For 75 years, United Way of Southwest Michigan has fought for the health, education and financial stability of every person in every community, officials said.

They are more than the fundraisers — they are the gamechangers and the problem-solvers. They assess the challenges that local communities face, and they develop solutions to combat them.

How they plan to accomplish their many goals can be found in their recently released 2018-2021 Community Impact Agenda for Change.

The Agenda for Change sets the vision for how United Way can help facilitate change in Southwest Michigan. That vision includes investing in local partners that change lives and build stronger communities through collective impact.

“It’s crucial that we look at all the great organizations serving Berrien and Cass counties to determine where donor dollars can make the most impact in our community. We encourage new partners and old to contact us with new ideas on how to improve Michigan’s Great Southwest,” said Anna Murphy, president and CEO of United Way of Southwest Michigan.

Curious tax-exempt organizations can visit United Way’s website to see if they meet the requirements listed in the Agenda for Change to receive United Way investments for the 2018-2021 funding cycle.

Potential applicants should also attend an informational meeting from 1:30 to 3 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 17, and from 9 to 10:30 a.m. Wednesday, Oct. 18. People should RVSP with their name, organization name, and contact information to info@uwsm.org.

“We must have goals for the work we do in the community but without a strategy of how to reach those goals, we are hopeless to reach them. This new agenda draws the roadmap of how we will invest in partners that are working directly towards our goals in education, income, health and basic needs,” said Rachel Wade, vice president of impact and development at United Way of Southwest Michigan.

United Way is fighting for all children and young adults to have an equal opportunity to succeed in Southwest Michigan, officials said.

By 2024, they want to ensure that 80 percent of children are ready for kindergarten. They want to increase the number of third graders who are meeting reading proficiency by 20 percent, and they want to see the high school graduation rate increase by 10 percent. By 2025, United Way would like 60 percent of adults to have a post-secondary credential.

United Way is also fighting for all families and individuals to be financially stable. By 2024 they want to see the number of households that spend over 35 percent of their income on housing reduced by 25 percent.

United Way is fighting for youth and adults to have the knowledge and ability to be healthy. United Way would like the number of adults whose general health is fair or poor to be reduced by 25 percent. By 2020, they would like to see the proportion of obese adults decreased by 10 percent.

Lastly, United Way fights for individuals during times of crisis. Sometimes people need a safety net during life’s toughest moments.

In 2016, nearly 13,000 requests were made through 2-1-1, United Way’s free and confidential service that connects people with resources they need, such as housing, shelter, food and utility assistance.

United Way is also building stronger communities through multiple collective impact initiatives.

Collective impact happens when a group of organizations commits to addressing a community-wide social issue that cannot be solved alone. It means adopting a new way of working by bringing nonprofits, governments, businesses, and the public together around a common agenda.

Collective impact can produce large-scale social change in ways that other forms of collaboration and individual efforts have not. All data, documents and resources can be found at uwsm.org/agenda. For more information, please contact Douglas Ferrall, United Way’s director of programs and evaluation, at (269) 982-4038 or douglas.ferrall@uwsm.org.