About
Potomac Highlands United Way is the local United Way based in Cumberland, Maryland, serving a four-county area: Allegany and Garrett counties in Maryland and Mineral and Hampshire counties in West Virginia. The organization was founded in 1957 as County United Way, a community-wide effort to unify and increase local charitable giving, and in 2025 it began rebranding under its current name to reflect its four-county service area. Its leadership groups in each county, including Garrett, have used a "County United Way of…" format, and the organization says services and operations across the region stay the same under the new name.
What It Does
Potomac Highlands United Way partners with public agencies, nonprofits and community leaders to identify, fund and monitor pressing needs in the region. Its mission is enhancing lives by fostering partnerships across Allegany, Garrett, Hampshire and Mineral counties that identify needs and provide solutions for stronger, healthier communities. Its work includes:
- Grant programs for local partners, including Impact Grants, Live United Grants and the Meeting the Moment program for timely community-based initiatives
- A Community Resiliency Investment Grant
- Long-term flood recovery support through the Western Maryland Long Term Recovery Committee for victims of the May 2025 flooding
- Dolly Parton's Imagination Library in Allegany County, which it joined in 2011
Address
Cumberland, MD 21502