United Way Toronto and United Way York Region took the first step toward a merger earlier this week, when each organization’s 15-member board of directors voted unanimously in favour of amalgamation.

“This is an opportunity to leverage our deep understanding of local issues with Toronto’s world-leading fundraising capacity so that we can expand local investments, strengthen the capacity of community agencies, and provide outstanding service to our donors and volunteers,” said Heather Mason-Wood, chair of the board for York Region.

Toronto and York Region fund some of the same community agencies, serve people who live and work on both sides of the boundary (Steeles Ave.) between the two organizations, and have the same mission, vision, core values and community priorities, both boards pointed out in their recommendations.

The anticipated merger was publicly announced Friday, to give the charities time to inform their key stakeholders. The United Way York Region members will vote on the recommendation March 4 and United Way Toronto will vote on new bylaws in late June. The partnership is expected to be formalized by July 1.

Vince Timpano, chair of the United Way Toronto board, said Toronto and York Region have collaborated for a long time.

“We’re both at the right point in our strategic plans to adopt a more regional focus,” Timpano said.

Together, United Way Toronto and United Way York Region invested more than $82 million in the community last year. They support almost 250 community agencies between them, which deliver 900 programs and services to create opportunities for people in need.

Susan McIsaac, CEO of United Way Toronto, said staff within her organization are “pumped up” by the possibility of a merger. Talks about the amalgamation first began in September; both organizations plan to continue working out of their respective locations.

“It just means I’ll be driving to York much more,” McIsaac said.

The best way to address the two organizations’ common issues, such as youth unemployment and poverty, is to work together, she said.

“Steeles is really an artificial boundary. The issues do not stop or start at Steeles. The people we serve, our donors and volunteers cross that artificial boundary every day to go to work, to go home.”

In fact, the deep issues the United Way organizations are addressing are increasingly regional, said Daniele Zanotti, the CEO of York Region United Way.

“This (merger) really gives us an opportunity to leverage each others’ strengths in a way that was not possible individually,” he said. “It gives us a way to remain fiercely local but to also act at a broader regional level.”

It’s important to both United Way chapters to deal with the underlying social issues that cut across their geography, Zanotti said.

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Although the two chapters often work with the same agencies, the merger is not a cost-cutting measure, Toronto’s McIsaac said. Charities have to constantly adapt and find new, innovative ways to work with their donors, but the United Way has always prided itself on being a lean organization, she said.

“This is just the right thing for our organizations. We know that together we can have a greater impact over the region.”