2003 | 2004 ANNUAL REPORT Each one of us brings something special, something necessary to making Winnipeg a better place to live. When “we” work together, our individual contributions multiply into the strength and confidence of “we”. And “we” all benefit. United Way makes “we” happen. It’s about “We” A few years ago, the Board of Trustees and other Winnipeggers envisioned a renewed United Way – one that would centralize around a community mandate and engage the community in meaningful ways to achieve it. They envisioned a United Way that would measure impact over the long-term, impact that would be sustainable, measured in changed lives and improved conditions, for all of us. Since the articulation of this vision, each consecutive board has laid important pieces of a foundation that has rebuilt and redefined United Way from a fundraising and fund allocating organization into a catalyst for community change. This year, the Board has not only continued to build upon this vision, as you will see in the pages of this annual report, it has set a course for the future with a three- year plan that focuses on three key elements of community building – engagement, capacity building and impact. The three-year plan recognizes that real community change happens as people: acknowledge the need for change and begin to take active interest in making it happen; build their capacity to effect the change; and focus their efforts in a way that will make the change meaningful, relevant and sustainable over the long term. It’s a plan for the future on which we can all place our hands. It’s a plan for “we”. Susan Lewis, J. K. A. (Gus) Campbell, President, United Way of Winnipeg Chair, United Way Board of Trustees 2003 | 2004 ANNUAL REPORT 3 work together. shared VISION United Way is a way all Winnipeggers can be part of setting and achieving the community’s vision of better lives, improved conditions, a stronger city for everyone. collaborative ACTION United Way provides opportunities for each of us to contribute our time, expertise, knowledge and resources in a way that maximizes our collective impact and benefits us all. long-term IMPACT United Way strategically invests individual contributions of time, expertise and resources to: build and sustain a culture of active citizenship (engagement); grow and maintain a reliable community service network (capacity building); and create effective, long-term solutions to root causes of issues (impact). 2003 | 2004 ANNUAL REPORT 5 are involved. Real community change happens as people acknowledge the need for change and begin to take active interest in making it happen. Each person brings something special, something unique that is welcome and necessary to achieving the greater good. We celebrate the contributions of each person, and value the results. When everyone participates, everyone benefits. Participating in an Working Together Annual Campaign to Reduce Poverty Winnipeggers set a new record in the In November 2003, United Way 2003 Annual Campaign – raising over $15 convened a partnership with the Province of million for our city. This increase – $1.1 Manitoba and The Winnipeg Foundation to million over the previous year – is the bring more than two hundred people largest increase in United Way’s history! together to explore Community The campaign’s success was a direct result Development (CD) and Community of people’s outstanding participation – Economic Development (CED) practices and volunteering as canvassers, baking cookies to build city-wide networks focused on for bake sales, increasing their support or poverty reduction. lending their skills and expertise. Each People who actively participate in contribution helped make the difference. CD/CED work in Winnipeg were invited to a Leaders of the Way broke all participation Gathering to share information about the records with over 1600 people giving at the ongoing evolution of the CD/CED leadership level. Workplaces, with the joint community. At the Gathering, participants support of corporations, management and identified and discussed key challenges and over 40 labour unions, raised 58% of the opportunities in implementing their total dollars. People participating from their respective visions in the areas of: homes contributed nearly $2 million. neighbourhood development; employment Employees, teachers, students and development systems; housing and social administrators in health care facilities, enterprise. These discussions led to the schools, colleges and universities raised building of relationships between residents $1.6 million. Government employees and consumers of services, CD/CED achieved a 15% increase over the previous practitioners and funders of CD/CED year, raising nearly $2 million in total. It initiatives in Winnipeg. truly was everyone’s campaign. 2003 | 2004 ANNUAL REPORT 7 Participants went on to form four Committee, comprising nine youth practitioner networks, one in each of the members and three adult members, has discussion areas, then developed a learning begun to explore the thoughts and agenda, a networking agenda, a research aspirations of young people as they relate agenda and a list of tools required to to helping them find a stronger voice, build increase organizational effectiveness. a stronger city and deepen relationships Another event is planned for 2004 that with United Way. will continue the conversations about key Measuring What We Value, challenges and opportunities and will Valuing What We Measure feature a series of professional development sessions, several structured How will we know if we’re progressing peer learning opportunities and increased towards our vision of a better city? That’s emphasis on encouraging participation the important question Winnipeggers asked from the small business and corporate during United Way’s Journey Forward sectors. community involvement initiative. In response, United Way with the International Building Understanding Institute for Sustainable Development and During the past year, the Aboriginal individuals from business, government, the Task Group of United Way’s Board of voluntary sector, health and education are Trustees completed the “Eagle’s Eye working to create a community indicators View”, a scan of the Aboriginal system (CIS) for Winnipeg. community of Winnipeg. The scan A CIS is an interactive mechanism for is a holistic, comprehensive, and creating short and long term social, integrated body of information on economic and environmental progress. It the urban Aboriginal community. serves as a catalyst for community United Way views this involvement, learning, planning, action and groundbreaking work as a first, and change. critically important, step in building Winnipeg’s CIS will: stronger relationships with Aboriginal • Engage interested people, groups and people in Winnipeg. organizations from all sectors and parts United Way has also embarked on a of the community; process, to engage and build stronger • Track and communicate progress towards relationships with our city’s young people. achieving a community vision; YES (Youth Engagement Steering) 8 • Provide credible information to support otherwise be resourced. This represents a policy and program decisions that will record number of projects for United Way make a difference in the lives of of Winnipeg – increasing by 14 over last individual Winnipeggers; and year. And the demand keeps growing! In • Stimulate and facilitate integrated 2003, Days of Caring officially kicked off collaborative action to revitalize with a partnership between Andrews Street neighborhoods and the entire city. Family Centre and City of Winnipeg employees. The result was a brand new Rolling Up Our Sleeves play house and a re-painted play structure United Way’s Day of Caring is one of for the children of Andrews Street. the community’s best engagement opportunities. As organizations come to realize how a Day of Caring benefits their workplace and their community, they request more opportunities to participate. Last year, 54 organizations were matched with community agencies to assist with projects and special events that could not 2003 | 2004 ANNUAL REPORT 9 grow together. Real community change happens as people build their capacity to effect the change. Each of us has something to contribute that will help build upon the strength of others. At the same time, each of us has something to gain as we learn from others how to build our own skills, knowledge and capacity to enable the change we envision. Committing to Each Other United Way gathers strength and support from each other and from United Way of United Way recognizes that for Canada as we share best practices, community agencies and organizations to resources and plans for the future. United be innovative and effective over the long- Way of Winnipeg continues to be an term, they require long-term investment integral resource for other United Ways as that allows them to plan for the future and it has demonstrated some of the most resource their plans effectively. For this innovative community approaches in reason, United Way has developed multi- Canada, such as Journey Forward, year partnership agreements that focus on community research initiatives and an results while at the same time provide overall branding strategy. This past year, community stability. This year, the five United Ways (Vancouver, Edmonton, Province of Manitoba has viewed its Calgary, Winnipeg, and Toronto) together investment in United Way in a similar with United Way of Canada–Centraide manner by