In 2003, United Way of Calgary and Area completed a major research study called The Way Forward Community Dialogue. The project consistently found Calgarians were concerned about economic issues. Results suggested that although Calgary is a good city for many people to live in, economic barriers prevent others from sharing Calgary’s high standard of life.

The report also pointed to the need for increased leadership in response to current and emerging social issues. Many study respondents suggested that United Way was in a unique position to play a pivotal role in this work.

In 2004, United Way formed the Sustained Poverty Reduction Initiative to leverage people, resources and influence to reduce the causes and effects of poverty. It quickly became apparent that Sustained Poverty Reduction Initiative was an unwieldy title – lending itself to unfortunate shortcuts such as “Sustained Poverty” (certainly not the intention of the initiative!).

The newly coined Poverty Reduction Coalition is dedicated to reducing the incidence of poverty in Calgary, one of city’s most complex and far-reaching issues, by focussing dually on immediate and long-term positive change.

By breaking the cycles and myths of poverty, we believe all Calgarians will have the opportunity to reach their full potential.