United Way's Changes

Thursday, May 22, at 11:00 a.m., U.S. Eastern time

Brian A. Gallagher is president of United Way of America in Alexandria, Va. He previously worked as president of the United Way of Central Ohio and the United Way of Metropolitan Atlanta.

A transcript of the chat follows.

Peter Panepento (Moderator):
    Welcome to today's live discussion with Brian A. Gallagher, the chief executive of the United Way of America. Mr. Gallagher is here to take your questions about a timely topic: the United Way's new 10-year strategic plan. This plan will likely means changes for many local charities that receive United Way funding. To find out how that will impact your group, I invite you to go straight to the source -- Mr. Gallagher -- and ask him a question. He'll be taking your questions for the next hour.

Peter Panepento (Moderator):
    To ask a question or submit a comment, click on the "ask a question" link on this page. We'll be posting Mr. Gallagher's responses for the next 60 minutes.

Question from John C McGee:
    Mr. Gallagher a two part queston as you implement your 10 -year strategic plan, what processes will you implement to enpower local United Ways to follow your lead and will you encourage them (the local United Ways) to increase their oversight/review of member agencies regulatory compliance and internal controls?

Brian A. Gallagher:
    One of the most effective ways to execute locally on a national effort is to identify where the work is being done well, codify it, and then spread it across our system through training and best practice exchange. we also put tool kits together for local United Ways to begin implementation in a turn key fashion.

United Ways will continue to hold grantees accountble in all parts of their operations. Increased focus will be on results against the goals.

Peter Panepento (Moderator):
    For those who are new to this forum, I'd like to take a quick minute to describe how it works. This is a text-based discussion. The questions are submitted through the "ask a question" link to our guest. He will then type his response and the questions and answers will go live as they are completed. The page refreshes automatically every minute with the most recent responses on the top.

Question from Lisa Knowlton, Ed.D.:
    The outcomes you specify are clear and measurable…they imply systems change work. What skills and capacities must UW staff and boards have to ensure change occurs? What, if anything, will UWA do to support those skills and capacities?

Brian A. Gallagher:
    You're exactly right, this is all about systems change. We have a theory of change in this area. It begins by setting aggressive public goals, then bringing different interests (business, government, labor, non-profits, faith leaders, etc)together to agree on strategies that are truly integrated, next we hold ourselves and our partners accountable publicly and report progress or lack of progress regularly. In our experience this approach forces change at the systems level.

We do have competency models as well for United Way leaders, because this work is certainly different than staffing agency allocation panels.

Question from Paula:
    This strategy seems to suggest that we abandon the elderly and disabled – how do we sell this to our local communities versus the issues that they might self identify?

Brian A. Gallagher:
    It does not abandon them at all, but instead, puts their needs into these goal areas which we believe will actually drive more accountability. For instance, as the country ages we will have more seniors that have significant health issues and will struggle to be financially stable. We won't be successful in those areas unless the needs of seniors are addressed.

Question from David Stephens, Memorial Day Nursery, Paterson, N.J.:
    Mr. Gallagher, Does your focus on the educational piece strictly involve K-12 populations or will the United Way continue to view Early Childhood programs as a “cornerstone” of a child’s academic and social development?

Brian A. Gallagher:
    Yes, we will stay committed to ECD. We believe that increasing graduation rates begins with school readiness and reading proficiency in the 4th grade. That's what keeps young people from dropping out and graduating. We're looking at this over the long-term and in a comprehensive manner.

Question from Emily Jones Rushing:
    How do you envision community foundations and United Ways working together for the overall benefit of the communities they both serve?

Brian A. Gallagher:
    It's a great question. I answered a question earlier about systems change. My answer was rooted in the belief that none of us alone will create this kind of change. Foundations and United Ways will have to agree to work on the same goals and share responsibility and accountability. There are really good examples around the country. It's our intention to spread those examples as best practice.

Question from Bill Betzen, Quintanilla Middle School, Dallas ISD, Teacher with dropout prevention hobby:
    How will the programs you fund track success? The accountability methods of the past 2 decades will not work! May I suggest that the only way to judge success is by showing more 10th graders, more 11th graders and finally more seniors and diplomas awarded in relation to the total average student population per grade for the first 9 years. See work at studentmotivation.org along with a dropout prevention project that is working!

Brian A. Gallagher:
    We agree. I'll check out the website.

Question from Gregg Smith:
    How can we reassure all sides of the political spectrum, some already skeptical about the United Way, that "working together for the common good" is a PHILANTHROPIC ideal, rather than a call for collectivism, greater government, and a push to the political left?

Brian A. Gallagher:
    I in fact believe that government will not find the solutions to these issues. My experience is that people and institutions working together in local communities are the pockets of innovation. Our job is to scale the innovation by sharing the learning in an accelerated fashion. Secondly, government funding is necessary but not sufficient. We need integration of effort not more government.

