October 21, 2008
Philadelphia Charities Protest United Way
In Philadelphia, charity discontent with the United Way for changing how it doles out money has turned ugly.
According to The Philadelphia Inquirer, last week the Salvation Army of Greater Philadelphia, the YMCA of Philadelphia and Vicinity, and seven other groups bought a full-page ad in the newspaper to ask donors to make contributions directly to them.
The organizations have historically received funds from the United Way of Southeastern Pennsylvania, but under a new plan United Ways nationwide have shifted their priorities, leaving some long-time partners out in the cold.
United Ways now focus on specific problems, such as fighting poverty, improving Americans’ health, and keeping kids in school, and reward charities that demonstrate progress in achieving those aims.
Mike Burns, a nonprofit consultant, writes that he thinks the United Way change “is a good move on United Way’s part but I feel empathy for the ‘losers.’” On his blog, Nonprofit Board Crisis, he writes, “Maybe the ‘losers’ should form another United Way-esque organization and test what the public wants most.”
Indeed, according to a Chronicle article, several United Way beneficiaries have joined a rival fund-raising campaign run by America’s Charities.
And despite the changes, United Ways across the country raised $4.2-billion last year, a 2.4-percent increase over 2006, but not enough to outpace the 4.1 percent rate of inflation, reports The Chronicle.
(A short-term pass or subscription is required to read The Chronicle articles.)
What do you think? Should the United Way have changed its priorities? Should the disgruntled charities have run the advertisement?
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I know we’re certainly feeling the pinch at the Red Cross. Moreover, when donors designate us via the United Way, our gift from the UW is reduced by that much.
— A.Y. Oct 21, 01:56 PM #
This has been in the works for years, and now these agencies are acting like they just found out. While I appreciate their community efforts, there has been a sense of entitlement with many of these agencies for years. What makes them any more entitled than the agencies who are receiving the funds now? And where is the gratitude for championing and raising funds for them, for years, free of charge? America’s Charities is NOT the same type of organization as United Way. United Way is not intended to be a designation-only organization. It is volunteer/community-driven, where America’s Charities is not.
— MK Oct 21, 03:32 PM #
The model of United Way granting funds to an organization without outcomes that fit into the big picture of a community and perhaps in an environment where a sense of entitlement exists, created the perception that the nonprofit charities were the United Way customer. With outcomes established by the community, effectiveness and potential for long-term change are increased. United Way helps communities identify priorities for their human service needs, set sustainable goals, find/develop partnerships that can implement strategies (that includes donors), and is more effective at measuring impact. In our community it has been extremely well-received and we have increased the trusted relationship we have with our clients – the donors.
— Carol Townsend Oct 21, 03:33 PM #
What the United Way does not tell its donors: when they give through United Way, overhead is much higher than when they give directly. It’s not a cost-effective model. A great example is a small gift to a local women’s shelter. First, there’s the shelter’s overhead, then there’s the local United Way’s overhead, and then there’s the portion that the local has to send to the National United Way. Compare that to just the overhead of the direct gift—it’s smarter giving. Just do your homework, and remember to add in the benefit you get from a relationship directly with the non-profit. It’s more satisfying all the way around.
— Ken Oct 21, 04:22 PM #
Is UW a dinosaur? I think so.
— Robert Creighton Oct 21, 05:28 PM #
This news really is astounding, considering that the Salvation Army and Young Men’s Christian Association were founding members of the original United Way (long before it was even known as the United Way). Now Mike Burns suggests that they start another United Way-esque organization. Well, they already did that once! My biggest problem with the UW is that it went from being a conduit to a competitor in terms of fundraising for non-profits.
— Stephen Forbus, profundraisers.com Oct 21, 06:16 PM #
The hallmark of the United Way – at least for the 15 or so years I worked for a couple of United Way communities has been “local funds for local needs.” The United Way of America was a “trade organization” that represented the expressed needs of its members — the communities that raised the money and had the needs. Now UWA seems to be in charge of 1400 some communities who have given up their autonomy to another organization on the banks of the Potomac River.
Given UWA’s track record of “good management” and the fact that the real fund raising takes place in local communities and not in Alexandria, VA, I’m surprised that this whole idea has actually taken flight.
I guess in the post-Aramony era at UWA, all the experienced professionals were replaced by novices who don’t know the product, its history or what similar sorts of attempts have produced in the past.
We used to always say that if a community didn’t have a United Way, it would probably just start one. I guess that’s going to happen since UWA may well die of Potomac Fever.
— David Zemel Oct 21, 09:38 PM #
Other than a few petty insults, these comments seem to present the two options that local United Ways face. Should they raise money on behalf of good local charities or should they evaluate community needs and wants and implement a plan to change community conditions?
One comment was exactly correct. A donor who wants to contribute solely to a favored charity should donate directly to avoid administrative costs. That puts responsibility on the donor to ensure the favored charity is effective and efficient.
While collaboration is a popular goal, in fact, most social services programs focus on their areas of expertise. It probably is smart that those organizations concentrate on what they do well, but who coordinates a community-wide effort, government?
A successful UW effort uses a scientific evaluation hierarchy to identify needs, select the concepts most likely to address those needs, to ensure implementation is consistent with the concept and to measure results. It uses community volunteers- the people who actually invest the money- to evaluate competitive grant applications and fund the programs that can prove they work.
While I have faith that social services can be both independent and effective, the original article and the follow-up comments illustrate that in general, agencies focus on their own interests first. That’s not evil, it makes sense, but an independent entity that acts in the interests of both the entire system of services and the entire community is a desirable thing.
If a UW can accomplish that, it’s effective. If individual agencies are focused on using their professional assets to achieve community outcomes, they can be effective partners. A focus on individual agency revenue and turf won’t work.
— Tom Barnes Oct 22, 12:58 PM #
It will be interesting to see if the Philly charities are successful in starting their own “United Way.” In my community, where I was the CEO of a small UW for 14 years, our donors embraced the changes we proposed far faster than we did. Conscientious community investors will not want to go back to the old ways. I strongly believe that any charity’s first responsibility is to the donor, then their community. NPO’s are just a means to an end. Entitlement funding is over, as it should be. I’m proud to have been a part of UW’s evolution to focusing on advancing the common good. The reason UW’s are seeing success with the new focus (those who have made the transition reported gifts up 15% last year)is because today’s donors expect accountability. I would suggest donors support with caution any charity that just says “give me your money and don’t expect to hear how we spent it or how (or if) we measure whether or not we’re really changing lives through your gift.”
— Laurie Hagey Oct 22, 06:37 PM #