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Fast Fact #1
A gift to Great Rivers United Way is the single most impactful way to invest in your community. The problems people face are interrelated, and the diverse programs that Great Rivers United Way offers and supports work together to address complex challenges, like mental wellbeing, while meeting basic needs, such as food, shelter, and safety. No other agency, donor, volunteer, or sector of the community can do this work alone. Together, we can make a big difference.
Fast Fact #2
The Compass Now community needs assessment is a joint effort between Great Rivers United Way, area healthcare organizations, and county health departments to improve quality of life for everyone in the communities we serve. The Compass Now Report serves as a reference tool and foundation for action plans that solve problems long term. Great Rivers United Way used the 2024 Compass Now Report to determine that funds currently being raised should support mental wellbeing, in addition to basic needs. In Spring 2025, Community Mental Wellbeing grants were awarded for the first time to 20 local nonprofits and impacted 52,000 people.
Fast Fact #3
Great Rivers United Way doesn’t just fund – we also create, lead, and operate programs that address local needs. In addition to investing in nonprofit partners, Great Rivers United Way programs Born Learning, Community Care, Compass Now, Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library, Great Rivers 211, Learn To Lead, Nourishing Futures, Providers And Teens Communicating for Health, Techquity, and Ugetconnected turn local needs into community solutions.
Fast Fact #4
Great Rivers United Way helps local nonprofits build capacity through training, collaboration, volunteer recruitment, community insights, and strategic support. By strengthening the nonprofit landscape, we’re helping create a stronger community for everyone. Thanks to this leadership, Great Rivers United Way and its partners achieve more together than they could alone.
Fast Fact #5
ALICE stands for Asset-Limited, Income-Constrained, Employed. ALICE works hard – oftentimes holding two or three jobs – but struggles to make ends meet. In the most recent ALICE Report, 24% of Wisconsin Households were identified as ALICE, with an additional 11% of households falling below the federal poverty level. That means a combined 35% of Wisconsin households are facing financial hardship. That breakdown is 25%-10%-35% in Minnesota.
Fast Fact #6
According to Great Rivers United Way’s 2024 Compass Now survey, 83% of respondents reported being very or moderately concerned about mental health in our region, while 71% reported being very or moderately concerned about mental health stigma.
Fast Fact #7
In response to the 2024 Compass Now survey, local people reported an average of 4.2 to 4.6 poor mental health days per month. Poor mental health can affect productivity, absenteeism, turnover, safety, and more. Great Rivers United Way mobilizes communities to action so all can thrive by investing in local resources that foster mental wellbeing, helping people succeed at work, at home, and in the community.
Fast Fact #8
Of respondents to the 2024 Compass Now survey, 39% rated fair or poor their community as a place that meets the overall needs of children, and 51% rated fair or poor efforts to meet the overall needs of persons with disabilities. By ensuring access to basics like food, shelter, and safety, and helping people feel cared for throughout their lives, Great Rivers United Way is listening and responding to our region’s top needs.
Fast Fact #9
The most recent La Crosse County Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) reported that almost half of high school students have had at least one mental health challenge. Forty-two percent of students reported experiencing anxiety, while one fourth reported being depressed almost every day for two weeks in a row. These numbers have been steadily decreasing since 2021, thanks, in part, to community programs that connect young people with trusted adults and safe spaces.
Fast Fact #10
One in five adults experiences a mental illness each year. When you give to Great Rivers United Way, you’re making more than a donation. You become part of a $1.5 million commitment to local community mental wellbeing. Through your generosity, we’re funding three years of hope, healing, and support across the Coulee Region.
Fast Fact #11
Great Rivers United Way mobilizes volunteers to increase the percentage of students reading at proficient or higher. When a child can read proficiently by third grade, they are set up for success for the rest of their school career. Since 2016, Great Rivers United Way’s Read to Success reading tutor program has paired adult volunteers with students to improve reading and comprehension skills. Most recently, 40 volunteers worked with around 80 students attending 13 elementary schools in five area school districts.
Fast Fact #12
Great Rivers United Way mobilizes communities so children can succeed. By organizing and facilitating nurturing environments for learning, Great Rivers United Way collaborates with the community to ensure every student is successful in primary school. Last year, 5,250 school-aged youth participated in school and community-based out-of-school programs, and received individualized help because of programs offered and supported by Great Rivers United Way.
Fast Fact #13
In 2025, your gifts to Great Rivers United Way made it possible for 2,223 individuals to access healthcare services and support.
Fast Fact #14
In 2025, Great Rivers United Way funded services were utilized once every 22 seconds.
Fast Fact #15
A single gift to Great Rivers United Way helps thousands. Last year, 68,187 local people accessed programs offered and supported by Great Rivers United Way 1,448,979 times.
Fast Fact #16
New research suggests that volunteers aren’t just helping the communities they serve. People who volunteer actually experience a boost in their mental health – good news at a time when more than one third of Americans are experiencing symptoms of anxiety or depression. In 2025, users of Great Rivers United Way’s volunteer website, Ugetconnected, logged 16,947 hours of service, having an estimated economic impact of $612,464 on the Coulee Region!
Fast Fact #17
Great Rivers United Way is community-driven, from start to finish — we recruit volunteers who live and work here to read and rate the grant applications we receive. Let us know if you are interested!
Fast Fact #18
Great Rivers United Way evaluates the impact and efficiency of its programs, so you don’t have to — we funnel your hard-earned dollars to programs that need them the most, including our own innovative solutions as well as others you may have never heard of, but are doing wonderful work!
Fast Fact #19
If offered at your employer, payroll deduction makes charitable giving easy and affordable. Payroll deduction is an opportunity to spread your gift out over the course of the year, turning a few dollars at a time into meaningful change at programs offered and supported by Great Rivers United Way. Lots of corporate partners match employee giving, so your impact may be doubled, too!
Fast Fact #20
Give and join the more than 175 local businesses and 2,600 donors that invest with Great Rivers United Way to strengthen communities across our shared eight-county region.