Question from Pat Smith,Earth Share of California:
    I have two questions for Mr Gallagher - What market forces influenced UW to rethink and change distribution methods? What strategic actions were taken by UW of America to gain support for its aggressive 10 year plan amoong the more than 1,000 independent United Way's across the country?

Brian A. Gallagher:
    We were influenced by two macro forces. First, the economic shift from national industrial economy to global knowledge economy changed how income is distributed across our communities and changed the social conditions. Secondly, the proliferation of non-profit agencies and the agency funding model alone was not sufficient to address these new and larger social issues. we needed a new approach. We involved local UW's in the effort. Also, we knew that UW's were facing the challenges I mention above.

Question from Mark Johnson:
    I'm VERY excited about UW's plans to become more active in public policy. I've been using a wheelchair for 37 years, since age 19, and am working on many issues (universal design, home and community based services, etc.) that impact us all. With the emerging senior boom there is no better time. Let me know how I can help. Sincerely,
Mark Johnson
Director of Advocacy
Shepherd Center
http://www.shepherd.org
mark_johnson@shepherd.org

Brian A. Gallagher:
    Thanks Mark.

Peter Panepento (Moderator):
    We have some excellent questions so far. If you've submitted a question for Mr. Gallagher and haven't yet received a response please be patient. We'll post his responses as they are complete. Also, please feel free to offer your own comments and thoughts by clicking on the "ask a question" link and typing a message. Thanks.

Question from Sarah Newman, NASCAR Foundation:
    What is your response to the criticism from many charities that could lose money from United Way because their charitable programs don't advance the goals in the 10-year plan?

Brian A. Gallagher:
    I have empathy for agencies that will lose funding with this focus, but quite honestly if the number of agencies we have created in the U.S. over the last 15 years were correlated to social progress we would much further along as a nation than we are today. We will continue to fund many, many agencies in this effort, but this is not about agencies, it's about people.

Question from Sandra Allen, Indiana Office of Faith-Based and Community Iniatiatives:
    In Indiana, United Way has a capacity-building outreach program for non-United Way members...Indiana Nonprofit Resource Network. Would current United Way members who are impacted by loss of United Way funding still be able to take advantage of these high quality yet low-cost services? Also, would they still be able to take advantage of United Way agency evaluation services? How do these United Way services differ from state to state?

Brian A. Gallagher:
    Those are local UW policy decisions, but I would not envision a UW discontinuing that type of program because of this focus.

Question from Christopher Chantson, Thresholds:
    Do you foresee mental health as being included in the goal of increasing the number of healthy youth and adults?

Brian A. Gallagher:
    Even though mental health did not rise to the top as one of the three goal areas in health, I think we need to start seeing mental health as a part of overall health, just as we would physical health. I could see us arguing for health care coverage for mental illness as part of our health access work for instance.

Peter Panepento (Moderator):
    We're past the halfway point in today's discussion. If you have a question for Mr. Gallagher, please feel free to add it to the queue before it's too late. Thank you.

Question from Boyd Romines, Red Cross, Knoxville Area Chapter:
    Mr. Gallagher,given the decades old promotional tool of UW that it is a single source to serve the entire community, and that will no longer be true given your new, much narrower program focus, will you embark on an agressive media effort to ensure that donors are not mislead about the end uses of their funds in the future?

Brian A. Gallagher:
    We will communicate very aggressively this new direction. In fact, the Ad Council has already adopted our Live United campaign that promotes giving, advocating, and volunteering focused in these three areas.

Question from Paul Lawler:
    Are the goals set by UWA mandatory for local United Ways or are they merely recommendations? For example, lets follow up on the question about elderly programs. Can a local UW continue to support elderly programs unrelated to health issues would the local UW need to shift its elderly work to an activity that fits under the new UWA goals? And, if the goals are only recommendations, would the local UW still miss out on support or benefits if it determines that its community has different needs?

Brian A. Gallagher:
    Local UW's are not required to adopt these goals. My experience tells me that if we have gotten this roughly right, however, most will, especially given the fact that all of our support, training, marketing, etc. will focus on this plan. We also did a lot of homework regarding what local UW's are working on so I think we did get it roughly right.

Question from Laura Parker, Crisis Center for South Suburbia:
    How does the 10-year plan affect agencies that provide shelter, counseling, and advocacy services for victims of domestic violence? Our focus does not fit into education or financial stability, and I don't see where we fit into any of the healthcare target issues. We provide a place of safety for homeless women and children, counseling so that women understand the issues they face, resources for moving on to stability, and support for their legal needs.

Brian A. Gallagher:
    I don't have a great answer for your question except to say that domestic violence is certainly associated with health even though it's not called out. We, in fact, have a large grant right now from the Doris Duke Foundation to help address this issue through local UW's. I think you'll see us in this business for the foreseeable future.

