Heart Of West Michigan United Way

Heart Of West Michigan United Way, doing business as United Way Heart Of West Michigan, is a tax-exempt nonprofit organization based in Grand Rapids, Michigan, that acts as the fiduciary agency for the Kent County Continuum of Care, receiving federal grants as the prime recipient to coordinate homelessness interventions and tax assistance services across west Michigan.

The organization's federal footprint centers on two federal grant programs from HUD and the IRS. Under the Continuum of Care Program (CFDA 14.267), Heart Of West Michigan United Way has received recurring project grants from the Department of Housing and Urban Development's Assistant Secretary for Community Planning and Development since at least 2021, with recent awards including $467,490 (December 2025 through November 2026), $250,793 (June 2026 through May 2027), $229,731 (February 2026 through January 2027), and $395,557 (December 2024 through November 2025). These grants support permanent housing (including permanent supportive housing and rapid rehousing for persons with disabilities), transitional housing, supportive services, Homeless Management Information Systems (HMIS), and homelessness prevention across five program components. The organization also administers sub-awards from the Michigan State Housing Development Authority (MSHDA) under the Emergency Solutions Grant program, with recent funding of $400,232 (October 2025 through September 2026) and $172,185 (October 2024 through September 2025) for fiduciary and administrative functions serving homeless and at-risk populations in Kent County. Under the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance Matching Grant Program (CFDA 21.009), Heart Of West Michigan United Way received a $105,000 project grant from the Internal Revenue Service (October 2025 through September 2026) supporting free tax return preparation and filing services for low- to moderate-income taxpayers, persons with disabilities, limited-English-proficient individuals, Native Americans, rural residents, elderly taxpayers, and military members and families. A prior VITA grant of $105,000 ran through September 2025.

Customer concentration is heavily weighted toward HUD's Community Planning and Development office, which accounts for 28 of the organization's 47 total awards (59% of award count). The IRS accounts for seven awards. Recent activity shows a sustained cadence of CoC awards from HUD with multiple concurrent project grants and administrative sub-awards from MSHDA, supplemented by recurring annual VITA grants from the IRS. Six awards face ultimate completion within the next twenty-four months, including the December 2023 and February 2024 CoC grants (both expiring in late 2024 and early 2025 within that window). The organization also has identified AYA Youth Collective as a sub-awardee liaison for compliance with HUD Youth Action Project requirements for youth ages 24 and younger experiencing homelessness, indicating engagement with specialized service delivery networks within the broader CoC coordination mandate.