Donations made to United Way of Northeastern Minnesota (UWNEMN) over the past year will now support 29 nonprofit agencies, 15 libraries with summer reading programs, 13 food shelves, and UWNEMN’s 10 direct service programs.
UWNEMN’s Board of Directors this month approved the following local agencies to receive 2025 funding:
- Advocates for Family Peace
- Bois Forte Band of Chippewa Elderly Nutrition Program
- Boys & Girls Club of Hibbing
- Camp Chicagami
- Care Partners
- Check & Connect
- Children’s Dental Services
- Ely Community Health Center
- Ely Community Resource
- Friends Against Abuse
- Girl Scouts of Minnesota and Wisconsin Lakes and Pines
- Iron Range Partnership for Sustainability
- Justice North
- Koochiching Aging Options
- Koochiching County Food Access
- Mesabi Fit
- North St. Louis County Habitat for Humanity
- Northern Star Council, Boy Scouts of America
- Northwoods Partners
- Project Care Free Clinic
- Range Transitional Housing Inc.
- Second Harvest Northland Food Bank
- ServeMinnesota Reading Corps
- Sexual Assault Program of NSLC
- Star of the North Maternity Home Iron Range
- Support Within Reach
- The Salvation Army – Hibbing
- The Salvation Army – International Falls
- Volunteers in Education (VinE)
These partners were determined through UWNEMN’s annual Fund Distribution process which unites donors and volunteers to review funding requests, interview applicants, and make funding recommendations to UWNEMN’s Board of Directors.
“It’s extremely important to us that the people who live, work, and donate here have a direct say in how their gifts of time, treasure, and talent are reinvested in the community,” said UWNEMN Executive Director Erin Shay.
More than 80 community members between the Iron Range and Koochiching County volunteered for this year’s Fund Distribution process.
Volunteers said the experience opened their eyes to UWNEMN’s reach in the region and the level of needs in their community.
“I was surprised by the number of people and organizations that United Way supports,” one volunteer noted in a follow-up survey.
To qualify for UWNEMN funding, nonprofits demonstrated in writing and through in-person interviews how their work addresses one of UWNEMN’s focus areas (youth opportunity, healthy communities, community resiliency, and financial security) in UWNEMN’s service area (Iron Range, Koochiching County, and Lake of the Woods County).
The funds UWNEMN uses to support partner agencies come directly from workplace campaigns and individual donations, according to Resource Development & Events Director Elizabeth Kelly.
“Each Fund Distribution Day we see the results of each campaign meeting and each donation made,” she said.
Learn more about UWNEMN’s 2025 partner agencies and Fund Distribution process.