The United Way E-Newsletter

75 Years of Building Community & Changing Lives: United Way Ottawa’s Story

2000s / IMPACT: A new millennium brings great expectations, in part spurred by another high-tech good news story: the dot.com bubble. At the beginning of the decade, the annual Christmas Exchange helps just over 23,000 individuals out of the city’s 774,075 citizens, but when the dot.com bubble bursts in 2001 — putting thousands of Ottawans out of work — the Exchange provides Christmas baskets to a record 25,267 people. As the cost of living continues to rise while incomes stagnate, it isn’t long before former donors to the Exchange find themselves receiving gift baskets for the first time.

Building upon its years of experience and knowledge about the community, UW/CO begins a new shift in focus, from strictly raising funds to support frontline programs and services to building community on a more systemic level. In 2001, following extensive research and consultation, UW/CO first identifies six key impact areas in which it wants to focus priorities: children and youth, seniors, people with disabilities, new Canadians and immigrants, individuals and families in need and crisis, and agency, neighbourhood and community capacity. Next, it establishes a new funding system tied to this impact focus. In each impact area, UW/CO strives to make a measurable difference by working strategically at the local level, with the help of its community partners.

Between 2001 and 2004, as annual campaign revenues increase from $19.8 million to $25.2 million, UW/CO is able to invest in more than 50 new programs, services, projects and partnerships. As well, UW/CO is involved in a growing number of community collaborations.

In 2004, a more strategic approach to its community-building activity has UW/CO aligning its impact work with community-level outcomes — a shift that is designed to result in real change for individuals and the community as a whole. By 2007, improvements are evident in all six impact areas. For this reason UW/CO also establishes volunteer-led and -driven impact councils to develop strategies to help UW/CO achieve its objectives, identify new areas of focus and introduce tools to support agencies in their own community work. Underpinning UW/CO's impact work is a community impact strategy that achieves community change on priority issues by focusing on four key directions: influence public attitudes, systems and policy; focus on underlying causes; strengthen the network of services and the capacity of non-profits and community; and engage the community in a number of ways.

Examples of UW/CO's reach into the community include efforts to engage children and youth and develop strategies to help them reach their full potential; encourage employers to integrate more people with disabilities and new Canadians into their workplaces; and address community-wide challenges such as chronic homelessness and declining neighbourhoods.

New partnerships and alliances are also being formed to focus on underlying issues. Latest initiatives include affordable supportive housing for low-income seniors, sustainable housing for the chronically homeless, appropriate services for the aboriginal community and Hire Immigrants Ottawa, which seeks to encourage employers to fill skilled jobs with new Canadians and immigrants.

UW/CO's reach during the decade: • Days of Caring increases in popularity, with 600 volunteers involved in 75 projects in 2002 • growing number of partnership and community-wide initiatives, including the Strong Neighbourhoods Agenda and Internationally Trained Workers Partnership

EPILOGUE — Seventy-five years later, UW/CO continues to make an impact in the community. Through its legacy of caring, sharing and giving back and by keeping pace with changes as they occur, UW/CO ensures that it remains strategic and proactive in its approach to strengthening the local service network, addressing underlying causes to key issues and influencing public policy. While the scope of UW/CO's work has widened considerably since its 1933 beginnings as a federated charity, UW/CO continues to be a major catalyst in driving social change. It can even be said that UW/CO is an expression of the community’s collective will to shape Ottawa into a city that is strong, healthy and safe for all of its citizens — to ensure that is the best it can be.

BY NAME AND NUMBERS
1933 – Ottawa Federated Charities starts up; supports 20 agencies – raises $159,883
1935 – changes name to Ottawa Community Chests — raises $146,500
1936 – establishes scale of giving (0.5% for incomes under $2,000; 1.5% for incomes between $5,000 and $7,000; “be generous” for above $10,000); introduces payroll deduction concept
1939 – $160,337

1940 – $153,689
1941 – $168,954
1943 – $209,177 – joint campaign with Salvation Army
1944 – $240,147 – joint campaign with Salvation Army
1945 – $220,476 – joint campaign with Salvation Army
1946 – $233,430

1950 – $319,191
1952 – $434,560
1954 – $545,205
1956 – $650,223
1958 – $765,000

1960 – $906,534
1961 – changes name to Ottawa and District Community Chest; campaign breaks $1 M mark
1962 – $1.1 M
1964 – $1.4 M – changes name to United Appeal of Ottawa and District
1966 – $1.6 M
1968 – $1.9 M
1969 – changes name to United Appeal of Ottawa-Carleton

1970 – $2 M
1972 – $2.2 M
1973 – changes name to United Way of Ottawa-Carleton
1974 – $2.6 M – introduces agency priority concept for first time
1976 – $3.1 M
1978 – $3.6 M

1980 – $4.3 M
1982 – $5.7 M
1984 – $7.2 M
1986 – $8.6 M – supports 44 member agencies
1988 – $10 M
1989 – 10.7 M

1990 – $11.6 M – approves first mission and values statements (“we dynamically promote community sharing and facilitate the delivery of social services”)
1991 – 12.2 M
1992 – $12.8 M
1993 – $12.6 M
1994 – $12.7 M
1995 – $12.6 M
1996 – $12.6 M
1997 – $13.6 M
1998 – $14.7 M
1999 – $16.1 M

2000 – $18.0 M – establishes new funding system
2001 – $20.0 M – changes name to United Way Ottawa; creates new funding streams; record number of programs receive funding; new community initiatives
2002 – engages community through Days of Caring and Seeing is Believing tours
2003 – 23.6 M
2004 – $24.0 M
2005 – $25.9 M
2006 – $28.2 M
2007 – $29.8 M
2008 – $31.1 M
2009 – $32.6 M
2010 – $33.3 M

(Note: Campaign totals in the millions have been rounded up or down.)