About Us
What does United Way of Calgary and Area do?
When I give to United Way, what does my donation support?
What is United Way of Calgary and Area’s geographic scope?
What percentage of donations go toward operating costs?
Are United Way’s financial records audited?
Does United Way collaborate with other organizations?
About our Annual Campaign
How much money did United Way raise last year? Where does the funding come from?
What is your 2007 campaign goal?
What do you need to be successful?
Why are you asking people to Get Caught Red Handed?
What is The Tomorrow Fund?
What is Leadership Giving?
How does United Way protect donors’ privacy?
What is Spirits of Gold?
About our Investment in the Community
How are investment decisions made?
What is a United Way Day of Caring™?
Does United Way fund religious or political projects?
Does United Way fund abortions?
How is United Way reducing poverty in Calgary?
About Some of Our Initiatives
What is 211? What is the GreatCity Project? Why is United Way involved in advocacy work? What is United Way’s relationship with the Calgary Committee to End Homelessness?
About Us
What does United Way do?
United Way of Calgary and Area recognizes the importance of responding to people in crisis and understands that we must do more. That’s why United Way works to identify and tackle the underlying root causes of social issues to help make our city truly great for everyone. United Way funds agency programs while engaging volunteers, business and government to identify the most serious human service issues in our community and to determine the best way to address them.
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When I give to United Way, what does my donation support?
When you contribute to United Way of Calgary and Area, you are not only helping to meet the immediate needs of people living in vulnerable situations, but you are also enabling United Way to invest in long-term strategies to address the root causes of social issues in our city. Your donations help United Way to support:
- Strategic partnerships that implement long-term, sustainable solutions for Calgary’s complex social issues
- A network of effective agency programs and services, supported and held accountable by United Way. We are accountable and responsible stewards of the investments in our community. We understand that our efforts are in vain if they do not result in changed lives. Therefore, we work hard to ensure that our efforts generate results that you can see.
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What is United Way of Calgary and Area’s geographic scope?
United Way serves Calgary and partners with Cochrane, High River, Okotoks and Strathmore to identify their regional needs and invest in local programs and initiatives that make the maximum impact. By forming local, volunteer-led partnership committees, United Way ensures funds are invested where they are needed most in the community. While Airdrie does not have a direct partnership with United Way of Calgary and Area, we have funded agencies within that community for many years.
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What percentage of donations go toward operating costs?
United Way is a high impact organization and is fiscally responsible. Only 10 cents out of every dollar raised goes toward fundraising. We invest the remaining 90 cents back into the community. Our fundraising and community building costs remain low because of the valuable contributions of more than 15,000 volunteers.
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Are United Way’s financial records audited?
The accounting firm Deloitte LLP ensures that our financial statements are accurate and we operate in a fiscally responsible manner. Our annual report, including our audited financial statements, is posted on our website at www.calgaryunitedway.org.
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Does United Way collaborate with other organizations?
We know it takes many individuals and organizations working together to address complex social issues. United Way works together with human service agencies, workplaces, governments, schools and individuals to promote awareness of key social issues in our community, maximize resources and find lasting solutions to these complex issues.
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About our Annual Campaign
How much money did United Way raise last year?
United Way of Calgary and Area raised $50 million in the 2006 campaign. Funding came from generous individuals in the community and workplace employees (65%), corporate donations (31%), and other sources including events (4%).
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What is your 2007 campaign goal?
Our goal is to build lasting relationships with people who want to get hands on and make Calgary a great city for everyone.
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What do you need to be successful?
We need to engage people’s hearts, minds and hands to help make Calgary a truly great city for everyone. Each of us can make a difference by volunteering, by giving back to the community financially, by learning about social issues, and by speaking up.
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WWhy are you asking people to Get Caught Red Handed?
We are asking Calgarians to get hands on. We’re putting a twist on an old saying by asking folks to get caught red handed doing something constructive to help build a great city. The red hand is a reference to our logo and this year we’re asking for support in whatever way individuals can give it. We believe every Calgarian can play a role in building a great city.
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What is The Tomorrow Fund?
The Tomorrow Fund is United Way of Calgary and Area’s community-wide endowment fund. Donations to the Fund are permanently invested, with a portion of the interest used to help United Way sustain long-term work and give thousands of people hope for a better life. Thanks to generous donors, The Tomorrow Fund has grown to $17 million since 1990.
