Discussions surrounding a merger to create United Way Maritimes began around two years ago.
But those representing Greater Moncton and Southeast New Brunswick decided to remain independent.
“There was a discussion about amalgamating smaller United Ways and getting better benefits from larger organizations while still maintaining local control over the spending of dollars that are raised locally, that process started nationally,” says past Board Chair David Campbell.
“We started looking at it in Atlantic Canada, in the Maritime provinces, Ultimately, after the end of that process, a number of the organizations agreed to merge, but here in Greater Moncton and Southeast New Brunswick, the Board of Directors decided against it.”
He says the United Way of Greater Moncton and Southeast New Brunswick is one of the country’s strongest, and local matters most to the UWGMSENB. They felt strongly that board leadership and decision-making should remain local.
“If you look at revenue per capita, if you look at the amount of fundraising that goes to overhead costs, it’s relatively low. So this is a very strong and successful United Way. It’s growing its revenue every year. Its impact has been very strong across the region.”
Campbell adds that this region also has a commitment to offering services and programs bilingually, which is specific to the region.
“We have the same vision. We’re working on many of the same challenges across the region, although there are differences, depending on where you are. Some very small United Ways, Lunenburg and Colchester County and areas like that, in Nova Scotia the case for amalgamating was really strong. The folks in Fredericton and Saint John also found the case strong as well, but we’ll work very closely with them and look for ways to cooperate on a variety of fronts as we move forward,” Campbell added.
