A colourful illustration of a neighbourhood and people.

United Way Workplace Campaign

Together, we can make a difference. Oct. 5 – Dec. 15.

Our commitment to Calgary

We all feel the effects of inflation. Every time we make a purchase, we are reminded of the rising cost of essential goods and services. When an individual or family can’t afford the basic needs for survival, it creates a ripple through every aspect of their lives.

The United Way and the University of Calgary are working together to tackle issues like the inflation crisis through the lens of four key outcomes: Socioeconomic Well-being, Mental Health, Social Inclusion and Healthy Relationships. 

One hundred per cent of your donation goes to United Way’s Community Impact Fund which provides stable funding to more than 120 agencies, ensuring Calgarians can access services and supports when and where they need them. Check out United Way's Impact Calculator to see how far your investment will go in your community.

With your help, UCalgary is aiming to raise $370,000 for the United Way this year. Through your donation, you are choosing to invest in programs and collaborations that provide vital services available to all Calgarians. 

A better tomorrow starts with you.

Help us reach our goal of $370,000

 

Raised in 2022: $368,408

Why donate to United Way?

Your investment with United Way stays local and is strategically invested right where you live, work, and raise your family. Your gift improves lives: it ensures people in our community have access to the supports they need the most, when and where they need them. Your investment helps people overcome poverty, helps kids succeed, and strengthens neighbourhoods. We believe that these are critical components to realizing our vision of a resilient and caring community where everyone thrives. United Way is committed to a rigorous measurement process with annual reporting, and they generate high return on community investment.

United Way of Calgary and Area has one of the lowest fundraising costs in Canada. United Way estimates fundraising and related operating costs to be 14% to 16%. The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) considers 35% to be an acceptable standard. Click here to learn more about informed giving with United Way.

The United Way and the University of Calgary are working together to tackle issues like the inflation crisis through the lens of four key outcomes. Explore these below.

A graphic with a colourful hand holding up people. The text reads "Social Inclusion: 50% of Calgary's Black and Indigenous populations believe other Calgarians are not accepting people from diverse backgrounds."
A graphic with a colourful heart shape. The text reads "Healthy Relationships: 4,723 victims of domestic violent crime reported to police in Calgary in 2022."
A graphic with a yellow and orange sun. The text reads "Mental Health: 46% of Albertans reported a deterioration in their mental health since the start of the pandemic."
A graphic with a colourful tree. The text reads "Socioeconomic Well-Being: 82% of Canadians say that the increase in cost of living has outpaced any income growth they have seen in their household."

Leadership Giving

Leadership Giving includes donations between $1,200 and $9,999, and is a critical part of UCalgary’s United Way Workplace Campaign. Through your generous support last year, we were able to raise over $368,408. Almost $200,000 of last year’s total came from Leadership Giving donors.

Leadership Donors come together to lead change around our community’s most unignorable issues. All funds go to Calgary and area agencies, providing services aimed at reducing poverty, supporting kids, and building strong communities.

This collective investment helps address the root causes of social challenges and creates long-term strategies to solve them. With a Leadership Giving donation, you can see the direct impacts of your gift, explore tax benefits, receive dollar-for-dollar donation matches, and connect with other community leaders.

Leadership donations made between Oct. 1 – 30 are eligible for a draw to win a one-year Active Living fitness membership, while donations made between Oct. 1 – Nov. 19 are eligible for a draw to win a full semester of complimentary parking on campus.

A colourful cluster of illustrated trees.

Meet the people whose lives have been improved thanks to your support.

Through your donation, you are choosing to invest in programs and collaborations that provide vital services available to all Calgarians. United Way continues to make lasting impact in our communities by taking dollars raised and strategically investing in collaborations, change initiatives and agency partners that strengthen our city.


Featured Events

Sunset light just hitting the top of the Three Sister peaks near Canmore, Alberta, Canada

Canmore Weekend Giveaway

October 13 - Dec. 7, draw on Dec. 8. Contact nakenny@ucalgary.ca for more info.

frothy coffee with milk in a red cup on a table with a knitted scarf and mittens top view

Hygge Survivor on Cozy Island

Survivor-style prize game. Open to all faculties and units. Oct 30-Nov 24, tickets shortly after, draw mid-December. Contact hjclithe@ucalgary.ca for more info.

