United Way of Spokane County
Public records show a registered, tax-exempt organization in good standing.
Points to look into
- Only 33% of its spending went to programs.
These come from the organization's own tax return. There may be a good explanation; ask the charity.
What it says it does
The mission of Spokane County United Way is to mobilize our community resources to create measurable results that improve the lives of the people living in our community and advance the idea of the common good. (Continued on Schedule O)Our vision is that Spokane County will be known for increasing health, prosperity, and educational attainment for at risk community members, and is a tool for breaking the local cycle of intergenerational poverty.
- Income
- $1.5 million
- Spending
- $1.7 million
- Spent on programs
- 33%
- Reserves
- 5.7 months of spending
- Largest source of income
- donations and private grants, 99%
- Employees
- 15
- Volunteers
- 30
- Highest pay
- $93,597, president, ceo & secretary
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
Weak: 45 out of 100. Higher than 7% of charities in its peer group (philanthropy, $1m to $10m).
Reserves
20 of 35Spendable reserves would cover 5.7 months of spending.
Debt
20 of 20It owes 14% of what it owns.
Living within its means
0 of 15Spending exceeded income by 16% of income.
Income trend
5 of 15Income fell 15% on the year before.
Spending floor
0 of 1533% of spending went to programs and raising each dollar of donations cost 0 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
Good: 85 out of 100. Higher than 40% of charities in its peer group (philanthropy, $1m to $10m).
Independent board
25 of 2528 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
0 of 15Its accounts were not audited or reviewed 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)
- $171,357 spent. Donor Designated Gifts: Spokane County United Way runs a major fundraising program, the Workplace Campaign. Many of the donations to the campaign are specifically designated to qualified non-profit agencies. Acting as an agent, United Way ensures that these donations are collected and accurately distributed, under standards established by United Way Worldwide. The Organization collected and will distribute $137,697 related to this campaign during the fiscal year.
- $136,789 spent. Education: Funding is provided primarily to local impact partners as part of the organizations goal of cutting educational achievement gaps in half, focusing resources on children and youth who are low-income, racial/ethnic minorities, and/or have special needs. Spokane County United Way is involved in providing over 10,000 community members access to bilingual trail markers through Born Again Learning Trails and over 5,000 children under the age of 5 access to 1 free book every month through the Dolly Parton Imagination Library Foundation.
- $91,583 spent. Excelerate Success: Excelerate Success addresses the impacts of racism, particularly structural racism. The initiative seeks to build community by promoting collaboration among Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC) and white people in Spokane County as well as among people with other marginalized identities. Excelerate Success has 3 core strategies: racial affinity groups; trainings led my impacted communities; and annual community learning events.
- $160,552 spent. Financial Stability: Funding provided to community agencies and community members for programs that support improving the financial stability of low-income households in Spokane County, WA, especially low-income families with children.Volunteer Services: The organization supports individual, group, and corporate volunteer engagement as a strategy to fulfill its mission. To support its financial stability work, Spokane County United Way promoted a free self-filing tool, www.MyFreeTaxes.com. Members of the Emerging Leaders Society contributed talent and 170 volunteer hours to projects in the community with local nonprofit agencies. In addition, Spokane County United Way maintained a web-based platform, www.volunteerspokane.org, which served as a free resource to match community volunteers with opportunities at local nonprofit organizations. Spokane County United Way manages the selection and support of AmeriCorps VISTA projects and members in Spokane County in coordination with Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS).Health: Funding is provided to local impact partners for programs directed at improving the health and safety of families in Spokane County, WA. Spokane County United Way provides financial support to local organizations that focus on preventing or mitigating the impact of child abuse, child neglect, domestic violence, mental illness, and substance abuse.Community Planning & Capacity: Staff participated in community collaborations to improve cultural competency, reduce youth and family homelessness, improve access to medical and dental services for low-income populations, reduce the impact of adverse childhood experiences, and improve the local early learning infrastructure.Labor relations: Spokane County United Way Labor Services works with the labor community to educate interested members about available health and human care services, recruit volunteers, for food drives, and recruit and place members of organized labor with volunteer opportunities in human and health care organizations.Homelessness Initiatives: Spokane County United Way partners with A Way Home Washington to help participating communities improve their data collection methods, advocate for legislative change, develop partnerships with systems and service providers, and implement projects that improve access to services and lead to equitable outcomes for all young people. Building on the success of the Anchor Community Initiative, United Way is launching Built for Zero Initiative with Community Solutions; a new effort to support homeless veterans and chronically homeless adults. This work is supported by funding United Way received from the Kaiser Permanente Foundation. Spokane County United Way joined the Built for Zero collaborative which is made up of more than 90 communities that have committed to measurably ending homelessness, one population at a time. Using data, communities have changed how local homeless response systems work and the impact they can achieve. Fourteen of the collaborative communities have ended homelessness for a population by reaching a standard called functional zero. More than half have achieved reductions in the number of people experiencing chronic and veteran homelessness.
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 September 7, 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 September 30, 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 September 10, 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 September 7, 2026.
How long has it been tax-exempt? Passed.
Recognized by the IRS since September 1953.
Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated September 7, 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 October 7, 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.