United Way of the Greater Lehigh Valley Announces New Grant Program to Help Close Equity Gaps

Allentown, Pa.—United Way of the Greater Lehigh Valley (UWGLV) has announced that new funding is now available to support programs, services and organizations that aim to close equity gaps in our community.
 
“To achieve our vision of a Greater Lehigh Valley where everyone belongs and everyone thrives, we are committed to supporting leaders and organizations who center equity and community voice in their work,” said Erin Connelly, Associate Vice President, Impact for UWGLV.
 
The Closing the Equity Gap grant program will provide six, one-time grants of $20,000 each to organizations that are led by and serve Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC), LGBTQ+ populations or persons-with-disabilities. Nationally, a fraction of grant dollars goes toward organizations led by and serving these communities. Only 10% of funding goes to specifically support people of color, only 28 cents of every dollar awarded by U.S. foundations supports LGBTQ+ issues and 3.5% of foundation grants support persons with disabilities.
 
Grants are available to health and human service organizations in Carbon, Lehigh or Northampton County and are not currently funded via UWGLV’s 2018-2022 funding cycle. The deadline to apply is September 2, 2021. The application and additional eligibility requirements can be found at unitedwayglv.org.
 
The grants will support programs and services within our current Bold Goal areas—Education, Healthy Aging, Food Access and Emergency services including shelters and housing, violence and crisis intervention support, and disaster relief.

“In particular, we are looking to support programs, services and organizations that explicitly center the experiences, voices and input of those most affected by racism, homophobia, transphobia, or ableism, seek to address equity gaps and are grounded in building strong relationships with stakeholders and partners,” said Connelly.
 
UWGLV commits to continue examining our funding practices, ensuring that organizations that receive United Way funding are committed to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion and can demonstrate that commitment in values, policies and practices.