History

Since 1938, the United Way of Madison County has been the key force for addressing the most heartfelt issues of the community.  Through the commitment of volunteer leadership, our United Way has worked to raise both awareness of needs and the funds necessary to address those needs.

A uniquely American institution, United Way grew from a campaign to fund community projects in Denver, Colorado in 1887.  The first community planning groups was formed in Pittsburgh in 1908.  Cleveland held the first United Way campaign with budgeting in 1913.  Shortly after World War I, the first Community Chest began in Rochester, New York in 1919.

The local organization began as Anderson Community Chest.  In 1959, the organization represented 10 agencies, and joined with the Madison County Red Cross, the Anderson YMCA and a representative group of about 75 local leaders to form the United Fund of Madison County.  The organization joined United Way of America in 1973. As a member, the organization benefits from national brand recognition, training, national campaign structure and other resources, while maintaining local autonomy and retaining 98.5 cents of every dollar raised.   

In 1999, the board adopted new by-laws including internal restructuring of board committees, and approved changes in both the fund raising and fund distribution process. The organization began a transition from the traditional agency allocations model to a program funding model that raises the standards of responsiveness to current needs, collaborative partnerships and outcome measurements. Subsequently, United Way adopted a certification process that is based on standards of operation for organizations seeking United Way funds.  Our United Way has also complied with both the United Way of America membership standards and the Standards of Excellence, introduced in 2002-2003.

In 2004, the local board adopted the Community Impact Model of work as defined by United Way of America:  mobilizing communities to created change in community conditions that improve lives. Following a year of study by a community task force, the board approved a community impact vision statement in 2006: To work with all available partners to help residents achieve and sustain self sufficiency. As part of the community impact vision, two vision councils were authorized to address the issue: Safety Net Vision Council and Building Individual Capacity Vision Council. Current strategies focus specifically on early childhood/school readiness and meeting basic needs of households that are not self sufficient.   

In 2008, United Way of America introduced a community impact focus on education, income and health, along with aggressive 10-year national goals to improve the quality of life for all Americans. Locally, the Vision Councils are working to expand the current initiatives to address long-term change.