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What is Leadership Giving?
Among the most influential people to affect change in Calgary are the generous donors who contribute at the Leadership level. Through an annual gift of $1,000 or more, these individuals and families set the pace for community building in Calgary. We are pleased to recognize Leaders and Major Donors (people giving $10,000 or more) in published materials.
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How does United Way protect donors’ privacy?
United Way is committed to protecting the privacy and confidentiality of your personal information. The information you provide us will be used to assist in the proper administration and acknowledgement of your gift, to issue tax receipts and to fulfill your information requests. We do not sell donor information, nor do we share donor information with other agencies, unless donors ask us to do so. We protect information through secure computer systems and document handling.
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What is Spirits of Gold?
The Spirits of Gold Recognition Dinner and Awards Gala honours the organizations and individuals who display outstanding leadership and commitment to our community and to the United Way campaign. More than 17 awards are presented each year, including the Award of Excellence, Outstanding Agency Volunteer Award and the First Time Employee Campaign Award.
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About our Investment in the Community
How are investment decisions made?
As part of our stewardship of donor dollars, we have a rigorous process in place to ensure the best investment of resources. Experienced staff and volunteers make investment decisions based on community needs, research and funding criteria. We invest to minimize duplication among programs and look for measurable results, quality performance and innovative approaches.
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What is a United Way Day of Caring™?
The United Way Day of Caring™ program enables workplace employees and other groups to spend time on community projects. Projects could include serving breakfast to a group of seniors, gardening outside an agency, or building a park for children with disabilities. A Day of Caring™ promotes a deeper understanding of community problems, provides an excellent team-building opportunity and makes a visible impact in our community. Last year, more than 7,500 people volunteered at a United Way Day of Caring™.
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Does United Way fund religious or political projects?
United Way does not fund religious or political projects. We fund human services and programs that benefit all members of our community. While we do support some programs in agencies with religious roots, our funding goes only to those programs that are open and accessible to all members of the community and do not promote religion to participants.
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Does United Way fund abortions?
United Way does not fund abortions. United Way funds educational programs that deal with human sexuality. These programs are aimed at reducing the incidence of unplanned pregnancies and the spread of sexually transmitted diseases.
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How is United Way reducing poverty in Calgary?
Sustained poverty reduction takes more than one organization. It takes an entire community working together to help the 72,000 low-income families in Calgary. United Way works collaboratively with an array of partners to address this very real condition in our community. Our partners include the Poverty Reduction Coalition, Calgary Homeless Foundation and the Calgary Committee to End Homelessness.
United Way focuses on strategies that help break the cycle of poverty. Our community investment is focused on prevention, early intervention and the development of community solutions - particularly for youth, families and other vulnerable populations.
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About Some of Our Initiatives
What is 211? (www.211calgary.ca)
211 is a telephone information and referral service supported by United Way of Calgary and Area, the Distress Centre and The City of Calgary. By dialing 2-1-1, callers can receive free, confidential and multilingual information on a full range of community, social, health and government services in Calgary, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The service contributes to helping people in times of crisis and to preventing crisis in the first place.
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What is the GreatCity Project? (www.greatcity.ca)
The GreatCity Project is an interactive website featuring a relevant and insightful blog from CTV news anchor Barb Higgins, along with a discussion forum and a GreatCity public poll. Launched in partnership with CTV News and United Way, its main objective is to raise awareness of the complexity of social issues in Calgary and to motivate people to get involved in finding solutions. All Calgarians are invited to read about Barb’s most recent experience with social issues in Calgary and then join the discussion on how we can make this city great for everyone. To find out more, visit www.GreatCity.ca.
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Why is United Way involved in advocacy work?
While the majority of our work is partnering with many organizations to address immediate needs and to get at the root cause of social issues to prevent them from happening in the first place, we have also learned that there are some barriers in municipal, provincial and federal social policy. By advocating change around these social policies, we can make a more significant impact in our community.
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What is United Way’s relationship with the Calgary Committee to End Homelessness?
United Way is a committed partner in the Calgary Committee to End Homelessness - and we have been since the beginning encouraging its formation. We provide support on the Leadership Committee and the working committees. We bring a significant depth of knowledge around the issue, learnings and research on best practices. We also provide a great deal of energy and passion to help create a plan that will end homelessness in our city.
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