and career opportunitiesOur programs address various aspects of financial stability to make sure individuals and families can thrive in their daily lives, reach their goals, and recover from a crisis quickly
Learn More about financial stabilityUWBA is deepening our focus on improving access to stable, affordable housing and homelessness prevention resources.
Learn More about housing justice$67M+ returned to the community in tax refunds though our free tax preparation program EKS
calls and texts answered by our 211 helpline
clients received long-term financial or career coaching through SparkPoint
Read our latest blogs, press releases and news.
Learn how your gift supports services and programs that change lives in the Bay Area.
Giving to United Way Bay Area is a direct way to help people in our community who are working hard to get through a tough moment. Sometimes it’s a family on the edge of eviction, a parent trying to keep food on the table between paychecks, or someone who simply doesn’t know where to turn next. Your support helps us connect people to resources that can make an immediate difference and also set them up for more stability down the road. We partner with organizations across the region that already know their neighborhoods well, so your gift reaches people quickly and respectfully. And because needs change throughout the year — especially toward the end of the year when costs add up — your donation helps us stay responsive. At its core, giving to UWBA means you’re helping someone stay on their feet, regain some stability, and feel a little less alone in a difficult moment.
Your donation stays right here in the Bay Area and supports the services people rely on every single day. Donations support programs like 211, where real people answer calls from someone who might be looking for a meal tonight, a bed for the weekend, or help navigating rent relief — sometimes all in the same call. Your support also fuels SparkPoint®, where families meet with coaches who help them sort through things like credit scores, job searches, debt, and long-term planning. These are practical, hands-on conversations that build confidence and open new opportunities over time. We also provide grants to local nonprofits and support broader efforts that make our region fairer and more affordable. No matter where the dollars land, they go toward helping people regain stability, move forward, and feel more secure in the place they call home.
