Ways to Give

How can you give in a way that works best for you?

Our areas of impact

Support early literacy

Join us in providing free books to children from zero to five across our region through Dolly Parton's Imagination Library. $30 covers a year of books for a child in our area, so consider making a monthly donation to help more than one family find their love of reading. $150 will cover books for a child for the entirety of the program, from years 0 to 5! Your contributions — no matter how big or small — make an impact.

Be a part of the Race for Reading! Lace up for literacy and make an impact in your community! As the preferred charity partner of Hood To Coast, your participation helps support Dolly Parton's Imagination Library at a variety of races this year. 

Donate to Dolly Parton's Imagination Library >

Help us maintain resilient families

Donate to our Resilient Families Fund to help us continue providing a fast, flexible response fund that assists those in our community facing the risk of homelessness. The Resilient Families Fund focuses on precise, efficient, rapid response monetary support that can assist our community with rental support, eviction defense, utility support, and more. When people in Portland need help, people in Portland step up. 

Donate to the Resilient Families Fund >

Help us empower volunteerism

For over 30 years, our Hands On Greater Portland team has asked the question: Why not start in your own community? We know that volunteerism is a powerful way to enact change for the better, that's why we are dedicated to mobilizing thousands of volunteers for local nonprofits all year-round. We know the transformational power of volunteerism, for our nonprofit partners, for the volunteers who dedicate their time, talent, and efforts, and for our community as a whole. But this bridge between community need and community action is fully donor-funded. 

Donate to Hands on Greater Portland >

DAFs, Stocks, and Securities

Donor Advised Funds (DAFs)

Process your gift through your giving contact or an online portal. Our Tax ID number is 93-0582124.

Learn about DAFs here >

Stocks and Securities

Contributions of appreciated stock or securities can make a big impact for our community, while resulting in significant tax savings for you. The current full value of the gift can generally be deducted, and the capital gains tax on the amount of appreciation is avoided. Please alert our donations specialist (donations@unitedway-pdx.org or 503.226.9383) when making your gift of stock (or if you have any questions) so that your gift is properly acknowledged and receipted. 

Download our Stock Transfer Form >

IRA Distributions

By donating directly from your IRA, you can partner with us to support kids and families in the Portland-metro community while also reducing your tax liability.  If you are 70 ½ or older and you have a traditional IRA, you can make a contribution, also known as a Qualified Charitable Distribution (QCD), from your IRA that is 100% tax free, whether or not you itemize deductions on your tax return. 

Employee matching gifts

Double the donation

Did you know that you can double your donation to United Way of the Columbia-Willamette through our matching gift program? Many companies offer matching gift programs for current employees or retirees that will double, or even triple a donation’s value.

See if your employer will match your donation >

Become a volunteer

Making a difference doesn’t always mean making a donation. Through Hands On Greater Portland, you can connect with meaningful volunteer opportunities that support local nonprofits and strengthen our community. Whether you have a few hours to spare or want to share your skills over time, there are many ways to get involved and help make our community a better place for everyone.

Explore volunteer opportunities at Hands On Greater Portland >

Host a drive

We host drives for a variety of goods throughout the year, depending on the needs we are seeing from our community. Whether it's collecting diapers for ALICE families, gathering food for low-income families served by our Early Learning Multnomah and Washington county teams, or gathering books to continue our mission of empowering children's literacy, there's always an opportunity to work with United Way. As your trusted partner in philanthropy, we know where the need is highest, and you can help us provide the support to match that need.

Contact drives@unitedway-pdx.org for information on how to set up a drive.

Want to talk directly with our donations team?

Prefer to give by mail?

You can make a difference in the lives of local families by sending your gift directly to United Way of the Columbia-Willamette. Every contribution helps build stronger communities and gives families more opportunities to thrive.

Checks can be sent to our secure bank lockbox:

United Way of the Columbia-Willamette 
PO Box 31001-4240 
Pasadena, CA 91110-4240