For over 80 years, the United Way of Greater Los Angeles has been part of the Los Angeles community. As the county has grown and changed, so have we, constantly adapting to meet our community's needs.
Over the years, we have been, and remain, a close partner with our local communities, raising funds for hundreds of charities and developing innovative programs that help create pathways out of poverty for individuals and families. We invite you to take a few moments to stroll with us down memory lane.
Chronology of United Way
1854 - First charity in Los Angeles: Hebrew Benevolent Society.
1893 - Associated Charities formed in Los Angeles – 13 member agencies.
1924 - First Community Chest campaign in Los Angeles was a combined appeal of 166 agencies. $2,492,000 raised by 168,000 citizens.
1940 - Formation of the Los Angeles War Chest into combined Community/Victory Chest Campaign, which raised $2,678,000
1963 - First organization in the world named “United Way” formed right here in Los Angeles! It consolidated 33 (ultimately 37) community chests. Campaign raised $15,582,000.
1964 - United Way and Los Angeles County chapters of American Red Cross form United Crusade, a campaign partnership to support services and programs at local charities and Red Cross chapters. Campaign raised $19,422,000.
1971 - United Way in Los Angeles decentralizes its operations, forming five regions within the county. Campaign raised $15,866,000.
1977 - Nine major health organizations join the United Way of Greater Los Angeles campaign as partners. Within the next five years, 5 additional health organizations join the partnership. Campaign raised $40,381,000.
1981 - United Way and Los Angeles County create Info Line, bringing together some 300 previously separate information and referral services. Campaign raised $58,424,000.
1987 - Inauguration of local chapter of The Alexis de Tocqueville Society for individual donors of $10,000 or more. Campaign raised $82,830,000.
1988 - Antelope Valley Region established, covering northern Los Angeles and southeastern Kern Counties. Campaign raised $88,322,000.
1991 - Strategic initiatives in HIV/AIDS and Adult Literacy adopted, reflecting heightened emphasis on of linkage fundraising and community problem solving. Campaign raised $86,100,000.
1992 - Strategic Action Plan adopted. Special funding agencies in response to civil unrest. Recession and key industry downsizing hits.
1993 - Donor choice program implemented. Special funding to agencies in response to brush fires. Campaign raised $59,000,000.
1994 - Special funding to agencies in response to Northridge Earthquake. Campaign raised $57,245,000.
1995 - United Way headquarters moved to downtown Los Angeles on West Sixth Street. Joseph V. Haggerty named new President of United Way of Greater Los Angeles. Campaign raised $58,000,000.
1998 - United Way takes action in order to aid Central Americans affected by Hurricane Mitch. Campaign raised $59,000,000. United Way of Greater Los Angeles closed its 1998-99 campaign with a total of $62,000,000, continuing its mission to raise and distribute funds, as well as to provide information and referral, agency relations, community problem solving and research to address future human care needs.
2000 - Ed McMahon joined United Way's nationwide top volunteers and experts during the National Alexis de Tocqueville Society Awards Dinner. The event was part of United Way’s Community Leaders’ Conference, held in Los Angeles in April 2000.
2001 - United Way raised $66,000,000 in its 2000-01 campaign, which included a $5,000,000 gift by Eli and Edythe Broad: the largest gift ever made to a United Way in California.
United Way responded to the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks by establishing an Emergency Response Fund. $1,028,103 was raised locally to support victims in Los Angeles and nationwide.
E-kickoff, a three month online campaign kick-off, replaces the traditional Day of Caring.
2002 - “Tale of Two Cities” was a watershed report that revealed the gap between peril and promise for Los Angeles County’s working poor. United Way also introduced its Bridging the Gap funding strategy for investing in programs that promote learning, empowering, and caring. The annual campaign raised $66.2 million.
2003 - Over $68 million was raised during this exciting time for United Way. The year not only marked the 15th anniversary of The Alexis de Tocqueville Society, but also the release of “Latino Scorecard 2003: Grading the American Dream,” an important study that chronicles the challenges facing Los Angeles County’s Latino population as well as our communities as a whole.
United Way was also thrilled to have Gregory Stubblefield, President and General Manager of Southern California Enterprise Rent-a-Car, take the helm as board chair. Under his guidance, 2004 brought more groundbreaking work that helped enable the working poor of Los Angeles County break the cycle of poverty.
