Everyone in Calgary and area is feeling the effects of doing more with less. Inflation and a housing shortage have created an affordability crisis in that impacts every neighbourhood. No matter the postal code, our friends, neighbours and relatives are finding it harder to get by.
While inflation is easing slightly, data from the City of Calgary’s Inflation Review shows prices are still up 4.2%, with basic needs like shelter (+2.59%), food (+0.64%), and transportation (+0.67%) leading the way. The social sector is being stretched, as more people seek services, and agencies grapple with smaller budgets and fewer staff. When individuals, and families can’t afford basic needs, it ripples through every aspect of their lives – mental health suffers, relationships can deteriorate, and time with loved ones becomes limited.
But when we extend a helping hand – whether by listening, volunteering or donating – we create a ripple of hope in our community.
On International Day for the Eradication of Poverty, we’re shining a light on how United Way of Calgary and Area (United Way) is creating partnerships to strengthen financial well-being and how the Community Impact Fund fuels our work for a better, stronger future for those that need it the most.
How Affordability Affects Financial Well-being
The affordability crisis goes beyond day-to-day expenses -it creates a cycle that can be hard to escape. For those struggling to make ends meet, it can deepen poverty, limit employment opportunities, and force tough choices for young people who might leave school early to support themselves and their families. Affordability challenges also reduce post-secondary enrolment due to financial strain.
In Calgary alone, thousands are at risk of falling deeper into poverty due to this crisis. This is not just a household challenge-it’s a generational one. When individuals and families struggle financially, it can affect their long-term well-being and perpetuate poverty across generations.
The Community Impact Fund: The Best Way to Help
Calgary’s affordability crisis is complex and interconnected, requiring immediate action and long-term thinking. That’s why we’ve created the Community Impact Fund.
The Community Impact Fund provides stable support to more than 130 agencies, ensuring Calgarians can access services and supports when and where they need them. This fund allows United Way to respond to urgent community issues while also driving long-term change. It’s our most flexible tool for addressing poverty and improving lives in Calgary.
In 2023 alone, donations to the Community Impact Fund helped support over 223,000 Calgarians. Giving to the Community Impact Fund allows United Way and our partners to tackle the root causes of poverty, enabling proactive and responsive support to Calgary’s most vulnerable populations.
United Way’s role in Creating Change
United Way is uniquely positioned as a convenor, connector, and collaborator in our community. Our broad view of Calgary’s social sector, allows us to bring the right people and organizations together to make short- and long-term impacts.
Examples of future-focused collaboration include:
- The Enough for All Strategy:
Enough for All is stewarded by Vibrant Communities Calgary and funded by United Way and the City of Calgary to reduce poverty in our city through advocacy, reporting and research. Resources from the Community Impact Fund are directly invested into the strategy, which seeks to create financial empowerment, optimize incomes, increase financial assets, and reduce debt while preserving integrity and dignity. - Community Hubs
United Way and the City of Calgary have partnered since 2017 to offer the Community Hubs Initiative in five key Calgary neighbourhoods, providing resources for financial empowerment, tax filing and basic needs. Community Hubs is a place-based initiative offering support, connection and access to opportunities. The Community Impact Fund is essential in fuelling the work of the Community Hubs Initiative.
The Community Impact Fund also provides resources to more than 20 agencies in Calgary and area that provide financial empowerment. The four approaches include matched savings, taxes and benefits, Registered Education Savings Plans (RESPs) and coaching. They provide a bedrock for socioeconomic empowerment and well-being.
Some of these partners include:
- Momentum
Momentum offers money management programs, including Money Matters, which offers financial literacy support to individuals living with mental health or addiction challenges; matched savings programs, which offer a 3-1 ratio for every dollar saved; and money management workshops. - Carya
Newcomers to Canada face many challenges, not the least of which is our financial system. Carya guides adults and families as they navigate systems and services to improve their living situation by connecting them with resources that enhance financial literacy. In addition, Carya offers RESP support, matched savings plans and tax clinics. - YWCA
The Women’s Economic Prosperity Strategy uses financial literacy to create a preventative approach for vulnerable individuals in our community, focusing on helping women develop skills in economics and finance to build their confidence, which leads to a stronger and more resilient outlook on life and relationships.
Immediate Support for a Stronger Tomorrow
The flexibility of the Community Impact Fund allows United Way to quickly direct resources where they’re most needed, whether for emerging situations or ongoing support.
The flexibility of the Community Impact Fund allows United Way to quickly direct resources where they’re most needed, whether for emerging situations or ongoing support. For example, the Fund supports WINS (Women in Need Society) and its Community Resource Hubs, which provided basic needs support to over 25,000 individuals in 2023, offering essentials like household items, food hampers, transit tickets, and phone bill assistance.
It also fuels Action Table Calgary, which provides coordinated support within 48 hours for individuals facing poverty, domestic violence, or mental health crises.
Programs like All In for Youth (AIFY) also benefit from the Community Impact Fund. AIFY helped over 13,000 students in the past decade remove financial barriers, allowing them access to food, clothing, and rent support—helping students like Lubna, who graduated as valedictorian and is now attending McMaster University.
Make a Difference in Your Community
United Way’s ability to make a lasting impact comes from the strength of our community partnerships. We create synergies between donors, organizations, corporations, workplaces and volunteers to direct funds and resources where they are needed today and in the future.
This is also why organizations of all sizes trust us as the best place to invest in the future of Calgary and the surrounding area.
ENMAX and United Way have partnered for nearly 40 years, with ENMAX giving more than $7 million in community-centred, basic needs funding. Krista Moroz, ENMAX’s Manager, Community Partnerships & External Relations, says the partnership’s strength is due to United Way’s ability to create connections between agencies, organizations and people.
“At ENMAX, we believe in empowering our communities and ensuring that everyone has access to the basic needs that are essential for a healthy and thriving life. Supporting United Way of Calgary and Area is a great way to make an impact in our community for today and tomorrow. By investing in their vision, we are not only helping individuals and families in crisis but also contributing to the long-term strength of our community and a brighter future for all Calgarians.”
Hope is in your hands when you give to United Way’s Community Impact Fund. Last year, more than 223,000 Calgarians saw a positive impact from the fund. United, we can help so many more.