Community Alliances

United Way of San Diego County maintains many partnerships with organizations within the community. In this section you will find a directory of our Legacy Agencies as well as a list of other community alliances.

Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC)
To see how you can benefit from the EITC, visit the EITC Information page. To find a free tax preparation location and make an appointment, visit the EITC Tax Preparation Sites page.

United Way is an active partner in the federal Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) program in San Diego County. EITC is a refundable tax credit designed to help lift low-income individuals and families out of poverty. It is considered an effective anti-poverty program because it encourages people to work, and supplements wages while building purchasing power and returning revenue to communities. As a leader of the EITC coaltion, United Way, along with the IRS and the County of San Diego, helped bring $8.2 million in EITC credits back to San Diego in the 2010 tax season, an increase of nearly $1 million over the prior tax year.

For more information, contact Senior Community Impact Manager Shaina Gross at (858) 636-4181 or email Shaina.

Emergency Housing and Assistance Program (EHAP)
EHAP is a program of the California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD). The intent of EHAP is to fund emergency and transitional shelter with related personal rehabilitation and self-sufficiency development services to facilitate homeless individuals’ return to a stable job environment and permanent housing situation. EHAP Operating Facility Grants are awarded to eligible local organizations for activities that provide housing and related services to homeless persons and to persons threatened with the loss of their homes. The Department of Housing and Community Development is responsible for grant selection and monitoring of awardees.

For more information on this program please contact:


Carl Baskin
Department of Housing and Community Development

1800 Third Street 
Sacramento, CA 95811-6942

Phone: 916-445-3675

Fax: 916-323-6016

CBaskin@hcd.ca.gov
HCD EHAP website: http://www.hcd.ca.gov/fa/ehap/



For information on Capital Development Grants please visit this website: http://www.hcd.ca.gov/fa/ehap/ehapcd.html

Emergency Food and Shelter Program (EFSP)
EFSP was created in 1983 to supplement and expand the work of local social service agencies, both nonprofit and government, in an effort to help people with economic emergencies. EFSP funding is open to all organizations helping hungry and homeless people. EFSP funds must be used to supplement feeding, sheltering, rent/mortgage, and utility assistance only. EFSP is governed by a National Board that selects jurisdictions for funding. Local Boards are convened in those qualifying jurisdictions to determine the highest need and best use of funds and to select Local Recipient Organizations that will provide emergency food and shelter services.

Catholic Charities provides staff support for EFSP.

For more information on this program please contact:


Lisa Bruner

EFSP Staff Support

349 Cedar Street 
San Diego, CA 92101
Phone: 619-231-2828

lbruner@ccdsd.org
EFSP website: http://efsp.unitedway.org/

Community Health Improvement Partners (CHIP)
United Way of San Diego County is an active participant in Community Health Improvement Partners (CHIP), a collaboration of San Diego health care systems, hospitals, community clinics, insurers, physicians, universities, community benefit organizations and the County of San Diego. CHIP is dedicated to increasing awareness and responsiveness to community health needs and expanding coordination among health improvement projects throughout the San Diego region.

For more information, contact Kristen Garrett at (619) 515-2854.