Nonprofits

All certified nonprofits in the Our Promise Campaign are required to have current or exempt status with the CA Department of Justice. Click here to check your nonprofit status anytime.

The Nonprofit Portal provides donor details on payments received from United Way and/or Our Promise.

There are thousands of nonprofit organizations represented by Our Promise. Use the directory to search by nonprofit name, service area, and more.

Nonprofits apply on an annual basis in January for the Our Promise campaign held each Fall. Sign up in the form above to receive a notification on when the application process will become available.

All certified nonprofits must be valid 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations and be in good standing with the Registry of Charitable Trusts to operate or to solicit for charitable purposes in California.

Yes, you do. Since every nonprofit needs to renew their registration with the Department of Justice every year, we also need to re-certify every nonprofit annually to confirm they are still in Current status with the DOJ.

No. The list of nonprofits currently posted is from the participants in last year’s campaign. Every nonprofit still needs to apply to be certified for the campaign year, and the list of approved nonprofits will be posted in October immediately prior to the campaign.

United Way makes payments to nonprofits donated to on a quarterly basis (January, April, July, October). We encourage all of our nonprofits to sign up for EFT in order to be paid out monthly. See below for the nonprofit payout schedule. Please note: the 13.5% administrative fee for all donations is taken out of the first nonprofit payout of the calendar year.

Payment Frequency
Payouts to nonprofits are based on the amount collected from employees. Our Promise issues payouts to nonprofits designated by donors, monthly, quarterly and annually.  

Monthly Payments
Nonprofits signed up for EFT receive payments monthly (based on pledge collections), regardless of the amount.  If you are not signed up for EFT, download your form here and follow the instructions to sign up.

Quarterly Payments
Nonprofits that are not signed up for EFT are paid quarterly (if their payout is for a total of $25 or more).  

Annual Payments
Nonprofits that have a payout that is $25 or less are paid annually at the end of the campaign.

The total combined administrative fees for the Our Promise initiative is 13.5% with an SCO processing fee of $.40 per transaction. Please note: the 13.5% administrative fee for all donations is taken out of the first nonprofit payout of the calendar year.

Please use the nonprofit portal to track payout information and receive donor detail if your donors have elected to be acknowledged. If you have not signed up for the portal, please contact us at (888) 863-6466.

Our Promise runs each year from October 5th – December 31. However, nonprofits should be aware of things that happen all year. Here’s a look:

January –  Nonprofit certification opens for the following Fall campaign.

February – Certification for the Our Promise Campaign closes at the end of the month.

March – Campaign results are announced from the previous Fall campaign.

April –  Approved nonprofit partners are solidified for the Fall campaign.

July –  Preparation for the upcoming campaign season and your nonprofit should now be updated on our website.

October – The campaign officially begins in October. Donors will be completing their ePledge forms online – continue to promote Our Promise your organization to state employees

November – The Campaign continues.

December – The last day of the campaign is Dec. 31.