2004 - In 1985, United Way released “Pacific Rim Profiles,” a report that was to initiate three decades of demographic profiles on the state of well being for Asians and Pacific Islanders in Los Angeles County. This initial report was followed by “The Asian Pacific Profile and Fact-Finder” in 1996.
In 2004, the Asian Pacific American Legal Center of Southern California, in collaboration with the United Way of Greater Los Angeles, carried on this in-depth look at the needs and accomplishments of Southern California’s 1.3 million Asian and Pacific Islander (API) residents with “The Diverse Face of Asian and Pacific Islanders in Los Angeles County.” In addition to highlighting population growth and examining the diversity and socioeconomic indicators between various API ethnic groups, the report outlined several policy recommendations that help ensure that support services continue to reach vulnerable segments of the API population.
2004 - In the fall of 2004, United Way authored “Literacy@Work,” a study for the Los Angeles Workforce Literacy Project on the state of worker literacy and its implications for the regional economy. Among the most startling findings was that 53 percent of the workforce had low English literacy skills, posing a serious barrier to their career advancement and workforce productivity. The report also examined factors contributing to LA’s workforce literacy crisis and offered an assessment of current literacy programs along with recommendations to help business, nonprofits and policy makers improve workforce literacy rates.
Core partners in the LA Workforce Literacy Project include the City of Los Angeles, The Literacy Network of Greater Los Angeles, United Way of Greater Los Angeles, Los Angeles City Workforce Investment Board, Los Angeles Community College District, Los Angeles Unified School District, Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce, Volunteer Center of Los Angeles, and the University of Southern California.
2005 - In March, Elise Buik was named President and CEO of United Way of Greater Los Angeles. She became the first woman in history to hold this title.
That summer, working in partnership with the Los Angeles Urban League, United Way brought together more than 300 community leaders and experts in March 2005 to discuss challenges facing Los Angeles County’s African American population.
The State of Black Los Angeles Leadership Summit was held at the Los Angeles Times and moderated by PBS talk show host Tavis Smiley. The summit sought input from participants on such key topics as health, education, criminal justice, economics, housing and civil engagement and used their comments to formulate an action agenda for black Los Angeles.
In July 2005, United Way and the Urban League release a report, “The State of Black Los Angeles,” which featured the action agenda as well as an equality index rating African American standing in each topic area as compared to whites, Latinos, and Asian/Pacific Islanders.
2006 - “Latino Scorecard 2006” is a follow-up to “Latino Scorecard: Grading the American Dream,” which was guided by the Latino Scorecard Committee and brought together five academic research teams to study conditions of Latinos in Los Angeles in five key areas: Education, Economic Development, Health, Housing and Public Safety. In the 2003 report, researchers found Latinos lagging significantly behind other racial and ethnic groups on many fronts, with overall grades for the five areas consisting of Cs and Ds. The Scorecard Committee worked with an Advisory Committee and action teams to develop an action agenda to address the disparities highlighted by the researchers. Working with action agenda partner Alliance for a Better Community, the Scorecard project has resulted in several important policy and program innovations, especially in the areas of education and health.
United Way closed its 2005-2006 fundraising campaign at the California Science Center. The event entitled "Superheroes of Caring" featured the Honorable Mayor Antonio Villarigosa, who delivered the keynote address, and the event was hosted by a true superhero himself, Dean Cain.
In November of 2006, United Way unveiled its State of Women in Los Angeles County Report. The report identified the challenges facing the future of women and girls in LA County. In addition, it prescribed ways to reverse many of our areas adverse socio-economic trends.
The report's launch was accompanied by the “2006 Women Leaders Summit” which convened 150 of the most influential women in Southern California to discuss the challenges facing women and girls in Los Angeles County and plot a roadmap for change.
February 2007 – United Way launches a new ten-year action plan to improve the quality of life for all by creating pathways out of poverty. The plan focuses on three interdependent action areas: meeting basic needs like food and housing, improving the educational achievement of youth, and helping families become financially stable. For the first time in its history, United Way shifts to a competitive funding process and invites proposals from all qualified 501(c)(3) achieving measurable goals in those three areas.
March 2007 – United Way launches Quality of Life in Los Angeles: 2007 State of the County report to an audience of 800 civic, business and community leaders in dowtown Los Angeles. The report includes a compositive index, which shows how Los Angeles is doing in meeting the needs of its residents in four key areas: education, economic status, health and public safety.
August 2007 – United Way announces the 
partners who will help it to create pathways out of poverty in Los Angeles County over the next three years.