History

The first United Way organization was founded in 1887 in Denver, Colorado, U.S.A. in response to the increased social problems resulting from the rapid industrialization occurring in many communities at the time. Community leaders worked with local charities to coordinate fundraising efforts through a single fundraising campaign for all, and the process became a way to mobilize communities to address critical needs more effectively. The idea rapidly spread throughout communities in the United States and Canada during the next several decades.

The movement's evolution occurred naturally in response to local conditions, not as the result of any institutional effort at the national or international level. It caught on because it was a simple idea that achieved results and could be readily adapted to the conditions of any community. In fact, formal national organizations were not founded until the 1920's in the U.S. and the 1930's in Canada, and even then they were voluntary associations formed to provide a forum for the sharing of ideas among local organizations, rather than to provide centralized national leadership.

One of the earliest United Way organizations outside of North America was founded in 1923 in Melbourne, Australia. The Lord Mayor's Charitable Fund was established through an initiative of the Lord Mayor in consultation with businesses, unions and community groups. While originally founded to support hospitals, the Fund rapidly embraced all charitable agencies in metropolitan Melbourne. Similarly, the United Community Chest of the Western Cape was formed in 1928 in Cape Town. Influential people from South Africa had seen the idea work in North American communities and adapted it to their own culture and needs, where it has evolved and flourished throughout South Africa over the year