Board Chair: Ellis Robertson
Campaign Chair: Robert Babcock
Goal: $38,935

After months of study and preparation by local business representatives, the Monadnock United Way was founded on June 25, 1952.

On November 9, 1952, Dwight Eisenhower had been President-elect for five days, soldiers were fighting over "strategic hills" in Korea, and a snowstorm in Keene caused nine traffic accidents. At the same time, a large group of volunteers were knocking on neighbor’s doors to solicit funds for the first Keene Community Chest campaign.

Keene was a smaller, but still bustling city then. Its newspaper, the Keene Evening Sentinel, cost five cents. The front page carried Pete's Restaurant claim to have the best chicken in town, information on Saturday night dancing at the Rec Center and a large Red Feather, the symbol of the Community Chest, stretching from corner to corner.

This Red Feather, long a national symbol of organized fundraising for charity, had come to Keene as a result of several factors. City growth had necessitated many charitable and civic organizations such as Eliot Community Hospital, the Girl and Boy Scouts, the Bureau of Public Service and the Children's Theatre. Fundraising efforts were duplicated with community residents and businesses called on to volunteer and to make contributions several times a year. By 1952, several individuals in the Business Bureau of Keene felt it was time for a consolidated fundraising effort. On August 18, the Community Chest was formed. Ellis Robertson was elected the first chairman with Francis Faulkner as vice chairman, Eugene Felch III as treasurer and Michael Plaut as clerk. Also elected to a board of directors at large were Mrs. Robert M. Clark, Dr. Leroy S. Ford and William Shea.

The Community Chest was a true federation of twelve agencies with a representative of each agency serving on the Chest's Board of Directors. Kenneth Arwe represented the Salvation Army; Franklin S. Peart the Ashuelot Branch, Daniel Webster Council, Boy Scouts of America; Andrea Scranton, the Girl Scout Council, Inc.; Windsor G. Brooks, the Keene YMCA; and John Goodnow, the Cheshire County YMCA. Francis H. Ayer represented the Bureau of Public Service, which had been founded in 1905 to provide emergency relief, home visiting and counseling and to act as a clearinghouse for all other relief agencies. Jane Bennett represented the Elliot Community Hospital Aid Society, which had been founded in 1893 to provide linen, sewing and extra equipment for the hospital. The Keene Children's Theatre Association, represented by Albert J. Ricci, had staged its first production, "Peter Pan", for 2,600 children in the city hall auditorium in 1949. The Keene Visiting Nurse Association, now a part of Home Healthcare, Hospice and Community Services, was represented by Mrs. Richard C. Ford, and Phillip H. Faulkner served on the board for the New Hampshire Children's Aid Society. The local branches of two other community service groups were also represented on that first board: Ira A. Huntley for the Rotary Crippled Children's Fund and Francis Faulkner for the Lion Eyesight Conservation Fund.

Most people who are involved with a Monadnock United Way campaign today realize that planning such an effort is a year-round process, but in 1952, the campaign was conducted from start to finish in eight weeks, with nearly every sector of the Keene community involved in the process. In order to educate the public for the upcoming house-to-house solicitation, banks typed messages on their customers' statements, dairies put publicity collars on their milk bottles and Fearless Fosdick, of ":Li'l Abner" fame, visited the schools. The Children's Theatre performed "Alice in Blunderland" throughout the city with a character list that included Alice, the Mad Hatter and a Mr. and Mrs. Protestor who could not contribute to the Chest because "...Taxes are too high and business bad." The local radio show - Coffee at the Crystal - featured Red Feather agency stories every morning.

With Robert F. Babcock chairing the first campaign, the Keene Community Chest established a goal of $38,935.07 and prepared to join in a nationwide effort. The 1952 Community Chest and Councils of America publicity included messages from President Harry Truman and a star of stars radio broadcast featuring Groucho Marx, Dinah Shore, Gordon MacRae, Loretta Young, Danny Thomas and Meredith Wilson. Master of Ceremonies that year was Ronald Reagan. When Keene Mayor Lawrence Pickett declared November 9 to November 19 to be the first Red Feather Days, the city's response inaugurated a tradition of generosity. The Keene Evening Sentinel published a daily thermometer reading, WKNE broadcast the start of the house-to-house canvas, and local students from the high school and Keene Teacher’s College (now Keene State College) organized the "Red Feather Romp", a dance and revue for all city teenagers featuring music by the Allan Kendall band. By November 19, the Chest had collected 95% of its first goal.

In addition to demonstrating the generosity of a city's people, the first Community Chest campaign underscored the needs in the community as well. The following year Dorothy Sawyer and Eleanor Clement of Westmoreland approached the Chest for help. These two women had been caring for handicapped children in Sawyer's home for several years, but the cost of the care had severely strained their personal savings. The Chest not only extended the financial support to this home named Cedarcrest but also collaborated with the Rotary Club by arranging additional funding to help children coming from other towns.

