United Way of Oxford-Lafayette County (UWOLC) Board of Directors awarded $170,000 in grant funding for fiscal year (FY) 2025-2026. The grant awards advance UWOLC’s mission to improve lives and meet community needs throughout the Lafayette-Oxford-University (LOU) community.

UWOLC will provide support to 22 local programs and initiatives as part of its FY 2025-2026 grant cycle. Recipients will use the awarded funds to implement programs and initiatives in the UWOLC’s four impact areas of youth opportunity, healthy community, financial security, and community resiliency.

Advisory committees comprised of local volunteers guide the UWOLC’s annual community investment process by evaluating applications in the organization’s impact areas. Once the four advisory committees complete their evaluations, the committee chairs meet in order to determine the recommended award amounts, which are submitted to the UWOLC Board of Directors for its review and approval. The referenced evaluations are accompanied by a fiscal agent review, which is conducted by the organization’s finance committee.

The aforementioned award process is thorough as applicants must demonstrate the positive outcomes of the proposed programs and initiatives as well as the severity of the needs being addressed in addition to providing information regarding their finances and organizational structure. All of the volunteers who participate in the process are local residents who give of their time, talents and expertise to ensure the awarded grant funding will have a significant impact within their home community.

Please click here to download a two-page PDF file that provides summary information for the grant recipients listed below.

Youth Opportunity: $56,800

Oxford School District Future Leaders of Tomorrow: 2nd Chance MS 
2025-2026 Funding: $1,000.00

Power Hour: Boys & Girls Clubs of North Mississippi 
2025-2026 Funding: $15,000.00

Youth Mentoring: Faith Planters
2025-2026 Funding: $600.00

Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library: Lafayette County Literacy Council
2025-2026 Funding: $6,000.00

Early Childhood Education: LOU Reads Coalition
2025-2026 Funding: $2,200.00

One-on-One Tutoring: The Leap Frog Program
2025-2026 Funding: $28,000.00

Healthy Community: $48,100

Victim Services: Family Crisis Services of Northwest Mississippi
2025-2026 Funding: $32,000.00

Raising Mothers to Rise: North Mississippi Exchange Family Center
2025-2026 Funding: $13,000.00

Collaborative Pediatric Autism Testing: Psychology Training and Evaluation Center 
2025-2026 Funding:  $600.00

Special Olympics:Special Olympics Mississippi Area IV
2025-2026 Funding:  $2,500.00

Financial Security: $5,500

Self-Sufficiency Transitional Empowerment Program (STEP): Doors of Hope Transition Ministries
2025-2026 Funding: $1,500.00

Adult Basic Literacy Education (ABLE): Lafayette County Literacy Council
2025-2026 Funding: $4,000.00

Community Resiliency: $63,600

Disaster Cycle Services: American Red Cross
2025-2026 Funding: $1,000.00

CASA Socks & Soles: CASA of North Mississippi
2025-2026 Funding: $1,000.00

Mobile Clothes Closet: Faith Planters
2025-2026 Funding: $1,700.00

Emergency Assistance Program: Doors of Hope Transition Ministries
2025-2026 Funding: $2,500.00

Homeless Client Assistance: Interfaith Compassion Ministry 
2025-2026 Funding: $20,900.00

Indigent Client Assistance: Interfaith Compassion Ministry 
2025-2026 Funding: $20,000.00

Oxford Diaper Bank: North Mississippi Exchange Family Center
2025-2026 Funding: $3,000.00

Home Renovation & Repair Project: Oxford-Lafayette Fuller Center for Housing
2025-2026 Funding: $2,500.00

Patient Assistance: North Mississippi Kidney Foundation
2025-2026 Funding: $2,000.00

Home-Delivered Meals: Three Rivers AAA/PDD
2025-2026 Funding: $9,000.00