In one of the largest gifts ever to a local United Way office, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is giving $30 million to the United Way of King County, which serves the Seattle area.

The foundation also has pledged to match donations to the United Way's endowment fund, up to $5 million a year for 11 years.

Instead of going to the United Way's annual fundraising campaign, the lump-sum gift will help offset the organization's administrative and operating costs, allowing it to free up more campaign donations for the community. The King County organization uses 10.9 percent of its funds for operating expenses, one of the lowest rates in the country.

The matching grants are meant to build up the organization's endowment fund to the point where income from it can be used to offset those operating costs, King County United Way leaders state.

The $30 million single gift, while believed to be the largest amount ever given to a social services agency in the Northwest, is not the largest given at a single time to a United Way. That record was set in 1998 with a $50 million gift to the United Way of Central Indiana by the Lilly Endowment.

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