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[kohelet]

The annual United Way campaign came up on another thread (about giving to your university), reminding me that I've wondered about the forumites' opinions of UW for a while.  I'm very familiar with my own local UW, having done quite a bit of pro bono consulting directly for them and on their behalf with some of their funded agencies.  They like me a lot, so I feel like I have this dirty little secret--I've never given a dime to them.  I've seen multiple organizations that receive funding from them that amounts to 1.5 - 2% of their total revenue.  For that 2%, they have to endure all kinds of site visits, reporting requirements, required meetings, bending their missions to fit UW's new "big thing," and the blackout period when they're not allowed to do their own direct solicitations for charitable gifts.  REALLY?  All for 2%?!?  A couple of them, at least seem to be holding out hope that they'll "hit it big" on year (ain't gonna happen), and others seem to think that NOT to be a UW agency would leave them out of the loop locally.  Are these reputational/networking benefits really worth the hassle?  Are they even real?

It just seems so terribly inefficient.  Moreover, the everyone-get-on-board-with-our-goals model really flies in the face of what are supposed to be some of the nonprofit sectors' strengths--diversity, experimentation, flexibility, less red tape than government, ability to change and adapt to local contexts . . .

Well, I guess I'm just wondering if others share this view.  Or maybe I think you should, but I don't think I'm committed enough to these ideas myself for that.  Or maybe my UW is atypical?  I should probably be a good academic and go look that up--surely researchers have looked at UW.  In the meantime, though, I'd be very curious to hear your thoughts.  

[prytania3]

I don't give to the United Way for the simple fact I don't like to be bullied into giving. Actually, I don't even like to give, but when I do give--it's to specific things. I will not have the workplace dictate my charities.

[kohelet]

(Oh, my.  Please pardon all those typos.  I keep underestimating the effects of these pain meds.  Perhaps I'll find PWP.)

[antiphon1]

We have a significant push here for UW.  I always give a small amount because the contributions are used to measure the level of employee giving for grants and so forth.  It's also a goodwill thing with the community. 

The site visits and documentation while a bit of a pain are on a whole a good policy.  Just because an entity claims to be a non profit doesn't always mean the money supports the stated goals of the organization.   

[terpsichore]

I give to my preferred charities directly, not through United Way.

[melba_frilkins]

I give to my preferred charities directly, not through United Way.

Me too. My preferred recipients are probably too wacky for United Way anyhow.

[_touchedbyanoodle_]

I hate, hate, hate United Way, primarily because my college's involvement with them means I must endure the embarrassment of watching a group of adults get into costume and perform a song and dance at our spring inservice. And, I can't mark the barrage of emails as spam, even though that's what they are.

Like Pry, I don't want to be harassed into giving charity, especially not by my employers, who know exactly how pitiful my salary is in the first place.

I don't give a dime. If I dropped a penny in front of somebody collecting for United Way, I'd snatch it back before they could get it.

Hate. HATE!

[menotti]

I dislike forced giving as well, but my father was a volunteer executive for the United Way for awhile, and he came away really impressed with their goals and their way of choosing whom to support.  Strong focus on evidence-based programs that could be scaled up and repeated across the country, etc.

[terpsichore]

I give to my preferred charities directly, not through United Way.

Me too. My preferred recipients are probably too wacky for United Way anyhow.

Some of mine as well. Charitable giving is a planned part of my life and in particular my financial life. I have an annual charitable giving budget. I give to organizations that are meaningful to me, and that I know I can trust. United Way may be a good avenue for people who want to contribute, but who don't want to go to the trouble of researching charities.

[kohelet]

Good points have been made about how UW does a good job of making sure their supported agencies are actually doing good work, helping the charitable donor solve the information asymmetry problem.  I agree that they do a good job of this (at least ours does).  This can, though, backfire if not handled well.  If UW is making everyone demonstrate performance on a standardized set of outcome measures (which is what they're doing here, program area by program area), I worry about the dampening effect on nonprofits' diversity/creativity/responsiveness/etc.  And I'm still stuck on the piddly amount of dollars that these agencies are actually receiving for all the hoops they have to jump through.

There are those services that try to address the information asymmetry problem to support individual donors' decision making (I think Charity Navigator is the big one).  Maybe that's the model to run with.

I think I'm talking myself into a research project.

[alastrina]

Like Pry, I don't want to be harassed into giving charity, especially not by my employers, who know exactly how pitiful my salary is in the first place.

+1

If my co-worker in charge of the campaign doesn't stop giving me donation forms and information packets, I'm going to tell him what I really think of the process.

If they're going to harass me into donating, they need to pay me a livable wage and benefits. I prefer to make donations on my own which I've done several times this year already.

[theritas]

We get a speech at a staff meeting by the person making the most money in our org., along with a guest speaker from one of the local recipients, and a request to make it a 100% participation year.  I'd be in a more charitable mood if this person acted in a more faculty-friendly way.

[menotti]

If UW is making everyone demonstrate performance on a standardized set of outcome measures (which is what they're doing here, program area by program area), I worry about the dampening effect on nonprofits' diversity/creativity/responsiveness/etc. 

Sure, though I think it's probably fair to say that when there are strongly encouraged donations through large organizations like employers, the outcomes and approaches should be well-validated and measured, while individual and smaller donors should give more flexibly and open-endedly.(Is that even a word?)

[anon99]

While you don't donate money, you do donate your time and that can be just as important, if not more important.  As a number 2% may not seem like a lot, but translate that to a dollar amount and for some organizations, it may be worth the extra 'hassle'.  I don't donate to the United Way, but I do give to other organizations.  Local food banks and soup kitchens are great places to donate to and you can also donate clothes to some soup kitchens and the people who use the soup kitchen will happily take the clothes.  I am making a bunch of hats and scarves to drop off for them before the snow hits.

[secundem_artem]

The United Way is an opportunity for your local corporate execs goons to see who can brow beat their minions into contributing the most.  These guys are just The Sopranos without the Jersey accent. 

I'll donate to 'Santorum for President' before the United Way sees a dime of my money.  I've been putting their letters unopened into a shredder for years.  Never.  Never.  Never.