United Way of Southern Kentucky Inc
Public records show a registered, tax-exempt organization in good standing.
What it says it does
TO BE THE LEADER IN BRINGING TOGETHER THE RESOURCES TO BUILD A STRONGER, MORE CARING COMMUNITY.
- Income
- $3.2 million
- Spending
- $2.8 million
- Spent on programs
- 79%
- Reserves
- 11 months of spending
- Largest source of income
- donations and private grants, 62%
- Employees
- 17
- Volunteers
- 1,285
- Highest pay
- $151,098, president/ceo
Source: Form 990 for the year ending June 30, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Financial health
Good: 89 out of 100. Higher than 62% of charities in its peer group (philanthropy, $1m to $10m).
Reserves
28 of 35Spendable reserves would cover 11.0 months of spending.
Debt
16 of 20It owes 24% of what it owns.
Living within its means
15 of 15Income exceeded spending by 12% of income.
Income trend
15 of 15Income rose 13% on the year before.
Spending floor
15 of 1578% of spending went to programs and raising each dollar of donations cost 8 cents.
Source: Form 990 for the year ending June 30, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Governance
Strong: 100 out of 100. Higher than 65% of charities in its peer group (philanthropy, $1m to $10m).
Independent board
25 of 2527 of 28 voting board members are independent.
Conflict of interest policy
15 of 15Has a written conflict of interest policy.
Whistleblower policy
8 of 8Has a written whistleblower policy.
Record keeping policy
7 of 7Has a written policy on keeping and destroying records.
Board minutes
5 of 5Keeps minutes of board meetings.
Board sees the tax return
10 of 10Gave the board a copy of this return before filing it.
Pay set independently
5 of 5Sets its chief executive's pay through independent review and comparison.
Independent check of accounts
15 of 15Its accounts were audited by an independent accountant.
No reported misuse
10 of 10Reports no diversion of assets, excess benefits or loans to insiders.
Source: Form 990 for the year ending June 30, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Impact evidence
Describes programs. Its tax return describes what it does but we have found no measurable results in it.
Programs described in its return (4)
- $1.1 million spent. FUND DISTRIBUTION:UNITED WAY OF SOUTHERN KENTUCKY'S FUND DISTRIBUTION PROCESS ALLOCATED $1,046,109 TO PROGRAMS SERVING THE 10-COUNTY SERVICE AREA. FUNDING WAS AWARDED TO MORE THAN 50 PROGRAMS IMPACTING UNITED WAY OF SOUTHERN KENTUCKY'S SEVEN PRIORITY FOCUS AREAS OF EDUCATION: KINDERGARTEN READINESS, COLLEGE & CAREER READINESS; INCOME: WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT; HEALTH: ACCESS TO AFFORDABLE HEALTH CARE, SAFE HOME & COMMUNITY; SAFETY NET: ACCESS TO BASIC NEEDS AND TRANSPORTATION. THIS VOLUNTEER-DRIVEN PROCESS CONCENTRATES ON A PROGRAM'S ABILITY TO ADDRESS THE ROOT CAUSE OF ISSUES RATHER THAN TREATING THE SYMPTOMS. IN ADDITION TO THE FUND DISTRIBUTION PROGRAM, A HALLMARK OF UNITED WAY, AN ADDITIONAL $32,634 IN DONOR DIRECTED CONTRIBUTIONS WERE PROCESSED AND DISTRIBUTED.
- $506,478 spent. KINDERGARTEN READINESS:IN ORDER TO ENSURE CHILDREN HAVE THE SKILLS NEEDED TO ENTER KINDERGARTEN READY TO LEARN, UNITED WAY CONTINUED THE KINDERGARTEN READINESS CAMPAIGN THAT STARTED IN 2016/17 TO HELP EDUCATE PARENTS ABOUT HOW TO BETTER PREPARE THEIR CHILDREN FOR DAY ONE OF KINDERGARTEN. AS PART OF THIS EFFORT, UNITED WAY ENCOURAGES PARENTS TO READ, PLAY, COUNT, AND LOG OFF WITH THEIR CHILDREN. PARENTS CAN LOG ONTO THE UNITED WAY MICROSITE MYCHILDISREADY.COM TO FIND INFORMATION TO DETERMINE IF THEIR CHILD IS KINDERGARTEN READY AND IF NOT, HOW THEY CAN ADAPT EVERYDAY ACTIVITIES TO INCREASE THE LEVEL OF THEIR CHILD'S READINESS. ANOTHER CRITICAL COMPONENT IN UNITED WAY'S WORK IN EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION IS THE EXPANSION OF AN ADDITIONAL BORN LEARNING TRAIL, AND UNITED WAY CONTINUES TO EXPAND ITS EFFORTS TO ENROLL ELIGIBLE CHILDREN IN THE DOLLY PARTON IMAGINATION LIBRARY PROGRAM. SINCE UNITED WAY BEGAN THE MANAGEMENT AND FACILITATION OF THE PROGRAM IN 2011, MORE THAN 798,368 BOOKS HAVE BEEN DISTRIBUTED; BETWEEN JULY 2024 AND JUNE 2025 A TOTAL OF 108,835 BOOKS WERE DISTRIBUTED.
