About Partner Agency Certification
To become a certified Partner Agency, non-profits must meet specific eligibility criteria. Certification is valid for one year and must be renewed annually. There is no cost to apply or participate.
• Please review our eligibility requirements in this guide to see if your organization may qualify.
• You may find a list of benefits here.
Applications open Thursday, October 2, 2025 and will be accepted through Friday, November 19, 2025 at 5pm CST. All attachments should be uploaded as PDF documents. Please note that late, incomplete, or inaccurate applications will not be considered.
What is UWEC looking for in your application and attachments?
• Compliance with legal requirements and non-profit best practices
• Active board oversight (fiduciary and governance)
• Diversification of revenue sources and organization’s sustainability
• Debt ratio: Ideally the current liabilities are 75% or less of the unrestricted net assets amount
• Ratio of administrative costs to total expenses: Ideally overhead costs are 33.3% or less of total expenses
• Disclosure of any pending or current litigation that could materially affect organization’s health
Helpful Tips
• Be sure to sign in to your account so you can save your progress as you go. We encourage you to save your work often!
• We strongly encourage you to use this guide to draft your answers and confirm your documents before uploading them to the online application.
• Gather documents early. Save them with clear file names before uploading them.
• Check for accuracy. Outdated or incorrect documents (ex: expired tax-exempt form or an old 990) will result in denial. To assist you, we have provided several examples of required documents to help ensure you are attaching the correct items.
• YOU SHOULD ASSUME ALL QUESTIONS ARE REQUIRED unless otherwise stated. Some responses to questions may open additional fields requiring more information. Choosing not to provide additional information will likely result in denial.
• Please note that, due to the high volume of submissions, we do not offer courtesy reviews. Your application will be evaluated based on the documents you submit with your online application.
A Note from Our Team
We want you to succeed! We value our partnerships and believe in the power of collaboration. While this process is thorough, it is not intended to exclude any organizations. Our goal is to ensure transparency, accountability, and strong partnerships that make a meaningful community impact. We look forward to receiving your application!
Questions?
Please contact our Director of Impact, Jenn Williams at jennifer@united-way.org or (850)920-2299.
