December 5, 2023 • 8 mins
Michelle D. Tucker is an accomplished leader with a track record of driving positive change in both the corporate and nonprofit sectors. With over 25 years of leadership experience, Michelle has made a significant impact in Corporate Social Responsibility, grant-making, fundraising, cross-sector partnering and community collaboration.
Michelle has led efforts at two of the St. Louis region’s largest nonprofits, currently serving as President and CEO at United Way of Greater St. Louis, one of the highest-ranking United Ways in the nation known for its exceptional impact. Under her leadership, the organization contributes nearly $80 million in community resources and support across a 16-county bi-state region, positively affecting the lives of over one million people annually. She is a former Senior Vice President from Bank of America where she dedicated a significant portion of her 20-year career there to enhancing community engagement and impact approaches. Her passion for optimizing partnering and collaboration between for-profits, nonprofits, and government entities led her to transition into the nonprofit sector.
Michelle's expertise and dedication have earned her numerous awards and recognition for her leadership. She was recently honored as one of the 2023 Most Influential Business Women by the St. Louis Business Journal, further solidifying her reputation as an influential figure in the business community.
With her extensive experience and visionary leadership, Michelle continues to drive positive change and create sustainable solutions for the community. Through her strategic approach and unwavering commitment, she is making a lasting difference in the lives of individuals and communities served by United Way of Greater St. Louis.
Michelle is a Governance Board Member at BJC Healthcare and at Greater St. Louis, Inc.
Michelle has led efforts at two of the St. Louis region’s largest nonprofits, currently serving as President and CEO at United Way of Greater St. Louis, one of the highest-ranking United Ways in the nation known for its exceptional impact. Under her leadership, the organization contributes nearly $80 million in community resources and support across a 16-county bi-state region, positively affecting the lives of over one million people annually. She is a former Senior Vice President from Bank of America where she dedicated a significant portion of her 20-year career there to enhancing community engagement and impact approaches. Her passion for optimizing partnering and collaboration between for-profits, nonprofits, and government entities led her to transition into the nonprofit sector.
Michelle's expertise and dedication have earned her numerous awards and recognition for her leadership. She was recently honored as one of the 2023 Most Influential Business Women by the St. Louis Business Journal, further solidifying her reputation as an influential figure in the business community.
With her extensive experience and visionary leadership, Michelle continues to drive positive change and create sustainable solutions for the community. Through her strategic approach and unwavering commitment, she is making a lasting difference in the lives of individuals and communities served by United Way of Greater St. Louis.
Michelle is a Governance Board Member at BJC Healthcare and at Greater St. Louis, Inc.
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Episode Transcript
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(00:00):
Miss Michelle Tucker, President and CEOof United Way of Greater Saint Louis,
and I got to tell you readingyour bio, this is too far down
as far as I'm concerned. Becauseyou were named the twenty twenty three most
influential business woman among them by theSaint Louis Business Journal. That's pretty cool.
(00:21):
Oh, thank you and a markof a great job. I appreciate
it. I appreciate it well.I think one of the reasons is because
you, under your leadership, youhad a Way the number one most successful
you nit a waight chapter in thenation. We do. We remain the
number one campaign across the nation outof nine hundred United Ways. And I
(00:43):
think it speaks to the generosity ofthe Saint Louis community. Yeah, you
know, and around this time thegiving season, everybody's trying to figure out
where am I going to best,you know, put my money. I've
got a little few hundred dollars here, one hundred dollars here or there.
