Mission
To equip early to mid-career professionals with the resources, experience, and networks to make meaningful change in communities across RI and become the next generation of philanthropic and community leaders.
Start making an impact today.
Emerging Leaders (EL) provides the avenue for early to mid-career professionals to take action and learn how to most effectively give back with their time, talent and resources to make the greatest difference in your community. At exclusive mixers, members CONNECT with other entrepreneurs, business people and executives who share a common goal: to make an impact. Membership creates opportunities to SERVE at volunteer projects and agency tours. By becoming a member of this select group, you will LEAD the way for others to become inspired about all the good United Way of RI does in the community.
Emerging Leaders Membership
You are invited to attend a complimentary EL event. After getting to know our members and mission, we hope that you will become an official member with a minimum $250 annual donation to United Way of Rhode Island. Donations can be accepted through payroll deductions (for United Way affiliated companies), debited from your bank account monthly, or by making a one-time donation. You will become a steward of the community while expanding your professional network and taking the next critical step in your career.
Your membership donation provides you with access to a range of opportunities, such as:
- Networking and professional development events
- Mentorship opportunities
- Volunteering
- Membership in a group of civic-minded peers committed to creating real change in our community
Emerging Leaders Steering Committee
- Diane Davis, Loan Depot
- Donna Allen, Keller Williams Realty
- Kathleen Rose, Brown University
- Nancy Levesque, CollegeVision
- Chelsea Love, FM
- Shannon Leclerc
- Marissa Aktchian, FM
Three ways to make a difference with your EL membership:
Leader for Change | $750 annually
Take a leadership role in supporting communities across the Ocean State through a network of committed young professionals, impact-focused professional development, and volunteer service. Receive invitations to select events with Leadership Circle, Women United, Tocqueville Society, and UW Board members.
Your membership gift alone changes lives by providing critical support like a wheelchair, hospital bed, and lift for a traumatic brain injury patient. And that’s just the start of what you can do in EL.
Community Champion | $500 annually
Help transform communities through networking and collaboration with other emerging leaders, professional development, and volunteer service, and receive an invitation to an exclusive event with the UWRI Board and CEO.
Your membership gift alone provides diapers for 120 families with children in need, taking one critical burden off the shoulders of busy parents.
Equity Advocate | $250 annually
Help build a more equitable Rhode Island through a network of like-minded young professionals, unique professional development opportunities, and volunteer service.
Your membership gift alone provides hygiene kits for 104 people experiencing homelessness this year, when resources have never been more needed
If you already donate $250 or more to United Way through your workplace and would like to connect your contribution to an EL membership, click here.
For more information about Emerging Leaders, email Bethany Wood, Philanthropy Officer | Bethany.Wood@Unitedwayri.org
More than farming, Southside Community Land Trust is a lifeline for RI families: Commentary
According to The Economic Progress Institute, it costs a single-parent family in Rhode Island $83,239 a year to raise two children. A two-parent household needs $92,375. Even a single adult must […]
It’s time to broaden view of what nonprofits really are. Hope & Main shows how
I’ve spent the majority of my life immersed in the nonprofit sector, and one of the most common misconceptions is that they’re often placed beneath a “social services” umbrella. That […]
Volunteers Needed for “Day of Action” on June 7 to Help Prepare Donated Books for Distribution to Local Children
Providence, R.I. (May 27, 2025) – United Way of Rhode Island’s annual “Day of Action” is quickly approaching, and the organization is looking for additional volunteers to help prepare thousands […]
Get Ready Rhode Island Nonprofits, 401Gives is Back
Registration is open for the state’s largest philanthropic effort supporting local organizations
Eligible Rhode Islanders can have their Taxes Prepared and Filed for Free
United Way-led Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program offers certified, trusted help at more than 20 sites statewide
Rhode Island Good Neighbor Energy Fund Sees Rising Demand for Heating Assistance as Winter Cold Deepens
Donations to the GNEF can be made using the yellow envelope found with Rhode Islanders’ utility bill, by scanning the QR code on the envelope, texting “WARM” to 91999 from a mobile phone, sending a check payable to “Good Neighbor Energy Fund” to RI GNEF, c/o United Way of RI, 50 Valley Street, Providence, RI 02909, or by visiting rhodeislandgoodneighbor.org.
UPCOMING EVENTS
