The United Way Movement – A Backgrounder

What is a United Way Organization?

• A volunteer-led, non-profit organization
• Located in a geographic community
• That seeks and addresses the root causes of key issues
• Is accountable for stewardship of resources, and
• Is accountable for short-term & long-term results

What is United Way International?
Its roles are to :

• Help United Ways across the world become more effective in their work
• Ensure that our global network is accountable and trustworthy
• Help local founding groups to grow the global United Way network
• Help donors with international interests practice intelligent philanthropy

It is a lean effective organization

• Governed by a 20-25 person board representing 7-10 countries
• Run by 20-25 people, speaking 10 languages
• Working with a $2-3 million operating budget

To channel international support through United Way chapters in India, it has an “India Leadership Council” consisting of :

• Nishith Acharya, Executive Director, The Deshpande Foundation, Boston, MA
• Hemant Goradia, President, Vinmar International, Houston, TX
• Barry Griswell, Chairman and CEO, The Principal Group, Des Moines, IA
• Bill Matassoni, CEO, Owner Managed Business Institute, New York, NY
• Sheela Murthy, President, Founder and Managing Attorney, Murthy Law Firm, Owings Mills, MD
• Suku Radia, President, Bankers Trust of Iowa, Des Moines, IA
• Anurag Varma, Of Counsel, Patton Boggs LLP, Washington DC
• Sunil Wadhwani, Chairman and Co-Founder, iGate Corporation, Pittsburgh, PA

What is the global legacy of United Way today?

• United Way has a 100 year history of improving lives
• Volunteers and partners work in 47 countries
• 3,000+ local United Ways in the world
• Raises $5+ billion, from 17 million donors annually
• $900 million is raised from outside the US
• Best practices are shared across the globe
• Priorities are based on local requirements

What sets United Way apart?

• Volunteers at the heart of United Way Movement
• Network is international; decisions and actions are local
• Dedicated to long-term, systemic improvement
• Achieve objectives through a process-driven approach
• Transparency and accountability in all we do
• Involve all sections of the community
• Build capacity of recipient partners
• Not more than 10% of donations used for Organization overheads

What is the history and future road-map of United Way in India?

• United Way of Baroda set up in 1986
• United Way of Mumbai set up in 2002
• United Way of Bengaluru first to be set up in 2008
• United Way of Delhi and of Hubli-Dharwad also set up in 2008
• 9 new Chapters planned in the next 2 years
• A pan-India presence planned

What is the current status of United Way of Bengaluru?

• Registered on 15th July, 2008
• Distinguished Board, with broad representation
• Committed to a variety of community initiatives in :
• Education
• Environment
• Healthcare
• Livelihood
• Set-up costs for 3 years covered through a generous grant

What are the United Way of Bengaluru’s Programs?

• Education. A program is being evolved which :
• Would support education for children from weaker sections of society
• Give an opportunity to students and teachers from international universities to develop curriculum and teach at Bangalore based institutions catering to weaker sections of society
• Support institutions catering to education of children from weaker sections of society through :
• Vaccination alerts
• Dental support
• Eye care
• Heart care
• Computers
• Books
• Mobile science labs
• Environment. A program is being evolved to cover planting and trans-planting of trees keeping in mind :
• Survival issues
• Water preservation
• Ornithological considerations
• Attractive canopy
• Dust prevention
• Healthcare. The following initiatives are being taken up and evolved :
• Blindness Relief. A program is being evolved to cover
• Cataract operations for weaker sections of society
• Preventive eye-care for children from families with limited means
• Pledging corneas for transplanting
• Developing software to manage eye banks
• Implementing “text-to-speech” software to enable blind engineers to seek employment with IT companies
• Cardiac Support. A commitment has been made to Manipal Hospital to
• Assist 100 children from families of limited means
• Partially fund the open-heart surgery procedures
• Clubfoot Treatment. A program is being evolved and implemented to cover
• Children in the age group of 0 to 6 years
• Meet the needs of financially challenged patients around Bangalore
• A vision of making Karnataka free of Clubfeet
• Health Broadcasts. A program is being evolved to cover
• Healthcare related awareness amongst the rural women
• Hygiene related awareness amongst rural families
• Inputs on nutrition for women and children in rural settings
• Social Informatics. A program is being evolved to cover
• Mobile and internet alerts for :
• Children vaccinations
• Pre and Post natal women’s issues
• Diabetes
• Others
• Livelihood / Vocational Training. A program is being evolved to cover
• Youth of 18 years and above, with little or no education
• Significant earnings, with just 3 months of vocational training
• 100 % job placements for all students undergoing training

UWBe hopes to deploy technology and informatics to support as many United Way Programs as possible.

Through what web links can we further research United Way?

• United Way International : www.uwint.org
• United Way of America : www.liveunited.org
• United Way of Bengaluru : www.UWBengaluru.org
• United Way of Baroda : www.unitedwayofbaroda.org
• United Way of Mumbai : www.unitedwaymumbai.org
• United Way of Delhi : www.uwdelhi.org

Related links