And you had a Way is reallyan awesome way because it gives it it
(01:03):
spreads out to so many different organizationswith its help. You're right, So
first of all, let me sayevery dollar matters, so no matter the
size of the gift, we tryand maximize the dollar, and so United
Way of Greater Saint Louis we serveas a multiplier. So what we're interested
in is making certain we are increasingthe impact that your dollar can make,
(01:25):
and so we do that by supportinga network of nonprofits over one hundred and
sixty we call it the safety netin the community, and these agencies they
work together to provide wrap around serviceswhen a person is experiencing challenges. And
so if you can imagine that aperson doesn't necessarily present with is one challenge,
it's typically driven by something. Soif they come to one of the
(01:48):
agencies and they're in need of food, we can certainly provide the food pretty
quickly, but we want to probeand ask a little more questions around why
someone is in need of food.Is it because they are experiencing difficulty with
their jobs? Are they trying tomake decisions between childcare and having to bring
food to the table. So it'spretty complicated, and so that's what that
(02:10):
network is in place to do.It's in place to help us to assess
and then provide services. So itcatches people and bounces them back when they're
experiencing challenges. Yeah, and Ithink a lot of people who might be
unfamiliar with certain types of charities thatneed help or whatever. This is a
great way because it's really an umbrellaand as you call it, a safety
(02:32):
net for all different kinds of organizations. So if you're really not sure what
kind of organization you want to support, United Way, you can be guaranteed
makes pretty good decisions when it comesto where its money goes and who it
helps. We try to be reallyresponsible with our dollars, and I call
it prudency, and so we arevery good stewards and we can certainly help
(02:53):
you to maximize where that dollar isbeing spent. And so one of the
things that we do is we cancontinuously keep our finger on the pulse of
the community so we know where thepriorities are. One of the ways we
do that pretty real time is throughour two to one one hot line,
and so it's a twenty four toseven hotline where we take calls from people
(03:14):
who are needing to be connected toresources, and so my team helps people
to navigate to resources. We getover one hundred and fifty thousand phone calls
on an annual basis through that hotline. But what it enables us to do
is we collect information and we understandwhere the needs are, and so we
pair that with the research that wedo. Anyway, we look at the
(03:36):
real time data and say we stillare very much focused on the right priorities.
Yeah. So, Michelle Tucker,how did you wind up as president
and CEO of the other way Asidefrom obviously being the best canate everything else,
but where did you come from?Where? Where was your background in
this line of work? Well,you know, the first thing I like
to say is that I'm from meSaint Louis, So I am local and
(04:00):
so you know, I'd like tosay homegrown. So this is the best
example. So being from me SaintLouis, I know the regional area educated
any Saint Louis Public school system,colleges and universities that were right here,
Edwardsville and Webster University. My husbandfor me saying loud, so a lot
of yes, a lot of connectivityhere. So I spent twenty years in
(04:20):
corporate America and I was at afortune five hundred company managing our philanthropic giving,
our community outreach and our sponsorships,and so I got to know the
community up close and personal, especiallythrough the partnerships with nonprofits, and so
more and more I started to understandwhat the opportunities were to assist not only
(04:45):
with funding, but people power mattered, so volunteerism and then really sitting on
committees helping them with fundraising, againunderstanding their challenges. And after twenty years
in banking is where I was,I said, you know what, I
want to get closer to the answers. And so I wanted to bridge things
between corporate America and the nonprofit sector. And in twenty seventeen I decided to
(05:06):
step away and I led an organizationcalled EPWORT Children and Family Houses. Yeah,
one of the United Way agency,right right. And then about two
years later, United Way came knockedand said, how would you like to
take a close look at this opportunity. I am so passionate about United Way
for twenty years I've been involved,and this just seems like home. Yeah,
(05:27):
yeah, up with a great agency. Yeah, by the way,
Well, that seemed like a perfectfit then for the United Way, because
that's primarily what the United Way doesin terms of how it fund raises.
It actually you've been on the corporateend, but United Way goes out to
varying companies. Like we were talkingbefore our interview, I talked about when
I was at KMOV, the employees, everybody had had a United Away campaign
(05:50):
within the station, within the withinthe company. And that's how primarily United
Way raises money, correct it is. That is one of our primary fundraising
approaches. And I like to sayit's the hallmark of United Way. It
makes us different and I think special. And so first of all, I
want to say thank you for yoursupport in the past. Oh yeah,
(06:13):
yes, yes, it's very easy. Oh gosh, gosh, it matters
though the companies, and so Ilook at things through kind of a complex
lens. So I everything that Ilook at I have to put my corporate
head on and say, okay,so what would I have thought and needed
to do as a corporation, andthen what does the nonprofit need. I'll
tell you. When I was atthe corporation that I was at, I
was serving as the United Way voiceand representative, So I was helping to
(06:36):
raise money across the employee base.So I know the campaign from the inside
of corporation, and I know theopportunity that those companies are helping to provide
through United Way. We have overtwelve hundred relationships with local companies and I
am so impressed with their commitment tothis local area. Yeah, no doubt
(06:57):
and the other ways. Kind oflike the COCD Cola of charities. It's
like it's it's what a great brand. How long I don't know how long
it's been around, but it's kindof like one of those. I mean
ever since I was a kid,and I'm old, so it's been around.
