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For over 100 years, United Way of North Central Iowa has been at the heart of local change.
Founded in 1923, our roots trace back to the Mason City Chamber of Commerce, which recognized the need for a unified effort to address the evolving social challenges facing the community. Inspired by Cleveland’s Community Chest model, the Mason City Community Chest was created to raise and allocate funds to help local citizens in need. Five social agencies were its original partners.
Since then, our name has changed—from Mason City United Fund in 1965, to United Way of Mason City in 1973, to United Way of Cerro Gordo County in 1980, and finally, to United Way of North Central Iowa in 1991—but our mission remains the same: to improve lives by mobilizing the caring power of communities.
Today, we partner with 19 local programs to positively impact North Iowans in four key areas: Healthy Community, Youth Opportunity, Financial Security, and Community Resiliency. These areas reflect our commitment to addressing both urgent needs and long-term solutions that build stronger communities.
We are proud to keep overhead costs low, ensuring that critical funds flow back into our communities to meet pressing human service needs.
As we celebrate over a century of impact, we remain committed to creating lasting change. None of this would be possible without you. Thank you for standing with us—past, present, and future. Together, united, we can inspire hope and create opportunity for a better tomorrow.