Why United Way?
United Way works closely with the labour movement to make sure that the voices of working people and the concerns of unions are brought forward to the organization. This has an impact on their work and impact in community and their vision of how to make the community a better place. They even have staff members dedicated to ensuring the relationship with unions and working people is strong and dynamic. Union members and leadership are active on their Board of Directors and help ensure that United Way's vision of a healthy, caring, inclusive community lines up with that of working people. Importantly, their staff are proud members of CUPE 1760.
What about the Food Banks?
United Way's Local Love Food Hubs are embedded in neighbourhoods and communities so that they can be accessed locally. They are also connected to community organizations and agencies that provide and run additional wrap-around programming that can care for and offer support to vulnerable people. This is a different model of support that acts as to supplement and innovate upon the important work the food banks are doing in our community. Unfortunately, food banks are also overwhelmed with requests for support right now. The scale of the food security crisis is more than they are able to handle, and United Way's food hubs are proving to be essential supports for thousands of vulnerable people right now.
What else are they doing to support long-term solutions on access to food in BC?
United Way is working with a wide variety of stakeholders, including government, unions, and non-profits, to build the first ever provincial food security strategy backed by good policy. This strategy will be informed by research and knowledge gained from people who are on the frontlines of this crisis. The end goal is to provide a model that enables broader food sourcing coordination, access to more services, and more connection to food and community health in the long term so that we are more prepared for another crisis while helping to solve our current one.
United Way is a big non-profit. What are their overhead costs?
United Way of the Lower Mainland has an average annual administrative cost of 15%. This means that approximately 85 cents of every dollar donated goes to doing work in the community, and 15 cents supports theirr fundraising or administrative costs. The Canadian Revenue Agency (CRA) advises that charitable fundraising expenses below 35% are unlikely to generate concerns.
To find out more, see their Accountability webpage. Here you can access their Annual Report and Audited Financial Statements submitted to the Canada Revenue Agency.
What else does United Way do?
United Way's vision is a healthy, caring, inclusive community. They build this by serving the needs of the local community and igniting the desire in everybody to improve the community they call home. Based on their research, they've decided to focus their work on addressing isolation and belonging. They do this by investing in essential programming for seniors that help them stay connected to each other and their community (even during a pandemic), supporting after school programs for youth in vulnerable situations, and connecting neighbours to each other to develop a sense of belonging and neighbourhood connection.
I'm interested in helping out in my community. Who can I reach out to at United Way?
If you're interested in learning more about the work United Way does in the community, and how you can get involved, please connect with the Labour Participation Department at labourinfo@uwlm.ca.