Red wine from good grapes is fermented very nice

Wine Survivor on Wonders of Fermentation Island

Survivor-style prize game. Open to all faculties and units. Oct 30-Nov 24, tickets shortly after, draw mid-December. Contact hjclithe@ucalgary.ca for more info.

second hand books for sale in open air market

Book Sale

Book Sale of items donated by faculty. Open to all faculties and units. Dec. 6 & Dec. 7 in the TFDL Foyer. Contact ingrid.reiche@ucalgary.ca for more info.

Basketball goal and score board in the background with a new game about to start.

KINcard

A purchase card for access to multiple events in the Faculty of Kinesiology. Nov 10-Dec 15. Contact kerry.dankers@ucalgary.ca for more info.

mixed nuts and dried fruits in bowls, top view. healthy snack for vegetarian, food background.

Office Snack Cart

Bring cash to buy chips and chocolates in AD100 or MT 9th floor. Open to all faculties and units. Oct. 23-Dec. 15. Contact amaerten@ucalgary.ca for more info.

Hands in a huddle

United Way Challenge

Complete 10 challenges and win 3 winter months of heated parking. November 27-Dec. 1

A man's hands are leafing through an open book. A hardcover book lies at his feet. Close-up, selective focus. Blur in motion.

Used Book Sale

Used Book Sale - donated by CSM Community. Open to all faculties and units. Nov 27 & 28, 2023 - 9AM-3PM @ Foothills Campus (HRIC Atrium). Contact nielsenp@ucalgary.ca for more info.

A father is shopping at Holiday market with his two daughters.

Market Day

20+ vendors from the community. Open to all faculties and units. Nov 29, 2023 - 9AM-3PM @ Foothills Campus (HRIC Atrium). Contact nielsenp@ucalgary.ca for more info.

Brownies

The Great VPR Bake Sale

Purchase delicious baked goods! November 21, December 5, 10am - 1:30 PM @first floor HNSC

A person with blonde hair happy on their phone.

Online Silent Auction

Talents and Wares provided by faculty & friends of FSW. November 18 - December 11 5pm

An audience in a theatre watching a ballet performance.

Ultimate Calgary Performing Arts Raffle

Win tickets for you and a guest to attend to six different and exciting live events (12 tickets in total) produced by some of the most highly regarded arts companies in Calgary! November 14 -December 14. Draw on December 15.


Featured news

UCalgary comes together to help United Way raise more than $370,000 for communities in need

Celebrating the generosity of our campus community during the 2023 United Way Workplace Campaign

Public installation aims to foster social inclusion and connection in downtown Calgary

Researchers at School of Architecture, Planning and Landscape discuss Strata Project

UCalgary researchers explore dynamics of food insecurity as costs of living continue to rise

Research from Dana Olstad and Inara Lalani shows how socio-economic well-being can affect food security and overall health

Prof explores the importance of healthy relationships for community wellness

Deinera Exner-Cortens discusses her research on fostering healthy relationships and the creation of spaces for belonging

United Way partnership highlights UCalgary researcher's work in enhancing mental health support for youth

Social Work prof Alan McLuckie defines pathways for early mental health intervention


Grow Your Impact

When you increase your gift this year, the growth portion of your gift will be matched, improving even more local lives and ensuring kids, families and individuals have access to support when they need it.

Donate Now

Have questions?

Have questions about tax receipts? Where to direct your donation? How to donate? We can help! Check out our list of frequently asked questions and get the answers.

View FAQs

Campaign Toolkit

This toolkit gives campaign ambassadors information and tips on how to use all the campaign materials and will help support a successful campaign journey.

View the toolkit


Frequently asked questions

For faculty and staff: To donate, visit our donation link at the top of this page and log in using your UCalgary email address and password. Once you're logged in, you can select your donation amount and frequency, as well as your payment method, and where to direct your donation. 

For everyone else: To donate, visit United Way of Calgary and Area's donation website and when prompted indicate your donation is part of the "University of Calgary" workplace campaign.

 

Since 1940, United Way of Calgary and Area has been dedicated to making our city a great place for everyone. United Way focuses on strategic areas that are critical to long-term sustainable change in our city. Through the Community Impact Fund, United Way invests in programs, collaborations and initiatives, which connect Calgarians with opportunities that help them thrive. To see a full list of agency partners, please visit United Way’s website.

Your investment with United Way will stay local and be strategically invested right where you live, work, and raise your family. Your investment directly supports those who need it most. United Way’s focus areas address the critical social issues facing our community, and United Way is committed to a rigorous measurement process with annual reporting. Find more details on United Way's funding process.

