Orange County United Way

What it reported doing in 2024

Orange county united way is committed to ensuring local students succeed, oc families gain financial security, our unhoused neighbors find a place to call home, and everyone gets connected to the assistance they need. We serve hundreds of thousands of our residents by delivering crucial programs and services directly to our communities. Our unique approach comes from an understanding that orange county's most critical issues are inter-related, and we must tackle them in an interconnected way to provide long-term solutions that break the cycle. This informs the work we focus on through our key initiatives and key service: united for student success aims to ensure local students receive the support they need to stay on track in school and graduate on time ready for college, career, and life. Program offerings: . Destination graduation aims to increase the high school graduation rate by helping both students and parents understand that higher education is attainable and accessible, regardless of background. Offerings include exciting college and career exploration, financial aid and scholarship opportunities, college field trips, application support, leadership skills, and more. . Youth career connections offers work-based learning opportunities that infuse classroom curriculums with real-world career experiences by connecting students directly to leading local employers for hands-on activities such as industry site visits, internships, and more. . Senior year mentorship program helps motivated high school seniors from underrepresented districts to stay on track and graduate on time. Mentoring from leading professionals and a robust virtual workshop series teach students essential life and career skills to position them for future success. United to end homelessness is committed to ending homelessness in orange county so that everyone has a safe and affordable place to call home and opportunities to thrive. The goal is to activate immediate and long-term housing-first solutions across our community through collaboration with the county's top business, philanthropic, governmental, faith-based, and nonprofit leaders. Programs: . Welcomehomeoc is our housing navigation and landlord incentive program, which helps individuals and families who are experiencing homelessness and holding a rental assistance voucher to secure housing in private market apartments and ensures supportive services are provided so they can remain housed for the long-term. . Whatever it takes is a program launched with caloptima health for members experiencing homelessness and housing insecurity. The program expedites access to flexible funds, incentivizes property owners, and coordinates with 30+ community-based organizations to find positive resolutions. . Public awareness & education: we hold workshops, host community chats, and engage in broad public awareness activities to help break down myths surrounding homelessness and provide up-to-date statistics and best practices for solving homelessness in orange county. . Housing champions advocacy network recruits, trains, organizes, and equips local residents to engage in advocacy in their communities for solutions to end homelessness. United for financial security empowers orange county families through programs that focus on the most essential tools to build financial stability. Programs: . Oc free tax prep helps families keep their hard-earned money by saving on preparation fees, claiming tax credits, and receiving their refunds quickly and safely, providing a safety net for local households to put toward bills, car repairs, groceries, and other basic needs. . Sparkpoint oc promotes financial empowerment through free one-to-one financial coaching to increase income, manage credit, and build assets through savings and asset planning to reach goals like buying a home or paying for college. . Upskill oc, our workforce development program, is an innovative, collaborative approach to bridging the skills gap in var

Financial Efficiency

• Mission deployment rate: 73.3%; rating input score 73
• Program expense ratio: 85.2%; rating input score 85
• Fundraising efficiency: $13.28 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 46; 46th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

• Consistency checks: 94.1%; rating input score 94; 20th percentile among comparable filings
• Pay-setting controls: 3 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 50
  • Compensation committee: Pass
  • Independent consultant: Missing
  • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
  • Written employment contract: Missing
  • Compensation survey or study: Pass
  • Board or committee approval: Pass
• Foreign activity oversight: Limited
• Grant itemization coverage: 8.2%; rating input score 8; 8th percentile among comparable filings
• Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
• Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

• Independent voting board: 97.9%; rating input score 98; 31st percentile among comparable filings
• Governance controls: 9 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 100
  • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
  • Whistleblower policy: Pass
  • Document-retention policy: Pass
  • CEO compensation review process: Pass
  • Other executive compensation review process: Pass
  • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
  • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
  • Audit committee oversight: Pass
  • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

• Operating margin: 14.6%; rating input score 76; 76th percentile among comparable filings
• Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.24; rating input score 44; 44th percentile among comparable filings
• Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.14; rating input score 67; 67th percentile among comparable filings
• Officer compensation ratio: 8.7%; rating input score 26; 26th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

• Program expense growth: 9.3% per year; rating input score 100; 68th percentile among comparable filings
• Revenue growth: 6.1% per year; rating input score 100; 53rd percentile among comparable filings
• Asset growth: 1.2% per year; rating input score 100; 14th percentile among comparable filings