Question from Carmen:
    Mr. Gallagher, What initiatives is the United Way considering to engage the Next Generation of donors (Gen x & Y)?



Brian A. Gallagher:
    We have some very exciting initiatives here. We have a person at UWA that does nothing but youth engagement. We've created an alternative spring break focused on service. We're also starting 20 UW affiliates on college campuses this year. We have a fast growing number of young leaders societies inside local UW's as well. Finally, we just announced a partnership with Facebook as part of our national day of action on June 21.

Peter Panepento (Moderator):
    We'll be hosting a broader discussion about engaging younger donors and volunteers for our next live discussion this coming Tuesday at noon. Researcher and author Allison Fine will be our guest. http://philanthropy.com/live/2008/05/millennials/

Question from Annam, Small nonprofit:
    What will happen to organizations currently receiving funding from United Way through the old initiatives, but who may not qualify anymore under the new plan?

Brian A. Gallagher:
    That will be local UW decisions. But, first agencies should really take a look at how they may work differently to be a partner. For instance, YMCA's have gotten funding for day care programs a long time but many also have housing expertise that would fit nicely in the financial stabilty area. If an organization does lose funding it is almost always done in a phased down manner

Question from Alex, New Mexico:
    Hi Mr. Gallagher,

One of the goals is to: Increase by one-third the number of Americans who are healthy and avoid risky behaviors.

Will this include Americans who are at risk for HIV/AIDS, but who may/may not have children?

Brian A. Gallagher:
    Absolutely.

Question from Lexi Pelayo, small nonprofit:
    You mentioned in your answer to a previous question that UW will focus on three areas of health. What are these areas? Are you focusing more on wellness progrmans or acutal health agencies such as diabetes, cancer, etc?

Brian A. Gallagher:
    Reducing the percentage of babies born of low birth weight, the number of children under the age of 18 who do not have health care coverage, and then the percentage of young people and adults who are healthy and avoiding risky behavior, that would include prevention efforts that would focus on wellness and some diseases.

Question from Patrick Maguire, Maguire/Maguire Inc:
    Hello, Brian - How does "donor choice" figure into this?

Brian A. Gallagher:
    Hello Patrick. Donor choice will remain a feature for most UW's. The change is that more choices will be offered in these issue product areas. In fact, the amount of donor investment in issue products is increasing and the investment to specific agencies is decreasing over the last 4-5 years.

Peter Panepento (Moderator):
    We have just a few minutes left. Mr. Gallagher will answer as many questions as he can in the time we have.

Question from hsien hong lin, Kent State University:
    I am so glad to have such a wonderful chance to talk to Mr. Gallagher. My question is “how do you promote or market the United Way of America to the global, not only focus on US domestic?” Because I come from Asia, how do you make a strategy to promote your organization to there?

Brian A. Gallagher:
    We actually have affiliates in 46 countries now. In Asia most of our affiliates are known as Community Chest. We are working right now to build the capacity of our affiliates, get the branding more consisent, and build products and services for donors. Right now you can give through our donor advised giving service to our members and other non-profits just about anywhere in the world.

Question from Lexi Pelayo, small nonprofit:
    When will the implementation of this plan begin? Will it be in place for the fall 2008 campaign season?



Brian A. Gallagher:
    In many places yes. We always have early adopters that get out of the gate very quickly. We certainly see this being operationally through most of our network by 2009.

Question from Sandra Allen, Indiana Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives:
    In your opinion, what role should government play in this proposed collaboration? Obviously, government funding is a factor. Yet are there other areas that you feel government could be of assistance? What types of changes in public policy will be explored and what will be the advocacy process?

Brian A. Gallagher:
    Government funding will remain critical, but I actually believe that policy will be even more important. I think if we can find creative solutions at the local level we could change polic at the state and federal level. We always advocate from the grass roots up and always in a non-partisan way. Go to LIVEUNITED.org to get more info.

Question from Sandra Allen:
    Could Mr. Gallagher answer all the questions even if they do not get posted in the remaining minutes? I'd like to know more about his opinion of the role of government, as I am trying to better define my role at the OFBCI. Please email to saallen@ofbci.in.gov. Thanks!

Brian A. Gallagher:
    We'll work with the Chronicle to find a way to answer all your questions.

I appreciate everyone attending and your interest.
Take care.

Brian

Peter Panepento (Moderator):
    Our time is up. Thank you to everyone who took the time to join us today and a special thanks to Mr. Gallagher for making himself available to talk about this important topic. We'll post a full transcript of this discussion in a few minutes.

Remember to join us on Tuesday at noon Eastern time for next discussion on engaging millennials for social causes.

http://philanthropy.com/live/2008/05/millennials/