United Way Miami Unveils Blueprint for Impact
UNITED WAY MIAMI UNVEILS BLUEPRINT FOR IMPACT, ITS MOST COMPREHENSIVE COMMUNITY STRATEGY IN MORE THAN A DECADE
Agency sets bold goals for its community impact work through 2031
MIAMI, Fla., July 1, 2026 — As more than half of Miami-Dade households struggle to afford basic necessities, United Way Miami is launching its Blueprint for Impact, a five-year strategy that establishes the organization’s community impact priorities and accountability framework through 2031.
Representing United Way Miami’s most comprehensive strategic planning effort in more than a decade, the Blueprint for Impact was developed through 18 months of community engagement, research and strategic planning.
“The Blueprint for Impact aligns our direct services, community investments, advocacy and cross-sector collaborations around clear goals and measurable outcomes for Miami-Dade,” said Symeria Hudson, president and CEO of United Way Miami. “It reflects our belief that lasting change requires collective action. At a time when more than half of Miami-Dade households are struggling to afford the basics, we have both an opportunity and continued responsibility to create pathways to health, education and economic mobility.”
At the heart of the Blueprint are bold 2031 goals in Health & Wellbeing, Education and Economic Mobility – three interconnected areas critical to long-term prosperity. United Way Miami aims to help 25,000 residents gain access to preventive healthcare, provide high-quality professional development opportunities to 2,500 early childhood educators and administrators and support 5,000 individuals in securing stable, resilient employment.
A key strategy for achieving these goals is a five-year, $36.5 million community investment portfolio supporting 84 programs across 48 nonprofit organizations. The investment represents $7.3 million annually for 35 Health & Wellbeing programs, 31 Education programs and 18 Economic Mobility programs that expand access to healthcare, healthy aging, mental health services, early childhood education, workforce development, housing stability and financial resilience throughout Miami-Dade.
The Blueprint will also guide United Way Miami’s direct-service initiatives, including the Center for Excellence in Early Education, Center for Financial Stability, Mission United, UpSkill Miami and EDEN Place, while informing the organization’s partnerships, advocacy and community engagement efforts. Together, these initiatives and investments create a coordinated framework for advancing long-term, measurable outcomes across Miami-Dade.
The launch comes at a critical time. According to the 2026 United Way ALICE Report, rising housing costs, inflation and limited access to healthcare continue to create barriers for working families, many of whom remain one emergency away from financial hardship.
“There is no question that the needs facing Miami-Dade are significant and growing,” said David Zambrana, president and CEO of Jackson Health System and chair of the United Way Miami Board of Directors. “The Blueprint for Impact allows United Way to be strategic and collaborative in how the organization invests and deploys resources so that every dollar and every partnership delivers the greatest possible impact.”
Today, United Way generates more than $100 million annually in community impact through direct services, grants to nonprofits, matching gifts, advocacy, collaborations, partnerships and volunteer engagement that improve lives across Miami-Dade.
To learn more about Blueprint for Impact, its goals and opportunities to get involved, visit unitedwaymiami.org. To download the Blueprint for Impact Case Study, please click HERE.
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ABOUT UNITED WAY MIAMI:
Established in 1924, United Way Miami is one of South Florida’s most influential and trusted nonprofit organizations and the region’s largest private funder of Health & Wellbeing, Education, Resilient Communities and Economic Mobility initiatives. United Way Miami convenes donors, volunteers, businesses, government, nonprofits and community leaders to address Miami-Dade’s most pressing challenges. Positioned at the intersection of philanthropy, strategy, investment and direct action, the organization advances solutions that expand opportunity and drive systemic change. To address critical gaps and emerging needs, the organization leads the United Way Miami Center for Excellence in Early Education, Center for Financial Stability, Mission United and UpSkill Miami and invests in programs across a broad network of community partners to help more than 242,000 individuals thrive each year.
For more information, visit unitedwaymiami.org or follow @unitedwaymiami.
