75 Years of Building Community & Changing Lives: United Way Ottawa’s Story
1960s / NO LONGER TOP INVESTOR IN SOCIAL SERVICES: Feminism and gay rights, anti-war sentiments and the civil rights movement in the United States give rise to an entire counter-culture. Canada is not immune to the forces of social change south of the border. New federal social welfare legislation in the form of the Canada Assistance Plan kick-starts a number of social services programs (for example, the federal government pays half of the costs of provincial/municipal programs designed to prevent poverty). In fact, both the federal and provincial governments begin investing larger and more systematic funding into social programs.
In Ottawa as well, the consequence of transforming Canada into a country where all its citizens have the opportunity to reach their full potential and share in the wealth they produce is a rapid expansion of social service initiatives, including one targeted to senior citizens. By the mid-1960s, 163 public and private agencies spend more than $62 million to deliver social services programs, with the bulk coming from public sources, to many of the 358,410 who call Ottawa home.
At the same time, as the various levels of government assume responsibility in the social and economic arenas, for the first time in its 30-year history UW/CO loses its place as the city’s number-one social services investor to the federal government. In fact, UW/CO stops funding those agencies that now receive financial support from the government sector.
To complicate matters, complaints from the community in 1964 about having to support two successful fundraising campaigns, one organized by UW/CO and the other by the local branch of the Canadian Red Cross, result in both organizations agreeing to a united campaign — and UW/CO's name change to the United Appeal of Ottawa & District (followed by the United Appeal of Ottawa-Carleton in 1969 to reflect the recent amalgamation of the city and the region). Under this arrangement, UW/CO agrees to allocate a portion of the dollars it raises to the Red Cross.
During this period, UW/CO also continues to support a range of other agencies, including the Rehabilitation Institute (1963), Youth Services Bureau as a new separate agency (1966), Fraternity House and Canadian Hearing Society (1968).
UW/CO's reach during the decade: • searches for opportunities to foster greater cooperation and improved knowledge-sharing with member agencies
• dedicates more time and money to determining the effectiveness of programs being delivered
UW/CO encourages creative thinking about “new ways to tackle old problems.”
