United Ways of Tennessee

09/10/2026

"Same problems, different zip codes."

That was the title of the morning plenary at ThinkTennessee's Policy Forum in Nashville, and it may have been the truest sentence spoken all day. From Carter County to Madison County, from Montgomery to Williamson, county mayors described the same pressures United Ways see every day in the lives of the families we serve: growth that outpaces housing, jobs waiting on workers, and workers waiting on child care.

Leaders from seven United Ways were in the room together: United Way of Greater Nashville, United Way of the Mid-South, United Way of Greater Chattanooga, United Way of East TN Highlands, United Way of South Central Tennessee, United Way of the Ocoee Region, and United Way of West Tennessee. We came from Memphis to the mountains, and we listened to conversations that go straight to the heart of what keeps a Tennessee family steady: funding the pipeline from child care to career, meeting the housing need, keeping power affordable as demand grows, and building the roads that carry people to work.

At lunch, we were reminded of the longer story: Tennessee's place in our nation's civic life as America turns 250. And the day closed with former Congressmen Jim Cooper and Zach Wamp modeling something every community could use more of: finding common ground.

Thank you to ThinkTennessee for convening leaders across county lines and party lines. The problems may be the same in every zip code, but so is the resolve to solve them.

09/10/2026

Across Tennessee, financial hardship looks different from one county to the next. But in every community, households are working hard and still struggling to afford the basics.

That’s why the data matters. By measuring households in poverty and ALICE households with income above the poverty level but still unable to afford basics, the data paints a more complete picture of financial hardship statewide.

And that picture helps local leaders and organizations respond with data-driven solutions that will benefit every community.

Explore The in Tennessee: UnitedForALICE.org/Tennessee.

09/09/2026

Equipped with the new data for Tennessee, there’s no better time to act for ALICE. Together, we can build a future where quality child care, housing that’s affordable, and strong physical and mental health are within reach for *all*.

📘 Read the report at UnitedForALICE.org/Tennessee
💸 Donate at https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=GMRQXGLZ99EHY
🙌 Sign up to be a volunteer at https://www.uwtn.org/find-your-local-united-way

United is the Way to help ALICE rise.

09/08/2026

When you take a little time now to make a plan, it can make a big difference when an emergency happens. United Way and Verizon are helping people in communities like yours take simple steps to prepare before disaster strikes. Start your disaster preparedness plan today. https://www.unitedway.org/united-we-prepare

09/07/2026

For ALICE* workers — the engine that makes our communities run — working hard and being financially stable are two different things. The cost of housing, food, child care, and other essentials can make it difficult to get by. Even while working. Even while juggling multiple jobs.
But we have the data that can help change that. Because when we know what it takes to make ends meet, we can work toward solutions that help more families get there. See the data: https://www.unitedforalice.org/introducing-ALICE/tennessee
This , let’s keep building a future where hard work and stability go hand in hand.
*ALICE stands for Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed, and represents households with income above the poverty level but less than the cost of basics.

08/28/2026

08/27/2026

As communities face more frequent and severe weather events, ALICE* households can face a long road to recovery — often without knowing where to turn.
The ALICE Disaster Assistance Tracker helps communities identify where resources are needed most and better support neighbors navigating recovery. Dig into the Tracker here: https://www.unitedforalice.org/disaster-assistance-tracker.
*ALICE stands for Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed, and represents households with income above the poverty level but less than the cost of basics.

08/26/2026

Happy National Dog Day! Here's to our furry friends who give us unconditional love and keep us sane. And thanks to all the vet techs, pet sitters, and walkers who care for them when we're away.

08/25/2026

Today we’ve lost a true legend.

Her daddy couldn't read or write. Before the rhinestones and the sold-out arenas, before Dollywood and eleven Grammys, there was just a little girl in a one-room cabin in Sevier County who watched a proud man be ashamed of something that was never his fault. She never forgot it. And when she had the means to do something about it, she launched a program (Imagination Library) that would ultimately mail over 100 million books to babies across this state and around the world.

She never required an income test; there was no application to prove you were poor enough to deserve a story. Just a book with your name on it, showing up in the mailbox, month after month. It began in 1995, in that same county that was home to that one-room cabin. And in 2004, Governor Bredesen and the General Assembly made it available to every child in all 95 Tennessee counties; and it’s continued to expand since.

But you can't tell that story without telling the rest of it. She wrote thousands of songs, many of which will outlive everyone reading this; hits like "Jolene" and "I Will Always Love You". And along the way she quietly became one of the shrewdest businesswomen this state ever produced. She turned a hollow in the Smokies into an economic engine that has provided jobs to thousands of East Tennessee families. And when tragedy struck, she was always one of the first to contribute.

And here's the part I keep coming back to. In a time when it’s become easy to sort everybody into a side, she refused to be sorted. She was claimed by mountain folks and city folks, by those who go to church and those who frequent the local honky-tonk, by the left and the right, and she never gave any of them permission to use her against the others. She instead United us all. That's not just talent. That's character.

Dolly was the most famous woman in Tennessee, and we will forever be a little prouder because we get the joy of claiming her as one of our own.

Rest well, Dolly. Tennessee loves you back.