- $454,730 spent. SOUTHERN KENTUCKY 2-1-1:IN JULY 2024 SOUTHERN KENTUCKY 2-1-1 COMPLETED ITS NINTH YEAR OF INFORMATION AND REFERRAL SERVICES TO THE RESIDENTS OF THE ALLEN, BARREN, BUTLER, EDMONSON, HART, LOGAN, METCALFE, MONROE, SIMPSON AND WARREN COUNTIES. IN JANUARY 2021 TEXT SERVICES BECAME AVAILABLE, ADDING ANOTHER WAY THOSE IN NEED COULD REACH OUT TO 2-1-1. IN FY2025, SOUTHERN KENTUCKY 2-1-1 PROVIDED MORE THAN 9,421 CONTACTS WITH INFORMATION ABOUT UTILITY ASSISTANCE, FOOD PANTRIES, RENT ASSISTANCE, EMERGENCY SHELTER, CHILDCARE, EMPLOYMENT, TRANSPORTATION, AND CLOTHING, AND MORE. CONTACTS VIA TELEPHONE OR TEXT ARE ANSWERED 24/7/365, AND OUR ONLINE PUBLIC SEARCH ABOUT AVAILABLE SERVICES CAN BE ACCESSED THROUGH WWW.NAVIGATERESOURCES.NET/UWSK/. IN JANUARY 2025, SOUTHERN KENTUCKY 2-1-1 BECAME THE SERVICE PROVIDER FOR THE CENTRAL KENTUCKY COUNTIES OF HARDIN, BRECKENRIDGE, GRAYSON, LARUE, AND MEADE. THE OPENING OF SOUTHERN KENTUCKY 2-1-1 IN JULY 2016 MADE INFORMATION ABOUT COMMUNITY SERVICES AVAILABLE TO MORE THAN 60% OF KENTUCKIANS, AND IN 2021, 2-1-1 SERVICES BECAME AVAILABLE STATE-WIDE. SINCE OPENING, A TOTAL OF 68,693 CONTACTS HAVE COME INTO THE CENTER.
- $110,063 spent. UWSK COORDINATES MANY DIRECT IMPACT SERVICES TO OUR COMMUNITIES. IN THE 2024/25 FISCAL YEAR $122,265 WAS DISTRIBUTED TO AREA ORGANIZATIONS IN FLEXIBLE SUPPORT GRANTS FOR ONE-TIME REQUESTS THAT ARE OUTSIDE OF OUR ANNUAL FUND DISTRIBUTION PROCESS. ADDITIONALLY UNITED WAY HELD ANNUAL FEED THE NEED FOOD DRIVE AND DAY OF CARING EVENTS, AND WORKED TO CONTINUE PUBLIC AWARENESS OF THE IMPORTANCE OF EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION.
Source: Form 990 for the year ending June 30, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Legitimacy checks
Is it registered with the IRS? Passed.
Listed in the IRS master file of tax-exempt organizations as a 501(c)(3) charitable organization.
Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.
Has the IRS revoked its tax-exempt status? Passed.
Not on the IRS automatic revocation list.
Source: Automatic revocation of exemption list, Internal Revenue Service, file dated November 6, 2026.
Are donations tax-deductible? Passed.
On the IRS list of organizations eligible to receive tax-deductible contributions.
Source: Publication 78 data: organizations eligible for tax-deductible contributions, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.
Is it keeping up with its IRS filings? Passed.
Most recent return on file covers the year ending June 2025.
Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.
How long has it been tax-exempt? Passed.
Recognized by the IRS since August 1969.
Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.
Is it in good standing with state regulators? Passed.
Not on California's list of charities barred from soliciting. Other states are not yet checked.
Source: May Not Operate or Solicit for Charitable Purposes list, California Attorney General, Registry of Charities and Fundraisers, file dated November 4, 2026.
Ratings and checks are our reading of public records, using the published method. They are not a statement about anyone's honesty. If you work for this organization, you can send corrections or results, confirm you want gifts through Veridonate, or ask to be removed from giving.