Recognizing the value of the Chest’s human service network, in 1956 a citizens' group requested that the Chest study the feasibility of a community services council as a means of coordinating all community resources. James Ewing chaired this task with the result being expansion beyond fundraising to include community action. The first task was to study "Youth and Its Problems". Edward Sillari, the assistant superintendent of schools, headed this initial Community Chest needs assessment.

The campaign effort of 1956 and 1957 made them pivotal years for the Chest. The campaign goal had increased to approximately $60,000, and the organizational effort required to raise such an amount had also increased. In his address at the annual dinner in 1957, President Guy MacMillin acknowledged this effort: "I am sorry to say that when I first entered the Community Chest work, I like many others, felt that it was a campaign only and that the work of the Chest was concentrated in a few weeks’ period and that after the campaign was over, nothing was left to be done. When I assumed the office of President last year, I made it a point to study each and every Chest agency individually and came to the conclusion that the Chest was the life blood of these agencies, that they were doing a splendid job and needed twelve month's help, and that without exception, they were deserving."

By the close of the 1957 campaign, a two hour house-to house canvas (known as the "Blitz Night"), some in-plant contributions and an increase in special gifts had combined to raise 100% of the campaign goal for the first time.

The next five years were the most trying for the Keene Community Chest. More and more community needs were being met by new agencies, most of whom turned to the Chest for help. The campaign goal had outgrown the ability of door-to-door canvassing to support it, and many employers were still reluctant to allow payroll deductions. The annual suggestion to hire professional help had still not become a reality, and the percentage realized of the goal steadily decreased. By the end of 1962, there was a disagreement over the future of the Chest. President Edward Fairbanks made several suggestions in his annual report:

* reorganize the Chest as a business
* make member agencies more efficient
* find ways to allow more employees the opportunity to contribute through payroll deductions
* merge with another Community Chest (both Greenfield, Massachusetts and Brattleboro, Vermont were suggested)
* hire a professional fundraiser

The 1962 Campaign Chairman, Robert Vaughn, recommended the Chest not raise funds for the next two years.

Just as hardships such as fires and floods will bring out the best in neighbors, the hardship of the Keene Community Chest brought out the best in the city. Some of President Fairbank's suggestions were implemented. The Keene and Brattleboro Community Chests formed a close working relationship on May 27, 1963, and John J. Durkin was hired as the first executive director in the same year. But this was not enough to prevent the 1963 campaign from collecting the smallest percentage of goal in the organization's history. Faced with the possible demise of their Community Chest, Keene business leaders and workers joined forces in what President Robert Mallat called the "Year of Decision", 1964. The local radio stations and newspapers provided more publicity than ever. Many employers opened the way for payroll deductions. The directors of the Chest tightened up the organization, rewrote the bylaws and helped the member agencies do the same. On the last day of the campaign in November, over $92,000 had been raised, the first time since 1957 that the member agencies received 100% of their budgeted allocations.

The spirit, streamlining and cooperation produced during the '64 campaign carried the Community Chest through four more successful seasons. The number of member agencies, which had dropped to nine, began to climb, and special agency requests were once again filled. By the end of 1968, a deficit of $10,000 had been eliminated and more importantly, the organization was healthy enough to expand its support to services throughout Cheshire County and to campaigns in several area towns, becoming the Monadnock United Fund.

The Monadnock United Fund developed into a visible presence in the seventies. The relationship with Brattleboro was dissolved, and Monadnock United Fund headquarters was established at 23 Center Street, Keene. The now familiar thermometer appeared on Keene’s Central Square each fall. Tours of agencies were conducted, and allocation meetings were held each spring. In 1977, the organization set up the Referral Agent program so that businesses could have designated employees trained in referring fellow workers to social service agencies. By the end of the seventies, thirty-one agencies were members of what had been renamed the Monadnock United Way.

In addition to raising money, the existence of the Monadnock United Way encouraged the volunteer spirit by developing and carrying out a local communication plan rather than depending upon national United Way materials. During the following decade, the Monadnock United Way won eleven national and international awards for its campaign publicity. Residents were asked to "Give It Your All", "Be a Hero" and "Make the Difference". Having starred as an angel in the 1979 campaign, Allan Kendall served three other years as the Monadnock United Way's “poster boy,” inspiring campaigners with his portrayals of Coach, Captain United and the Director. Miss Piggy showed up to rally volunteers. High school students and community leaders served hamburgers where the "Golden Arches" had replaced Pete's Restaurant. In 1985, using the theme "Put It Together", the Monadnock United Way assembled the world's largest jigsaw puzzle, breaking the Guinness record previously held by Hallmark and Macy’s.

Beginning in 1980, Markem stepped forward with three loaned employees providing valuable resources to the autumn fund drive. This marked the beginning of the Loaned Employee Program, which has developed into a winning development program for the many employees and local businesses that now participate as well as the MUW.

