As we go through our 2025 grant allocation process, we’ve heard from nearly 30 nonprofits requesting United Way funding to help them achieve their missions and provide a wide range of critical services in our community. These amazing organizations are not only providing basic needs like food and housing, they are helping people with literacy and vocational training so they can increase their earning potential and financial position, providing mental health support, and working to break cycles of poverty, abuse, violence, and addiction that are keeping our community’s children and families from thriving.
A common theme throughout this process has been how many individuals and families need help on multiple levels, including the most basic needs. A job seeker looking to build literacy and computer skills also needs help with rent. A family searching for childcare and early learning resources also needs help keeping everyone fed. A woman reaching out for domestic violence services also needs help with housing, food, parenting, and mental health support.
Across the board, we are hearing from local nonprofits that food insecurity is at unprecedented levels. Organizations like the Bellingham Food Bank and programs Meals on Wheels and More experienced a huge increase in demand during the pandemic, which shouldn’t surprise anyone. But while the natural expectation would be for those numbers to eventually go back down to pre-Covid levels, that hasn’t happened. In fact, the opposite is true. They are seeing increases in need for their services. At the same time, nonprofits focused on other areas such as education, parenting support, vocational training, mental health, and abuse prevention are all seeing a similar trend: their clients don’t have enough food. Many of these agencies have begun stocking food pantries so that the clients who come to them for help in other areas are able to concentrate on the issue at hand.
Too many families aren’t getting by
This isn’t just anecdotal information. Local ALICE data paints a clear picture of rising needs in Whatcom County. ALICE® stands for Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed and refers to hardworking families with income above the Federal Poverty Level but less than the cost of essentials. ALICE works hard, often at more than one job, and still falls short. ALICE data provides a much more accurate way to look at financial hardship, because it looks at both household earnings and the actual cost of living in Whatcom County.
To give you an idea of how outdated the Federal Poverty Level is, consider this: In 2023, the Federal Poverty Level for an individual was listed at $14,580 and $30,000 for a family of four. According to the most recent ALICE report, which analyzes 2023 data, an individual living in Whatcom County actually needs to earn $35,316 simply to afford the basics. Meanwhile, a family of four with two adults and two kids in childcare would need to earn $119,076 just to get by. If this family of four has two parents working, one as a full-time personal care aide and one as a stock worker/order filler, two common jobs in Whatcom County, they would be earning about $82,500, well short of what’s needed just to cover basics like groceries, rent, transportation, and childcare.
Financial stability is complex
At United Way, we use ALICE data to help us understand the financial struggles people are facing in our community and to determine how we can effectively invest in local programs working together to tackle this complex issue. Pre-pandemic, 36% of Whatcom County households earned less than the basic ALICE survival budget for Whatcom County. The report released today reveals that number is now at 45%. The bottom line? Too many individuals and families in Whatcom County can’t afford the basics they need to get through the day.
And it’s not just folks in certain jobs. Across our state, more than one third of workers in the 20 most common jobs – cashiers, cooks, janitors, delivery drivers – live in households that can’t afford the basics and are forced to make impossible choices every day. Do I pay rent or buy food? Do I put gas in the car so I can get to work or do I pick up my blood pressure medication? Do I accept that promotion at work or will that cause me to lose my childcare stipend and put me in a worse financial situation?
These hardworking folks and these impossible choices are what motivate United Ways to show up in our communities every day. At United Way of Whatcom County, our mission is to help ALICE families gain financial stability and to keep them from slipping into poverty because of a rising grocery bill. Because for too many families, it’s not just the increased cost of food. It’s yet another crack in the fragile foundation they’re trying so desperately to stand on. Our work helps open doors and remove barriers to financial stability. Together, we’re building a stronger foundation for ALICE and each other.
United is the way we make sure families in our community have the tools and resources they need to not just survive, but to thrive. That’s what stability feels like. That’s what we’re fighting for. Together, we can make it happen.
We invite you to join us in this incredibly challenging and rewarding work.
Here are few ways you can make a difference:
Make a gift to ensure these agencies can continue to keep their doors open and deliver their critical services throughout Whatcom County.
Explore the ALICE data to learn more about ALICE families in our community. Then, visit our website to discover how you can help build a brighter, more stable future for ALICE and for all.
Watch a heartfelt video to see real stories of United Way of Whatcom County in action.
- Karina’s Story: Achieving a Dream
- Gurpreet’s Story: It’s Healing to Give
- Damien’s Story: One Family’s United Way Journey
- Sheena’s Story: United Way in Action
- Opening Worlds Through Literacy: Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library
Support our littlest learners with early learning and literacy through Imagination Library.
Questions? Thoughts? Reach out to hello@unitedwaywhatcom.org. We’d love to hear from you!