Dear Community Partner,
United Way Lakes and Prairie recently completed the successful combination of our two United Ways into one regional organization serving Otter Tail, Wadena, Douglas, Pope, and Todd counties. As we continue to grow and serve our communities, we are continually looking for ways to better serve our region and make the greatest impact.
As we look ahead, we are embracing a new model of service delivery, one that brings United Way closer to the communities we serve. We are developing a network of community hubs as meeting spaces and using community partner locations as impact spaces where programs, resources, volunteer opportunities, and community connections can happen.
Community hubs will provide flexible places for our team to meet with community members, partners, volunteers, businesses, and local leaders. Our community partners will provide impact spaces where we can bring programs and resources directly into the communities they are intended to serve. This approach allows us to be more present, more collaborative, and more responsive to the unique needs of each community.
We are already seeing the impact of this approach through partnerships that bring people and resources together for programs such as Stuff the Bus, Warm Winter Wear, and Feeding Backpack Meals:
• Business and community collections and distributions connect donated resources with individuals, families, schools, and community organizations that need them. • Shared spaces for program delivery allow United Way to bring programs and services directly into communities.
• Volunteerism and community engagement connects individuals, businesses, and organizations with meaningful opportunities to serve within their communities.
• Collaborative partnerships with nonprofits, schools, businesses, local governments, and other community organizations allow us to address local needs and create greater impact together.
These partnerships reflect an important part of our future: being present in our communities.
As part of this evolution, we are also making changes to how we use our current physical office space. After thoughtful consideration, we have made the decision to centralize our administrative operations into one regional office. As part of this transition, our Fergus Falls office will no longer be open as of September 2026.
This decision was made thoughtfully and collaboratively by the United Way Lakes and Prairie leadership team and Board of Directors, with careful consideration of our mission, our responsibility to our communities, and how we can best steward our resources for the future.
Our work has never been defined by an office building. It is defined by the relationships we build, the partnerships we strengthen, and the lives we improve. Centralizing our office allows our staff to spend more time throughout the region serving individuals and families and meeting with businesses, nonprofit partners, schools, local governments, volunteers, and community members where our programs are making an impact.
What this means for our community is simple: you'll be seeing more of us, not less.
Our commitment to Fergus Falls and the entire region remains unwavering. We will continue to offer programs and work alongside community partners throughout Otter Tail, Wadena, Douglas, Pope, and Todd counties, meeting people where they are and creating opportunities for communities to come together to provide the services and resources that are needed.
We look forward to this next chapter and the opportunities it creates to deepen our engagement across the region. We are grateful for your continued trust, partnership, and belief in the power of coming together to create change.
If you have questions about this transition or would like to connect with our team, we welcome the opportunity to visit with you.
Thank you for continuing to be part of the United Way Lakes and Prairie community.
Together, United Is The Way.
In community,
Jennifer Jabas | Executive Director
United Way Lakes and Prairie
P.O. Box 1148,
503 Hawthorne Street, Suite 131
Alexandria, MN 56308
jjabas@uwlp.org | 320-834-7800
