Community Game Plan
BECOMING THE UNITED WAY OUR COMMUNITY NEEDS
We’ve seen the numbers. We’ve heard from our nonprofit and community partners. During the process of shifting the strategy for our organization, we evolved our approach to align with what our community wants in an organization and how we will fulfill their needs. This Community Game Plan is a map to put into action through collective impact.
Collective impact is the commitment of a group of individuals from different sectors to a common agenda for solving a specific social problem using a structured form of collaboration. UWHC is committed to working with others to staff, resource, and provide oversight of this effort.
Through the 2021 UWHC Community Needs Assessment, four Vision Councils have been formed to support the work of each focus area in this plan: health, education, self-sufficiency, and basic needs. These councils bring together issue area experts, people whose lives are affected by the issue, business leaders, and other organizations working to impact each area. Based on their knowledge, members of the Vision Councils will recommend and monitor the investment of resources in efforts that align with the priorities of UWHC. Vision Councils will continue to welcome new community members interested in making an IMPACT in Horry County.
Our 2025 Community Needs Assessment results will be released in the Fall of 2025.
OUR FOCUS AREAS
We focus our programs, collective impact work, and investments on four pillars that significantly contribute to meeting the needs of our community through our Bold Goals.
Health
We envision a future where behavioral health needs for children, youth, and adults are recognized and validated.
BOLD GOALS: Decrease the number of suicide ideations and attempts; Decrease the number of drug-related overdose deaths.
Strategies to Achieve Our Vision
Fund
– Programs that improve outcomes and access to behavioral health services for children, youth, and adults
– Programs that raise awareness of and intervention in unhealthy behaviors
Advocate
– Support community efforts to encourage the understanding of behavioral health needs through education and legislation
Collaborate
– Collaborate with stakeholders to convene/participate in a coalition of community partners engaged in developing a strategy to address behavioral health needs in Horry County (with a focus on strengthening families)
Educate
– Educate at-risk populations about available programming and services to support behavioral health
– Conduct a marketing campaign around preventive education and reducing the stigma of behavioral health issues
Self-Sufficiency
We envision a future where everyone in Horry County is supported to achieve self-sufficiency.
BOLD GOAL: Increase the number of Horry County Residents meeting self-sufficiency standards.
Strategies to Achieve Our Vision
Fund
– Financial literacy programs that work with adults and children to establish self-sufficiency.
– Support services that provide education, counseling, coaching, case management and/or legal services linked to self-sufficiency. – Services that support individuals along a path to family-sustaining wages through employment.
Advocate
– Job training and workforce development to achieve greater earning potential.
– Advocate against predatory lending practices through education and legislation.
– Advocate for public-private partnerships to address housing affordability and availability.
Collaborate
– Convene financial institutions and key stakeholders to leverage opportunities for self-sufficiency by removing barriers.
– Support job opportunities that provide a living wage for qualified candidates.
Educate
– Increase awareness about opportunities for job training and work-ready certificates.
– Educate individuals about how financial health impacts one’s self-sufficiency.
– Educate parents and youth about career planning and preparing children and youth for post-secondary completion and the workforce.
Basic Needs
We envision a future where everyone has access to food, shelter, clothing, healthcare, basic materials, transportation, and a sense of security.
Strategies to Achieve our Vision
Fund
– Programs that provide emergency assistance for food, shelter, clothing, healthcare, basic materials, and transportation.
– Opportunities that restore hope and stability to clients as they move from emergency need to self-sufficiency.
Advocate
– Empower and encourage clients to be confident and active participants in their path to stability.
– The opposite of poverty is not wealth; it is peace. We advocate for stability and self-sufficiency at all income levels.
Collaborate
– Create a collaborative network of services to provide complete wraparound support to our most vulnerable citizens.
– Seek opportunities for unified effort to be replicated across the community and not duplicated.
Educate
– Educate the community about the value of restoring hope and stability to those experiencing a need.
– Educate the community about available programming and services to support basic needs.
Together we can do more.
Join us in the fight!
The United Way of Horry County 2025 competitive grant funding cycle is now closed. We will not be accepting new applications for 2026 due to the Community Needs Assessment happening this year. Once those results have been released and the new Community Game Plan is realigned to fit the current needs, we will open up a new grant funding cycle and begin accepting applications. Check back in 2026 for updates!