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About UCP

The mission of United Cerebral Palsy is to advance the independence, productivity and full citizenship of people with disabilities through an affiliate network.

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Join UCP

For more than 55 years, United Cerebral Palsy (UCP) has been committed to change and progress for people with disabilities. Through its national network of service providers, United Cerebral Palsy affiliates help people with disabilities live life without limits. United Cerebral Palsy affiliates serve more than 100,000 children and adults with disabilities and their families every day. Our affiliates provide services such as housing, physical therapy, assistive technology training, early intervention, individual and family support, social and recreation programs, community living, state and local referrals, employment assistance, and advocacy.

If there is no UCP affiliate in your area, you may wish to organize a local affiliation or you may wish to refer us to an organization that may benefit from an affiliation with a national organization.

Basics for Affiliation:

  • 501(c)(3) charity, non-profit corporation
  • Mission that supports the UCP mission
  • Provide a range of services for people with disabilities, including Information & Referral and Advocacy
  • Recognize the benefit of using the United Cerebral Palsy name and brand in your community
  • Create a Board of Directors that supports affiliation with a national organization
  • Develop a business plan to identify key service or program areas and a budget to support the services
  • Identify funding streams that would support the operations; have sufficient upfront capital to fund agency expenses for six months

Thank you for your interest in bringing UCP to your area. We applaud your desire to support and encourage persons with disabilities. UCP was founded by parents and we know that grassroots efforts are successful. Below you will find a general outline of the process of opening a United Cerebral Palsy affiliate. We would be delighted to talk to you and send you more information.

General process of starting a UCP affiliate:

  1. A person or persons hear about UCP and has a desire to have a UCP affiliate to their area, and makes an inquiry of UCP.
  2. We provide those persons with some general materials about UCP. We then suggest that they familiarize themselves with UCP by visiting one or more of our affiliate locations. We also ask them to get knowledgeable about the State funding that might be available and evaluate the number of other disability service providers in their area by doing a needs assessment.
  3. After they have examined the preliminary materials and visited a UCP affiliate, we would engage in a discussion to determine if the interest is sufficient to take the next steps.
  4. The next step is to bring together a group of 10-15 people who must be able to raise the funds necessary to sustain the operations. Additionally they should identify the appropriate funding streams outside of fundraising activities.
  5. UCP will be able to provide some coaching along the way.

Our experience indicates that in order to be successful it is very important for the following conditions to exist:

  • The new organization has the support of the community;
  • The new organization is prepared to undertake the ongoing responsibilities of fundraising and fiscal management;
  • The initial group must be able to raise the startup funds within a reasonable period of time. It usually takes 18-24 months to raise sufficient funds to open.
  • The program is housed in a physical space of at least 1500 to 2000 square feet.
  • The services provided are not in competition with other providers but rather enhance the services available.

If you think individuals and families in your community would benefit from a UCP affiliation, please send an e-mail or call 800-872-5827.