The United Way of America announced ambitious 10-year goals Thursday aimed at giving more to programs related to education, income and health care.

If the initiative were successful it would cut in half the high school dropout rate and the number of families struggling financially.

The nonprofit organization also wants to increase by one-third the number of youths and adults considered healthy.

It is too early to tell how this announcement will impact United Way of Central Texas. Executive Director Ann Thompson said the local chapter has sole discretion on how it spends its donations.

“If you think about it, everything every agency does falls into one of those three categories,” she said. “If anything, I see our role expanding.

“We are not going to let anybody go under. Helping Hands in Belton is a pantry that gives out food to 300 people a week. We will continue to support those agencies that support people whose basic needs must be met.”

The announcement comes as United Way of America releases a report detailing a precipitous decline in key indicators in education, income and health care.

The report finds that one in four high school students does not graduate on time, one in four families does not earn enough to provide for its household, and two in three young people and adults lead unhealthy lives, including those who engage in such risky behaviors as drug use, binge drinking and unsafe sex.

“For years and years and years, folks saw us as a fundraising organization ... but the issues we care about weren’t getting better,” Brian A. Gallagher, the United Way’s president and chief executive, told the Washington Post. “So the change here is to put a stake in the ground on the issues that drive improving social conditions.”

Although local affiliates historically have funded a variety of programs, United Way leaders say the giving has done little to solve the country’s social problems.

Mrs. Thompson said even before the announcement, the local chapter has been involved with quality of life issues.

She said this year United Way Central Texas helped 600 residents file tax returns who might not otherwise have done so.

“That brought $400,000 back into the community,” Mrs. Thompson said. “Last year, I think $2 million was left on the table in our community alone.

“I think bigger and better things will come out of United Way making this move.”

United Way is the largest U.S. nonprofit organization, with about 1,300 affiliates that collectively raise more than $4 billion a year through workplace campaigns and other private donations. By harnessing its giving power, the United Way is trying to reignite a social movement of the philanthropic, government and corporate sectors to improve conditions for working families.

Despite spending millions to support scores of local programs, the 121-year-old United Way has not made measurable progress on these core problems, Gallagher said. The United Way must redirect its money toward the root causes and hold itself accountable by declaring bold and measurable - even if unattainable - goals, he said.

The initiative comes as the United Way faces increasing competition for philanthropic dollars and as donors demand more accountability.

The initiative has the backing of some large corporations and leading philanthropies. One partner is America’s Promise Alliance, a coalition of business, nonprofit and community leaders founded by former secretary of state Colin L. Powell and his wife, Alma, that supports youth initiatives.

Alma Powell said the education statistics in the United Way’s report illustrate a “crisis for our country.” According to the report, 74 percent of high school students graduate in four years.

She said it is crucial for nonprofit groups, philanthropies and businesses to pool resources and work together.

Brenda Suits, a senior vice president at Bank of America, one of the United Way’s biggest corporate partners, said the organization’s new mission is “definitely on the mark.”

But the United Way might have a difficult time galvanizing the nonprofit sector, let alone its affiliates.

Although the national organization sets the agenda for its 1,300 affiliates, it does not have the power to dictate that local organizations award grants only in the areas of education, income and health.

The affiliates are historically independent, and many have deep relationships with donors and nonprofit groups in their communities.

“All they have is a persuasive leverage, and I’m not sure that’s going to be good enough to move a lot of these entrenched local United Ways,” said Pablo S. Eisenberg, a senior fellow at Georgetown University.

Paul A. Romer and Washington Post writer Phillip Rucker contributed to this report.