The modern United Way of Calgary and Area is a social impact organization that focuses on prevention, early intervention, and long-term systems change—changing the systems that create inequity. Our work involves bringing together groups of experts and community members to imagine and develop a network of care that is compassionate and tailored to the needs of individuals and families. Collaborating with different groups, such as government, other non-profit organizations and funders, corporations, Indigenous Elders, and others maximizes all our strengths to ensure we find new approaches to care for the most vulnerable in our community. We can act more comprehensively and partner on a broader scale to solve these issues by not only funding differently, but also by working together in new and innovative ways.

To keep pace with our changing world, United Way designs innovative and transformative solutions, collaborates on systems change, focuses on the person in need, and incorporates diversity, equity, and inclusion into everything we do. This approach represents a shift towards investing more of our efforts and funds into larger initiatives that are highly collaborative, transformational in nature, and address multiple issues. It’s hard to solve a problem if you don’t know why it exists, so we dig deep to uncover the underlying causes of social problems affecting our community. Together with the social sector and other partners, we are co-designing innovative and collaborative practices that focus on achieving our common goals.

Ultimately, donating to any charity is a deeply personal choice that should be fully made in alignment with an individual’s beliefs and values.

A full list of United Way of Calgary and Area’s agency partners can be found on their website.

Should any of the agencies supported by United Way’s investments not align with an individual’s personal beliefs and values, Donor Choice or “Donor Designation,” is an added service United Way offers to its donors that allows them to direct a portion or the entirety of their gift to any registered charity in Canada.

United Way of Calgary and Area has one of the lowest fundraising cost ratios in Canada. Fundraising and related operating costs have been between 10% - 14% of total revenue for the last 10 years. This is well below the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA)’s acceptable level of 35 per cent. Administrative costs, in part, also fund initiatives that drive systems change and capacity building of the social sector—work that brings great value to our community.

United Way files an annual T3010 with Canada Revenue Agency and our financials are audited annually by an independent auditor. To see United Way’s detailed financial statements, click here.

United Way holds itself accountable to its donors, and invests donated resources as wisely, efficiently, and effectively as possible, generating a high return on community investment. We rigorously monitor and report on the impact of our investments so donors can be confident their investment is making a positive difference. 

In addition, United Way routinely earns top rankings from a variety of organizations that benchmark against other Canadian non-profits of similar scope and size. United Way has received a 4/4 star rating on Charity Intelligence for our financial and reporting transparency, accountability to donors, and overhead costs. MoneySense’s Charity 100, which rates 100 of the biggest charities in Canada based on finances and transparency, rated United Way as an A+ charity in 2019. United Way of Calgary and Area was also ranked among the top 10 charities on Maclean’s list of top 100 rated charities in Canada.

Yes! This is the easiest way to donate. Any donation can be made via credit card, cash, cheque or payroll. Tax receipts for donations made by credit card, cash or cheque will be sent to the donor through email or mail. Donations made through payroll deductions will be included on the employee's T4 slip.

Yes. The majority of United Way’s work centers on partnering with many organizations in order to address immediate needs and underlying causes of social issues. While the ultimate goal is to prevent these issues from happening in the first place, United Way recognizes that policy barriers exist at municipal, provincial, and federal levels. By advocating change around these social policies, United Way can have a more significant impact in our community.

No. Every United Way event is generously sponsored by corporations or individuals who cover the costs. A complete listing of sponsors is available on United Way of Calgary and Area’s website.

United Way’s costs remain low for many reasons, including:

  • Partnerships through workplace campaigns.
  • Contributions by highly-skilled volunteers.
  • Maximizing efficiencies and implementing economies of scale that are not possible through smaller organizations.
  • Leveraging a proven history over 75 years, strong reputation, and high profile to receive sponsorship, pro-bono and discounted rates on some services, such as advertising and associated marketing materials.

As part of United Way’s stewardship of donor dollars, there is a rigorous process in place to ensure the best investment of resources. Experienced staff and volunteers make investment decisions based on community needs, research, and funding criteria. United Way invests to minimize duplication among programs and looks for measurable results, quality performance and innovative approaches. More information can be found on United Way of Calgary and Area's website.

All salaries at United Way, including senior management, are benchmarked against other Canadian non-profit organizations of similar size and scope. United Way of Calgary and Area is in compliance with the required T3010 regulatory reporting to CRA for its executive compensation, which can be viewed on the CRA website.

Featured events