United Way of Pierce County

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
910650669
IRS 990 coverage
2020–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025
Location
Tacoma, WA, USA
Phone
2532724263
Rating
79
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Federated Giving Programs

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$6,859,905
Expenses
$7,811,375
Assets
$17,466,785
Liabilities
$372,036

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

32 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Dona Ponepinto (President and Chief Executive Officer)

Highest reported compensation

  • Dona Ponepinto (President and Chief Executive Officer): $242,884 total reported compensation
  • Annie Frisbie (Chief Development Officer): $146,908 total reported compensation
  • Peter J Grignon (Sr VP of Finance and Chief Financial Officer): $135,788 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

We mobilize and unite the caring power of Pierce County to tackle our community's toughest challenges to improve lives in measurable and lasting ways. Our bold goal is to lift 15,000 households out of poverty in Pierce County by 2028.

What it reported doing in 2025

Community Impact Program: In 2017 we made a bold goal to lift 15,000 household out of poverty by 2028. This takes a community wide effort of forming collaborations, agreeing on key measurements and tracking indicators with nonprofits, government, educators and businesses. 14,802 families have moved toward self-sufficency since we set this bold goal. Highlights in this area: Through grants from various collaborative partners, we offered Individual Development Accounts (IDA) which is a matched savings program where a participant builds assets for reliable transportation, education, debt reduction, start a business or steps towards home ownership. 184 individuals participated. The IDA program resulted in $1,318,908 of assets built. (source annual report). Our second cash assistance program served 190 families who received $500 a month for 12 months. Participants gained access to financial coaching, budgeting tools and workforce training. The impact goes beyond the numbers. Participants shared how the extra money allowed them to return to school, start a small business and spend more with their children. These are not just short-term gains-they are life-changing shifts that strengthen families and the broader community.

Operating model

Revenue model
Mixed. Its operating money came from several sources; no one source provided a clear majority.
Distribution model
Hybrid. The nonprofit split its reported program spending across 53% for direct work, 46% for grants, and 1% for affiliated organizations.
  • Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.

The verdict

SUPPORTED - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised and expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 81
  • Transparency & Controls: 77
  • Accountability: 95
  • Sustainability: 35
  • Growth: 60

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 92.6%; rating input score 93
  • Program expense ratio: 80.5%; rating input score 80
  • Fundraising efficiency: $6.25 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 20; 20th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 93.3%; rating input score 93; 18th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 4 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 67
    • Compensation committee: Pass
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Pass
    • Compensation survey or study: Pass
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 60.1%; rating input score 60; 22nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 92%; rating input score 92; 23rd 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: -13.9%; rating input score 7; 7th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 2.24; rating input score 61; 61st percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.02; rating input score 71; 71st percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 6.7%; rating input score 46; 46th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 6.3% per year; rating input score 100; 43rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -1.4% per year; rating input score 0; 5th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 4.8% per year; rating input score 100; 32nd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 92.6% of revenue deployed · 80.5% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 23 of 25 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 8 filed program accomplishments · $6.3M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $243K · 32 people listed · 4 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 45 of 46 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 8 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 6 filing years from 2020 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 42 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 39 filed related-organization links
  • Grant readiness: Federal tax and exclusion status, award history, and grant-maker relationships.
  • People: Everyone the filings name, and which of them the filings identify by more than a name.

Key Signals

Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.

  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 20/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 7/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 46/100.
  • Review — Transparency & Controls: Domestic grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.