Identity area
Type of entity
Authorized form of name
United Way of the Lower Mainland
Parallel form(s) of name
Standardized form(s) of name according to other rules
Other form(s) of name
Identifiers for corporate bodies
Description area
Dates of existence
History
The United Way of the Lower Mainland's origins date to 1930 with the establishment of two social agencies, the Vancouver Council of Social Agencies and the Vancouver Welfare Federation. The United Way is a volunteer-led registered charitable organization which focuses on the provision of better planning and coordination of welfare services and the raising of funds to provide the necessary financial support to its institutional members. The United Way first operated as the Vancouver Welfare Federation with Howard Falk acting as its Executive Director until 1935, when Dr. G.F. Davidson was appointed to succeed him. The Community Chest (formerly called the Welfare Federation) and the Welfare Council (formerly called the Vancouver Council of Social Agencies) operated independently until 1946, when they merged to become the Community Chest and Councils of Greater Vancouver. Further name changes occurred in 1966 and 1974, when the organization became the United Community Services of the Greater Vancouver Area, and then the United Way of the Lower Mainland.