United Way History

We made a change



The Birth of Coordinated Giving, 1887-1939

In 1887, a Denver woman, a priest, two ministers and a rabbi recognized the need for cooperative action to address their city’s welfare problems. Frances Wisebart Jacobs, the Rev. Myron W. Reed, Msgr. William J.O’Ryan, Dean H. Martyn Hart and Rabbi William S. Friedman planned the first united campaign for 10 health and welfare agencies. They created the Charity Organizations Society, the first "United Way" organization. 

Urbanization and industrialization grew rapidly during this time, and human needs began to outpace the ability of friends and neighbors to meet them, and the concept spread across the country.  In 1919, the Community Chest of Greater New Haven was founded.

 

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The Growth of a Movement, 1940-1997

World War II and the postwar era saw the growth of United Way’s formal relationships with large companies, unions and local and national government.  The introduction of payroll deduction made giving more convenient and financially feasible for the average American worker, and United Ways took advantage of their increased presence by running national media campaigns, while still retaining a local focus.  In 1952, the New Haven Community Chest evolved into the United Fund of Greater New Haven, which in 1971 merged with the Community Council of Greater New Haven to form today’s United Way of Greater New Haven.

 

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Adapting to Increase Community Impact, 1997-2009

In response to the transition from an industrial to a service economy, in 1997 United Way of Greater New Haven launched a strategic planning process to examine its organizational structure, its system for allocating and distributing funds, and its relationship with donors. The result: UWGNH established a new volunteer advisory board, the Community Impact Cabinet. Nationally, United Way of America began to reposition itself as a "Community Impact" organization, not just a fundraiser.

As part of the local Community Impact process, in 2002-2003 UWGNH staffed a collaboration with 30 partner agencies called Community COMPASS to inventory community needs and assets and identify opportunities for collaborative action. We identified Education, Income and Health as the three critical focus areas that are the building blocks for a good quality of life. With the financial collapse of 2008, UWGNH entered into a partnership with the Jewsish Federation of Greater New Haven to address the critical needs of those hurt by the crisis: Neighbor-to-Neighbor LifeLine.

 

Timeline
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the new united way, 2010-PRESENT

United Way's transition to a Community Impact organizaion was approved with a blueprint called "Agenda for Change," with a continued focus on Education, Income and Health. Our work now includes operating a federally-funded Early Head Start program, and collaborating on Boost!, a partnership with the City of New Haven and New Haven Public Schools. Our Income work includes financial stability initiatives, such as  job training and budget coaching efforts, and we coordinate the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance Program. UWGNH also works to reduce hunger and homelessness through the Emergency Food and Shelter program and through the  Neighbor-to-Neighbor LifeLine partnership with the Jewish Federation of Greater New Haven. We also created a new leadership group, the Women's Initiative, which focuses on food and nutrition issues.  For additonal information on UWGNH's impact, please see our 2012 Report to the Community.