Abstract Walter Laidlaw established the United Foundation in 1948 through the merger of the Detroit Community Chest and other Detroit charitable organizations that had traditionally combined fund raising efforts. The goal of the United Foundation was to further centralize those efforts, and to generate mass fund raising campaigns such as the Torch Drive, which was first held in 1949. The United Foundation was closely affiliated with the United Community Services of Metropolitan Detroit, and became...

Abstract In 1949, 17,000 women volunteers helped the United Foundation achieve success with its Torch Drive campaign. In 1954, it was decided that an auxiliary women’s group would be formed to work year-round in support of United Foundation projects. It was called the United Foundation Women’s Organization (UFWO). By 1964, the name was changed to Women for the United Foundation (WUF). The organization works under a set of by-laws and consists of an Executive Board, Board of Directors, Advisory Board,...