For over 100 years, United Way of the Midlands (UWM) has used its relationships and community-wide perspective to identify the needs that are going unseen or unmet. We partner with hundreds of organizations, agencies, volunteers and individual donors to create a strong Circle of Support around our community.
We invest donor dollars in more than 150 local nonprofit programs in the Omaha-Council Bluffs community that address pressing social and economic disparities and provide the essentials families need to thrive such as healthy food, safe and stable housing, physical and mental health services, career preparation, job training and more. And, we work with community leaders in all aspects of our mission – Board of Directors, campaign leadership, community investments, strategic planning – to assure our mission remains focused on the most pressing needs of the metro area.
Thanks to donors like you, who believe in our mission and the work we do, we can continue to make a difference and unite our community’s caring spirit to build a stronger tomorrow for future generations.
To celebrate our history of making a difference in the Omaha-Council Bluffs community and ensure we can continue supporting our neighbors in need for generations to come – we’ve created the Legacy Society.
An endowment program designed to deliver a perpetual source of funding to help United Way of the Midlands give back to our community for many years to come – the Forever United Fund is a meaningful way to support organizations you believe in and help make sure their work will continue in the future.
Endowments are particularly powerful because they deliver a dependable, perpetual source of funding. Your endowment gift is an investment in the future of United Way of the Midlands – one that makes a real difference in our community by enhancing our ability to continue supporting hundreds of nonprofit programs and helping those who need it most for many years to come.
We offer several ways you can make a gift to our endowment fund and build your legacy of community change and support:
Life Insurance Beneficiary Gift: You can designate the United Way of the Midlands Endowment Fund as a life insurance beneficiary.
Individual Endowed Gift: You can make a gift that is invested in perpetuity, with the distributions available to spend on activities consistent with your intent.
Endowed Tocqueville Gift: You can provide a gift to the Endowment Fund that will create a perpetual Tocqueville Society-level gift ($10,000 or above) annually.
Estate or Planned Gift: You can include a gift to the endowment fund in your overall financial and/or estate planning.
Our UWM team will also work with you to make sure your gift impacts the causes and needs you care about the most. We can direct your legacy gift to the area of focus that you prefer.
We currently invest nearly 93 cents of every donated dollar back into our community, and we continually strive to maintain and increase efficiencies.
We use our connections and community-wide perspective to stay attuned to changes in the Omaha-Council Bluffs metro, and we adjust our investment practices accordingly.
We value the opportunity to personally thank you and recognize you for your generosity, but we also understand your will is a personal document. If you would like to disclose your information, we will protect your privacy with the utmost discretion.
Through the Forever United Fund, there are several ways you can make a gift and build your legacy of community change and support. For Ron Lewer, his legacy is a dedication to work, family, frugality, and giving back to charities close to his heart.
Born and raised in Council Bluffs and an employee of Union Pacific for more than 30 years, Lewer was a member of UWM’s Tocqueville Society – for which he paid his life insurance premium each year as his gift. Upon his passing in November 2021, his generous legacy gift will now generate close to $36,000 every year to assist UWM in helping those who need it most.
Ron was “without a doubt, the most frugal individual I ever met…and at the same time, the most generous,” said his older brother, Larry. “He never made a lot of money, but he saved everything and prioritized giving back to the community.”
If you’re interested in preserving your legacy and supporting our community’s future, or you’d like additional information about the Forever United Fund, please contact: