Live United

All over our country, there are thousands of people helping other people. They, like you, are volunteers. For hundreds of years, volunteers have made a difference in the lives of people who needed a helping hand. The spirit of caring for our fellow human beings is part of our heritage and part of the mission of the United Way.

United Ways have built a proud record of meeting community needs, but they couldn’t have done it without volunteers – individuals who volunteer where they work, individuals who volunteer to help United Ways raise and distribute funds and resolve community problems, and individuals who volunteer to serve with agencies either on their boards or providing direct services.

But how did it all start? What is United Way, and how does it work? The United Way concept of planning and funding community health and welfare services got its start in Denver in 1887. In that year, Denver was plagued by welfare problems, the result of 20 years of rapid growth. During the previous two decades Denver’s population had skyrocketed from 5,000 to 100,000 – a dramatic increase even by today’s standards. Catholic, Protestant, and Jewish leaders joined forces to organize fundraising to meet the needs of the poor. With this, the United Way concept was born, bringing groups and individuals together in the community to care for one another.

For more than a century, United Way organizations have been meeting the needs of people, and in that time, we have all seen many changes come about causing subsequent changes in the types of services provided. The tidal wave of immigration early in the century, the World Wars, the Roaring 20s, the Great Depression, the post-War years of prosperity followed by the War on Poverty all had a significant influence on how United Ways responded and cared for those in need. Whatever the situation called for, United Ways were there anticipating needs, mobilizing their communities, and providing help where it was most needed.

United Way organizations grew in popularity because they offered a unified approach to problems, reduce the number of appeals from local charities, and allowed people to support a wide range of services, with one gift. Despite a common commitment to helping people, United Way organizations went by a host of names. You may be familiar with some of them: Community Chest, Red Feather Campaign, Good Neighbors Fund, Torch Drive, and United Fund. In fact, it wasn’t until the early 1970’s that the majority of these organizations adopted one common name, United Way.

Today, United Ways go far beyond the tasks of raising and distributing funds. They help leaders from the public and private sectors to resolve community problems. For example, during times of high unemployment for example, United Ways help organize relief efforts in the form of emergency food and shelter, job retraining and counseling. United Ways also offer management assistance. They find out what an agency needs to function more effectively. They then refer business volunteers with appropriate skills to work with the agency. By looking ahead and planning carefully, United Ways can anticipate needs and respond quickly.

Today, there are nearly 1,800 community-based United Ways in 45 countries and territories United Way organizations, each run by local citizens. While they are similar in many ways, they are tailored to meet the needs of their own communities, and every year, millions of people are helped by the services supported by United Ways. But how do they work? How does the contribution of each person participating in your United Way campaign make these services possible? Contributions to United Ways result in financial support for about 43,000 agencies and service groups providing human care services that do not have the capacity to complete a campaign themselves. In any one community, we may find a variety of services; services for the family, the elderly and children. All of these services are in critical demand, and all need financial support from the United Way. Although United Ways have successfully raised more dollars for services each year, community needs usually exceed available funds.

United Way volunteers carefully analyze local needs as well as social and economic changes in the community before thoroughly reviewing the agency’s request for support. The volunteers then make tough decisions regarding which needs are most critical, and allocate funds based on the impact they have on addressing those needs.

To be considered for United Way funding, each agency must meet a number of important standards. For example, an agency must provide a human care service that meets an important need in the community, be governed by a board of volunteers, be legally recognized as a not-for-profit organization, comply with New York State not-for-profit audit guidelines, and operate at a reasonable cost.

United Ways bring together all types of people in the community – those who need help and those who want to help. You are among those who want to help, and by becoming involved in United Way, you are investing much more than your time and money. You are investing yourself, a precious commodity. In return, you get the satisfaction that you have made a difference, a big difference, in the lives of others.