Your United Way
History of Your United Way of the Greater Triangle
United Way of the Greater Triangle was born out of the consolidation of the United Ways of Durham, Orange and Wake counties in 1996 and the addition of Johnston County in 2009. The consolidation reduced overhead costs while allowing for the expansion of services across the region. With the help of thousands of volunteers, United Way of the Greater Triangle, is now working to build our community. Last year, we touched the lives of more than 300,000 people in need across Durham, Johnston, Orange and Wake counties.
History of United Way
In 1887, religious leaders founded the Charity Organization Society in Denver, Colorado. It was the first "United Way" organization that planned and coordinated local services and conducted a single fundraising campaign for 22 agencies. The first fundraising campaign raised $21,700 in 1888.
In 1913, the nation's 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 fundraising 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 organizations 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 fundraising record of 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. In 1996, 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 Olympic Torch Relay. United Way of America and the United Way system were also asked by the President's Summit for America's Future to join with them in selecting delegates from more than 140 cities to take part in the Summit.
United Way remains a leader in marshaling resources to support community needs nation-wide.