The United Way of America is a coalition of charitable organizations that have traditionally pooled efforts in fundraising. In the 1990s, more and more United Ways have focused on community building through local partnerships with government, foundations, schools, and other organizations. Each United Way has its own local governing volunteer board. The organization has roots in Denver, Colorado, where in 1887 church leaders began the Charity Organization Society which coordinated services and fund raising for 22 agencies. Many Community Chest organizations, which were founded in the first half of the twentieth century to jointly collect and allocate money, joined the American Association for Community Organizations in 1918. The first Community Chest was founded in 1913 in Cleveland, Ohio. The number of Community Chest organizations increased from 39 to 353 between 1919 and 1929, and surpassed 1000 by 1948. By 1963, and after several name changes, the term United Way was adopted. Image File history File links Uwa_logo_for_electronic_presentation. ... A charitable organization (also known as a charity) is a trust, company or unincorporated association established for charitable purposes only. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Nickname: The Mile-High City Location of Denver in Colorado Coordinates: City-County Denver (coextensive) Founded November 22, 1858 Incorporated November 7, 1861 Mayor John Hickenlooper (D) Area    - City 401. ... 1887 (MDCCCLXXXVII) is a common year starting on Saturday (click on link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar or a common year starting on Monday of the Julian calendar. ... Founded in 1869, in Great Britain, the Charity Organisation Society (COS) played a major role in making social work a profession. ... The American Community Chests were fund-raising organizations that collected money from local businesses and workers and distributed it to community projects. ... (19th century - 20th century - 21st century - more centuries) Decades: 1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s The 20th century lasted from 1901 to 2000 in the Gregorian calendar (often from (1900 to 1999 in common usage). ... 1918 (MCMXVIII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar (see link for calendar) or a common year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar. ... 1913 (MCMXIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday. ... Nickname: The Forest City Motto: Progress and Prosperity Location in Cuyahoga County, Ohio Coordinates: Country United States State Ohio County Cuyahoga Founded 1796 Incorporated 1836 Mayor Frank G. Jackson (D) Area    - City 82. ... 1919 (MCMXIX) was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... 1929 (MCMXXIX) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will take you to calendar). ... 1948 (MCMXLVIII) was a leap year starting on Thursday (the link is to a full 1948 calendar). ...

The organization raises money in a number of ways, chiefly through the workplace, where employees can have automatic payroll deductions for the United Way.

History

In 1887, a Denver priest, two ministers and a rabbi recognized the need for cooperative action to address their city's welfare problems. The Rev. Myron W. Reed, Msgr. William J. O'Ryan, Dean H. Martyn Hart and Rabbi William S. Friedman put their heads together to plan the first united campaign for ten health and welfare agencies. They created an organization to serve as an agent to collect funds for local charities, as well as to coordinate relief services, counsel and refer clients to cooperating agencies, and make emergency assistance grants in cases which could not be referred.

That year, Denver raised $21,700 and created a movement that would spread throughout the county to become the United Way. Over 118 years later, United Way is still in operation.

In 2004-05, more than 1,350 local United Ways raised $3.86 billion in current year support (an increase of 0.7% over 2003-2004), making it the nation's single largest private charity. ^{[citation needed]}

Common Focus Areas

United Ways identify and build on community strengths and assets, help individuals and groups with specific community interests find ways to contribute their time and talents, support direct-service programs and community-change efforts, and advocate public policy changes.

All of this is done in collaboration with diverse partners. Depending on the issue and how the community chooses to address it, United Ways work with schools, government agencies, businesses, organized labor, financial institutions, community development corporations, voluntary and neighborhood associations, the faith community, and others.

Because of the unique conditions in diverse communities, the issues United Ways address are determined locally. However, some common themes emerge:

• Helping Children and Youth Succeed
• Strengthening and Supporting Families
• Improving Access to Health Care
• Promoting Independence and Economic Self-Sufficiency

National Partnerships

• The on-going partnership with the National Football League began in 1973 when the NFL and United Way of America came together to discuss the possibility of using the NFL’s network contract airtime to promote United Way during game telecasts. Then Commissioner Pete Rozelle recognized the partnership as a viable means of communicating the good works of United Ways while putting faces on a league of players hidden by helmets.
• National partnerships with over 100 corporations are formalized through the National Corporate Leadership Program.
• Since 1946, the American Federation of Labor and the Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO) and United Way of America have enjoyed a cooperative relationship
• Leadership 18 a coalition which represents long-established charities, faith-based organizations, and social and health groups that support and promote the safety, health, well-being and social and economic development of people across America.

The National Football League (NFL) is the largest professional American football league, consisting of thirty-two teams from American cities and regions. ... Alvin Ray Pete Rozelle (March 1, 1926–December 6, 1996) was the commissioner of the National Football League (NFL) from January 1960 to November 1989, when he retired from office. ... American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations, commonly AFL-CIO, is Americas largest federation of unions, made up of 53 national and international (including Canadian) unions, together representing over 9 million workers. ...

Criticism and Scandals

• Some workplaces with United Way collection programs do not follow commonly used ethical procedures when soliciting donations. Employees may be pressured into donating through peer pressure tolerated or even encouraged by management. United Way has made public that it doesn't support such measures, but has been slow to react on reports by employees that were coerced in such a way.^[1]
  • Tactics which some employees consider coercive are still recommended by many United Way chapters, such as having 100% pledge card return policies, even for non-givers. ^[2]
• In 1992, William Aramony, CEO of the national organization, and in 2004, Oral Suer, CEO of the Washington, DC chapter, were convicted of misuse of donations. ^[3]
• In the past, some local United Ways have been known to double count contributions, thus making their totals look higher, and the perceived overhead of operations look better.^[4]
• In the past, some local United Way have been accused of double-dipping overhead costs in donations, especially when donations are earmarked for a specific charity, or transferred from one location to another.

In an effort to address these problems, United Way has implemented new membership requirements and accountability standards in 2003, however problems have continued to occur. William Aramony (born 1927) was a U.S. administrator. ... Oral Suer was the CEO of the United Way in the Washington,DC Area from 1974 to 2002. ...

• In May 2006, Kim Tran the former CFO of the DC chapter of United Way resigned, claiming many issues remain.^[5][6]
• In April 2006, the NYC United Way revealed misappropriation of funds and other assets by Ralph Dickerson, the retired CEO of that chapter. The appropriation of funds occurred over a three year period, ending in 2005. ^[7]

References

1. ^ United Way Code of Conduct
2. ^ An Example United Way Training Manual
3. ^ Article Discussing United Way Financial Scandal.
4. ^ Free Republic article discussing United Way double counting of donations
5. ^ United Way Accountability Statement
6. ^ Washington Post article discussing recent (2006) financial inconsistencies at the DC chapter, and resignation of the local chapter's CFO
7. ^ Press release from United Way NYC regarding their CEO's misappropriation of assets

External links

• Official Webpage of United Way of America
• Official Webpage of United Way International
• History of United Way
• National Website of 2-1-1 which connects people with important community services and volunteer opportunities, spearheaded by United Way and AIRS.
• National Website of BornLearning a public engagement campaign that helps parents, caregivers and communities create quality early learning opportunities for young children lead by United Way and other partners.