With cuts in federal funding in the 1980's, social service agencies were confronted with major financial challenges. The Monadnock United Way struggled to help the agencies survive. In 1982 agency requests to the Monadnock United Way were up thirty-eight percent. In addition, an economic downturn left two thousand workers in the county unemployed. Rallying against these obstacles, contributors joined in what the Keene Sentinel termed "one community's single most united effort." The Monadnock United Way reached its goal in an extended campaign, an accomplishment attained by few other United Ways in 1982.

The scope of the Monadnock United Way grew with the organization's expansion into western Hillsborough County in 1984. In addition to providing organized fundraising for the region, the Monadnock United Way expanded its services as it grew into a full-service organization. In 1986, the United Way merged with the Monadnock Health and Welfare Council, an agency that had developed as a means to coordinate social services. As part of the United Way, the council provided expertise in community problem solving - evaluating community needs, organizing responses to these needs, and assisting agencies in fund searches. Along with the merger came the council's information and referral service, Help-Line. In addition to providing a telephone referral service, Help-Line coordinators trained Referral Agents in businesses to help co-workers access human services. The Help-Line program also produced human service newsletters, guides and organized meetings and workshops for service providers.

In 1986, the Monadnock United Way created the Venture Grant Program to provide funding for innovative projects proposed by area agencies. In its first year, the program funded a study of adult day care and the renovation of bathroom facilities at a shelter for the homeless.

1986 also saw the Monadnock United Way develop a new community problem solving effort. Led by Nancy Sporborg, the Drugs, Alcohol and Youth Committee studied regional adolescent substance use and abuse. In 1987, the Monadnock United Way guided the initial implementation of the DAY Committee Report recommendations. As part of this implementation, the Monadnock United Way introduced Youth Initiative Grants to provide funding for projects developed by and for teenagers. In 1991, Youth Grants were combined with Venture Grants and adolescents became members of the Venture Grant Committee.

In 1988, a campaign and allocations process previously dedicated to the eastern region, those Monadnock Region towns located in Hillsborough County, merged with the rest of the region. That same year the Monadnock United Way developed its first human services needs assessment, enlisting a wide range of community leaders to collect statistical data on human services and to conduct a survey of perceived priority unmet needs. The effort, chaired by Barbara Duckett, concluded that the region's leading unmet needs were housing, childcare, services to respond to child abuse and dysfunctional families, and substance abuse services.

An outgrowth of the 1986 Drugs, Alcohol and Youth Study, the "Make the Difference" Youth Conference held in 1989 brought together over 300 youth and adults from the region for a day of sharing concerns and creating ideas on integrating youth successfully into the community. One result of the Conference was the creation of Young Monadnock Cares! (YMC!) in 1990. YMC!, which began as a collaboration of the Monadnock Volunteer Center and the Monadnock United Way, grew into a region-wide school-based program to encourage youth volunteerism and development of self-esteem by offering placement of youth volunteers in human service agencies and organizations. By 1992, young people had provided 18,041 hours of volunteer service.

The previous community building efforts of the 80s, brought attention to the need for more focus in that area. As a result, a new needs assessment was the major Community Problem Solving project of 1992. The community's emphasis on financial need and unemployment were linked to the economic downturn of the early 1990s which brought burgeoning demand for basic services at a time when many agencies faced increased financial difficulties. The survey results showed that the region's perceptions of unmet needs had shifted from those observed in the 1988 assessment. Leading the 1992 list were access to transportation, alcohol and drug abuse prevention services for children and adolescents, child abuse and neglect prevention and services, employment training and placement, financial assistance and long-term housing. Collaborating with several organizations, notably Home Healthcare, Hospice and Community Services, the Monadnock United Way worked to meet the challenges of providing transportation to the elderly and disabled.

Other community building activities in the 90s included planning for the region's first annual volunteer conference, in collaboration with the Monadnock Volunteer Center; promoting literacy and providing resources for the Antioch/New England Critical Skills Institute for teachers and tutors; planning a regional affordable housing symposium with Southwestern Community Services which drew over 200 housing advocates, realtors, contractors and agency representatives; and joined other agencies in offering biannual AIDS in the workplace seminars.

As MUW grew in community service activities, campaigning also kept pace. Following the development of the Grand Monadnock Rappelling Team for Leadership Givers in the late 1980s, the Monadnock United Way created the Pumpelly Trail Program in 1990 to recognize companies with under fifty employees and who made significant donations to the local United Way. The annual Circle of Excellence Awards, introduced in 1991, highlighted twelve companies and employee groups for their outstanding efforts during the fall campaign. When the Allocations and Program Review Committee had completed its work in June of 1992, the Monadnock United Way was committed to raising $1,747,176 for its fifty member agencies.

By the summer of 1992, when the Monadnock United Way celebrated its fortieth birthday, the organization had become a vibrant and necessary part of life in the region. Behind 1992's volunteers and service providers were a tradition of commitment and a long line of individuals whose foresight and determination had led to the continuing success of the Monadnock United Way.