Louisville, Ky. (August 26, 2026) – Metro United Way has announced the second year of its From Hardship to Hope campaign, a community-wide effort to raise $75 million by 2030 and lift the region’s neighbors from hardship to hope at a time when nearly two in five households are living in poverty or working hard and still unable to make ends meet. The organization enters year two with over $18 million already raised and new data showing the need has never been greater.
“Imagine working full time and still not having enough. That is the reality for far too many of our neighbors, and it is exactly why this work is more important than ever,” said Adria Johnson, President and CEO of Metro United Way. “Hope starts here, with all of us working together to ensure we have thriving kids, strong households, and an equitable community.”
Leading the next phase is Lance Mann, Louisville Market Leader with Dean Dorton, who serves as the campaign’s year-two chair. Mann steps into the role held by Kim Halbauer, Regional President of Fifth Third Bank Kentucky, whose leadership built the campaign’s foundation during its inaugural year.
“I’m honored to step into this position and continue building on the incredible foundation that’s been set by Kim Halbauer, the Leadership Cabinet and the entire Metro United Way team,” said Mann. “The need in our community is greater than ever, but together, we can lift more families from hardship to hope and ensure that the Greater Louisville region is the best it’s ever been for everyone.”
New local data on ALICE® households (Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed) shows that two in five households across Metro United Way’s seven-county region can’t cover the basics like housing, food, child care, and health care. ALICE® neighbors earn above the federal poverty level but not enough to make ends meet, and they are people the community sees every day: baristas, servers, cooks, delivery drivers, bank tellers, and child care workers.
The data shows 331,000 neighbors now live in poverty or are facing hardship across the region, with another 154,000 who fall into the ALICE® population. Together, that is 39%, or almost two in five households, either living in poverty or working hard and still unable to afford basic necessities.
Closing the gap between hardship and hope is exactly what year two is built to do. Every dollar raised toward the $75 million goal helps local families afford stable housing, quality child care, and the everyday basics that move a household from just getting by to getting ahead.
For more information about the From Hardship to Hope campaign, visit metrounitedway.org/from-hardship-to-hope.
About Metro United Way
For more than 100 years, Metro United Way has been improving lives and our community, which includes Jefferson, Bullitt, Oldham, and Shelby counties in Kentucky and Clark, Floyd, and Harrison counties in Indiana. We are uniquely positioned to harness the power of donors, volunteers, thought leaders, experts, other nonprofits, and government at all levels to ensure positive, sustainable change for every person in our seven-county region. Now more than ever, we are focused on three priorities: thriving kids, strong households, and an equitable community.
