The 1,400 community-based United Ways are separately incorporated and independently governed by local volunteers. Many of these organizations are similar in their mission and structure, but some are very different.
United Way of Northwest Louisiana pays a voluntary membership contribution for the rights to use the name and logo, and support broader community impact goals through United Way Worldwide, which attacks the same problems on a national and global level, and provides guidance, training and development services to local United Ways. These dues are less than one percent of each dollar contributed.
Contributions raised in our ten-parish area stay here and decisions about which programs to invest in and which partnerships to pursue are made locally.