Campaign Volunteer Training Materials

A Brief Organizational History

Federated fundraising has been in Terre Haute since the Society for Organized Charity was founded on April 10, 1882. That organization was pledged “to the proper relief of cases of destitution, the prevention of indiscriminate and duplicate giving, the reduction of vagrancy and pauperism.” They wanted also to determine the true causes of vagrancy and pauperism and “to make employment the basis for relief and to secure the community against imposture.”

In 1883 the Society set up a transient shelter in an old station house that had been donated by the City. This building, however, proved inadequate and so money was raised for another building.

The Society over the years made it a policy to encourage and help in the formation of other social service agencies, among them the Fresh Air Mission and the Vigo County Association for Study and Prevention of Tuberculosis

In 1919 the Welfare League was organized; from 1920 to 1932 federated fundraising was run through this organization and its successor, the Terre Haute Community Fund. From 1936 to 1941 the Health-Welfare Fund was the fundraising organization. In 1942, the Community Chest was organized to coordinate the activities of the various agencies, which provided welfare, health or recreational services to the public.

1957 saw the formation of the United Appeal as the fundraising arm of the Community Chest. The stated purpose of the United Appeal was “to promote the social welfare of the county, prevent waste and duplication of fundraising efforts for charitable and welfare organizations and to bring together in a united appeal all possible campaigns of the community’s accepted welfare and recreational agencies…” The united Appeal was incorporated in June of 1958.

In 1959, the United Appeal was succeeded by the United Fund of Terre Haute and Vigo County, Inc, in a reorganization that saw all administrative powers of the Community Chest being transferred to the new agency. The United Appeal was given the authority to hire any administrative personnel deemed necessary. The Community Chest would, from this point on, handle only legacies and trusts.

In 1976 the Articles of Incorporation for United Fund of Terre Haute and Vigo County, Inc, were amended, filed and recorded to change the name to United Way of the Wabash Valley, Inc.

The United Way of the Wabash Valley currently consists of 40 agencies, which provide over 100 programs to the people of the Wabash Valley. The counties served by the United Way of the Wabash Valley are Vigo, Parke, Sullivan and Vermillion in Indiana and Clark and Crawford in Illinois.

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