Patrick Tufts, president and CEO of Granite United Way, is the 2017 Granite State Award recipient.
Patrick Tufts, president and CEO of Granite United Way, has been an advocate for education, health and economic stability in New Hampshire communities for more than a decade. For his outstanding achievements, service and contributions to New Hampshire, he will be recognized with the 2017 Granite State Award at UNH Manchester’s commencement ceremony on May 18.
In 2010, Tufts was named the first president and CEO of Granite United Way, the collaborative merger of six separate United Ways with over 30,000 donors and volunteers. Serving 80 percent of New Hampshire and a large part of Vermont, Granite United Way raises $8.6 million annually to support initiatives and positive change in these communities.
Since joining United Way, Tufts has led the organization to record campaign results and the development of a new outcomes-based strategic investment process. Tufts began his work with the United Way in Massachusetts. Under his leadership as vice president and area director, the organization was recognized at the Platinum level by GuideStar and as a three-star charity from Charity Navigator, the two largest independent non-profit information resources. Before becoming president & CEO of the Heritage United Way, now part of the Granite United Way, Tufts served as vice president of resource development at the United Way of Greater Portland in Maine, responsible for the strategic direction and implementation of annual campaigns that raised over $26 million from 2003 to 2005.
In 2016, Tufts’ work with Granite United Way played a key role in the City of Manchester being awarded the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Culture of Health Prize, which honors U.S. communities that are making great strides in the journey toward better health. This marked the first time a New Hampshire city received the prize, and the recognition has leveraged an additional $2 million in support from the Neighborhood Health Improvement Strategy.
Tufts is the managing member for 2-1-1 NH, a United Way, NH state government and private business venture that won the Business Industry Association’s NH Advantage Award in 2009. 2-1-1NH receives nearly 50,000 calls annually from New Hampshire residents requiring assistance.
A 2008 graduate of Leadership New Hampshire, Tufts is actively involved in the community. He has served as Chair of Seniors Count, Co-Chair of the 10-Year Plan to End Homelessness in Manchester and Concord, Co-Chair of The Mayor’s Health & Human Services Transition Team, Trustee of the Mary Gale Foundation and Governance Chair for NH Center for Nonprofits.
He is a member of the SEE Science Center Academy and First Tee New Hampshire as well as a board member for the Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce.
Tufts earned his bachelor’s degree from Missouri State University and a Master of Social Work from the University of New Hampshire. He lives in Auburn, N.H., with his wife and their two children.
