United in Action: 138 Years of Giving Freely

In every chapter of modern life, through disaster, upheaval, recovery, and quiet progress, there’s been one constant: people showing up for each other.

United Way was founded on that idea in 1887. Long before we had a name known around the world, it was simply a network of neighbors who believed that a community’s strength could be measured by its willingness to give freely and for the greater good.

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Volunteers from the Charity Organization Society, United Way’s earliest form, were on standby in New York as the survivors of the Titanic sinking arrived. They brought warm blankets, blank record cards, and a quiet insistence on dignity. As the official Red Cross response unfolded, it was these volunteers who sat with widows and helped nervous families start again.  

By the 1920s, a red feather had become the symbol of this kind of giving. Volunteers wore it proudly during annual appeals to fund care for children, elders, and neighbors in crisis. That symbol, the first United Way logo, stood for action without ego. In the words of a 1963 editorial in the Minneapolis Star: “We’re beginning to believe that if volunteers gave up their work for just one week, the world would stop.”

In the decades that followed, as United Way campaigns evolved, so did our symbol. The feather gave way to a bold “U” with the word “United” stretched across it, marking a movement now joined by hundreds of local communities under one national effort.  

In 1962, President John F. Kennedy praised the volunteers leading those campaigns during a United Givers Fund Drive event in New Bedford: “This is democratic cooperation in its best sense... what an effort like this makes certain is that dollars are given and spent thoughtfully—not erratically and ineffectually.” He launched the campaign himself from the Oval Office with a $500.00 contribution. 

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At a 1987 ceremony honoring him with the Alexis de Tocqueville Award, President Ronald Reagan reflected on the values at the heart of United Way: “I grew up in a small town in northern Illinois where every day you saw a neighbor helping neighbor. It was an accepted part of the running of a successful community. And yes, from our earliest days in Hollywood to our current jobs, Nancy and I have tried to carry this with us through our administrations.” 

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United Way has been the benchmark for service for generations. President George H. W. Bush affirmed the central role of volunteers in civic life: “Our nation is strengthened when people volunteer in their communities. United Way volunteers set a standard of caring.”

As the world changed, so did United Way. The logos evolved from the red feather to the bold-lined U to the Circle of Hope. So did our name. In 2009, United Way of America became United Way Worldwide, formalizing the organization’s international reach.

Today, our movement serves tens of thousands of communities across more than 30 countries and territories. We are a bridge between local action and global partnership, mobilizing communities so everyone has an opportunity to thrive. Whether it’s through 211, United Way’s always-on helpline, or through modern partnerships that connect corporate investment to community wisdom, the work continues.

For decades, people have gathered under our banners. Our taglines have reflected the moment:

Give ‘Til It Helps.
Give the United Way: Once for All
Thanks to You, It Works… For All of Us.
Live United.

The language shifts with the times, but our mission stays grounded in something deeper. Because after 138 years, United is, still, the way.