seniors matter.
History of United Way
In 1887, in Denver, Colorado, religious leaders founded the Charity Organization Society, the first United Way organization that planned and coordinated local services and conducted a single fund-raising campaign for 22 agencies. The first fund-raising campaign raised 21,700 in 1888.
Years later in 1913, the nations first Community Chest was born in Cleveland, Ohio, where a program for allocating funds was developed. The name Community Chest was widely used for United Way organizations until the 1950s. Executives from 12 fund-raising federations met in Chicago and formed the American Association for Community Organizations (AACO) in 1918. This organization was the predecessor to the United Way of America. Between 1919 and 1929, the number of Community Chest organizations rose from 39 to 353. By 1948 more than 1,000 communities had United Way organizations.
The number of United Way organization continued to grow and in 1973, United Way of America established a partnership with the NFL to increase public awareness. In 1974, United Way International was formed to help nations around the world form United Way-type organizations and United Ways across America broke a fund raising record, raising more than $1 billion dollars.
In 1994, United Way of America was selected by Financial World magazine as the charity of choice for its leadership in not-for-profit ethics and accountability. The Atlanta Committee for the Olympic Games selected the United Way of America and the United Way system as the primary provider of community support and volunteer services for the 1996 Olympic Torch Relay.