United Way
The
United Way of America is a coalition of charitible organizations that pool efforts in fund raising. 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, which was founded 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 there were over 1000 by
1948. By 1963, after several name changes, the term
United Way was first adopted.
The organization raises money in a number of ways, the most widely known is perhaps through the workplace, where employees can have automatic payroll deductions for the United Way.
External Links