A message from our CEO and Board Chair

2023-24 was a year of significant change and growth for United Way Halifax.  A lot of effort and attention from staff and board members was focused on uniting with our colleagues across the Maritimes, ultimately leading to our amalgamation with six other United Way organizations this July. These efforts focused on making sure we had the organizational and governance structures necessary to continue our journey as one organization. We also engaged with community and business leaders, volunteers, and United Way champions to inform the unification process. We established a strong, motivated leadership team, and placed the right staff in the right roles to continue with our local presence and accountability alongside regional oversight and strategy. The entire United Way Maritimes team is now focused on putting the systems in place to ensure seamless service delivery for agencies and donors. This was no small undertaking, and we’re extremely proud of what we’ve learned and accomplished along the way. We owe our United Way Halifax board members a huge thank you for the incredible lift required to guide us through unification.

This notable achievement did not deter us from the work we do to continue to address critical poverty issues at the local level.  For the first time in our collective memory, revenues for United Way Halifax were more than $10 million. We also completed and launched the United in Poverty Action report, continued work to explore and incubate a community land trust for Halifax, and fundraised for crucial immediate and long-term needs. We were reminded of the care and generosity of our communities across HRM and beyond when we raised almost $1.5 million in a matter of weeks to help with recovery from the devastating wildfires in both HRM and Shelburne, Nova Scotia.

We encourage you to read through this report and note all of the amazing work that’s happened this past year, thanks to supporters like you. Together, we disbursed more funding than ever, supported many volunteer efforts, and created incredible impact across HRM and beyond. No matter how big or small of a role you played, it was important and appreciated, and we couldn’t have done it without you.

Moving Forward, Together

This will be the last annual report as United Way Halifax. For the 2024-25 fiscal year, we’ll be reporting as one organization – United Way Maritimes, serving Central and Southwestern NB, PEI and Mainland NS. Although it will likely look and feel a bit different, you can be sure we’ll continue to be transparent and accountable. We’ll continue to report back on how donor dollars are invested, and on the impact and results in community. In addition to seeing local impact, we’ll also demonstrate and report back on the many ways we’re stronger as a regional organization.

As we look ahead to the next year and beyond, we are excited for the possibilities to create even more positive impact in Halifax and across the Maritimes. We want to assure you that we’re still committed to staff leadership and a meaningful local presence in each of the communities we serve as United Way Maritimes. You’ll continue to see dollars raised in Halifax invested in community organizations right here at home.

Decision making on investments will also continue to be guided by local volunteers, ensuring the needs of this community are understood.  We’ll continue to lean on the expertise of first voice and those who work directly with people impacted by poverty, housing and homelessness and social isolation.

We’ll also continue the important work of connecting donors to poverty initiatives and advising governments of how their investment can have greater impact on people experiencing unjust barriers. In future years, we will be able to measure some of that more generalized impact and have committed to sharing it back as well.

Thank you for your ongoing support of United Way Halifax – we are so grateful for you!

Sara Napier
President & CEO
United Way Halifax

Laura Godsoe
Board Chair
United Way Halifax