It's been around long before you andI. So I will tell you
that last year we celebrated one hundredyears in this local community. Wow.
And you know what during that timeis just to speak to the power of
(07:23):
this campaign, we have invested backinto Saint Louis over three billion dollars that
one hundred years period. Yes,yeah, yes, that's amazing. So
somebody listening to this, I know, if their companies are part of the
un Anyway campaign, of course,make sure you all participate in that joyfully
and assertively. But also if somebodywas listening to this and saying, I
(07:46):
want to help even though my companyis not doing anything right now, I
want to help. How do peopledo that? Oh gosh, A few
things. So. You can volunteerthrough stl Volunteer dot org, or if
you'd like to make a donation orlearn more about United Way, you can
go to Helping People dot org.Awesome congratulations on continuing a fine tradition with
United Way. I appreciate it.Also, congratulations on being one of the
(08:09):
most Influential Businesswomen of twenty twenty threeby the Saint Louis Business Shourtle. That's
an awesome accolade right there. Thankyou, Michelle Tucker. Thank you so
much for being here. Thank youfor your time. Yeah.
Miss Michelle Tucker, President and CEOof United Way of Greater Saint Louis,
and I got to tell you readingyour bio, this is too far down
as far as I'm concerned. Becauseyou were named the twenty twenty three most
influential business woman among them by theSaint Louis Business Journal. That's pretty cool.
(00:21):
Oh, thank you and a markof a great job. I appreciate
it. I appreciate it well.I think one of the reasons is because
you, under your leadership, youhad a Way the number one most successful
you nit a waight chapter in thenation. We do. We remain the
number one campaign across the nation outof nine hundred United Ways. And I
(00:43):
think it speaks to the generosity ofthe Saint Louis community. Yeah, you
know, and around this time thegiving season, everybody's trying to figure out
where am I going to best,you know, put my money. I've
got a little few hundred dollars here, one hundred dollars here or there.
And you had a Way is reallyan awesome way because it gives it it
(01:03):
spreads out to so many different organizationswith its help. You're right, So
first of all, let me sayevery dollar matters, so no matter the
size of the gift, we tryand maximize the dollar, and so United
Way of Greater Saint Louis we serveas a multiplier. So what we're interested
in is making certain we are increasingthe impact that your dollar can make,
(01:25):
and so we do that by supportinga network of nonprofits over one hundred and
sixty we call it the safety netin the community, and these agencies they
work together to provide wrap around serviceswhen a person is experiencing challenges. And
so if you can imagine that aperson doesn't necessarily present with is one challenge,
it's typically driven by something. Soif they come to one of the
(01:48):
agencies and they're in need of food, we can certainly provide the food pretty
quickly, but we want to probeand ask a little more questions around why
someone is in need of food.Is it because they are experiencing difficulty with
their jobs? Are they trying tomake decisions between childcare and having to bring
food to the table. So it'spretty complicated, and so that's what that
(02:10):
network is in place to do.It's in place to help us to assess
and then provide services. So itcatches people and bounces them back when they're
experiencing challenges. Yeah, and Ithink a lot of people who might be
unfamiliar with certain types of charities thatneed help or whatever. This is a
great way because it's really an umbrellaand as you call it, a safety
(02:32):
net for all different kinds of organizations. So if you're really not sure what
kind of organization you want to support, United Way, you can be guaranteed
makes pretty good decisions when it comesto where its money goes and who it
helps. We try to be reallyresponsible with our dollars, and I call
it prudency, and so we arevery good stewards and we can certainly help
(02:53):
you to maximize where that dollar isbeing spent. And so one of the
things that we do is we cancontinuously keep our finger on the pulse of
the community so we know where thepriorities are. One of the ways we
do that pretty real time is throughour two to one one hot line,
and so it's a twenty four toseven hotline where we take calls from people
(03:14):
who are needing to be connected toresources, and so my team helps people
to navigate to resources. We getover one hundred and fifty thousand phone calls
on an annual basis through that hotline. But what it enables us to do
is we collect information and we understandwhere the needs are, and so we
pair that with the research that wedo. Anyway, we look at the
(03:36):
real time data and say we stillare very much focused on the right priorities.
Yeah. So, Michelle Tucker,how did you wind up as president
and CEO of the other way Asidefrom obviously being the best canate everything else,
but where did you come from?Where? Where was your background in
this line of work? Well,you know, the first thing I like
to say is that I'm from meSaint Louis, So I am local and
(04:00):
so you know, I'd like tosay homegrown. So this is the best
example. So being from me SaintLouis, I know the regional area educated
any Saint Louis Public school system,colleges and universities that were right here,
Edwardsville and Webster University. My husbandfor me saying loud, so a lot
of yes, a lot of connectivityhere. So I spent twenty years in
(04:20):
corporate America and I was at afortune five hundred company managing our philanthropic giving,
our community outreach and our sponsorships,and so I got to know the
community up close and personal, especiallythrough the partnerships with nonprofits, and so
more and more I started to understandwhat the opportunities were to assist not only
(04:45):
with funding, but people power mattered, so volunteerism and then really sitting on
committees helping them with fundraising, againunderstanding their challenges. And after twenty years
in banking is where I was,I said, you know what, I
want to get closer to the answers. And so I wanted to bridge things
between corporate America and the nonprofit sector. And in twenty seventeen I decided to
(05:06):
step away and I led an organizationcalled EPWORT Children and Family Houses. Yeah,
one of the United Way agency,right right. And then about two
years later, United Way came knockedand said, how would you like to
take a close look at this opportunity. I am so passionate about United Way
for twenty years I've been involved,and this just seems like home. Yeah,
(05:27):
yeah, up with a great agency. Yeah, by the way,
Well, that seemed like a perfectfit then for the United Way, because
that's primarily what the United Way doesin terms of how it fund raises.
It actually you've been on the corporateend, but United Way goes out to
varying companies. Like we were talkingbefore our interview, I talked about when
I was at KMOV, the employees, everybody had had a United Away campaign
(05:50):
within the station, within the withinthe company. And that's how primarily United
Way raises money, correct it is. That is one of our primary fundraising
approaches. And I like to sayit's the hallmark of United Way. It
makes us different and I think special. And so first of all, I
want to say thank you for yoursupport in the past. Oh yeah,
(06:13):
yes, yes, it's very easy. Oh gosh, gosh, it matters
though the companies, and so Ilook at things through kind of a complex
lens. So I everything that Ilook at I have to put my corporate
head on and say, okay,so what would I have thought and needed
to do as a corporation, andthen what does the nonprofit need. I'll
tell you. When I was atthe corporation that I was at, I
was serving as the United Way voiceand representative, So I was helping to
(06:36):
raise money across the employee base.So I know the campaign from the inside
of corporation, and I know theopportunity that those companies are helping to provide
through United Way. We have overtwelve hundred relationships with local companies and I
am so impressed with their commitment tothis local area. Yeah, no doubt
(06:57):
and the other ways. Kind oflike the COCD Cola of charities. It's
like it's it's what a great brand. How long I don't know how long
it's been around, but it's kindof like one of those. I mean
ever since I was a kid,and I'm old, so it's been around.
It's been around long before you andI. So I will tell you
that last year we celebrated one hundredyears in this local community. Wow.
And you know what during that timeis just to speak to the power of
(07:23):
this campaign, we have invested backinto Saint Louis over three billion dollars that
one hundred years period. Yes,yeah, yes, that's amazing. So
somebody listening to this, I know, if their companies are part of the
un Anyway campaign, of course,make sure you all participate in that joyfully
and assertively. But also if somebodywas listening to this and saying, I
(07:46):
want to help even though my companyis not doing anything right now, I
want to help. How do peopledo that? Oh gosh, A few
things. So. You can volunteerthrough stl Volunteer dot org, or if
you'd like to make a donation orlearn more about United Way, you can
go to Helping People dot org.Awesome congratulations on continuing a fine tradition with
United Way. I appreciate it.Also, congratulations on being one of the
(08:09):
most Influential Businesswomen of twenty twenty threeby the Saint Louis Business Shourtle. That's
an awesome accolade right there. Thankyou, Michelle Tucker. Thank you so
much for being here. Thank youfor your time. Yeah.
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