October 15, 2009 | Read Time: 7 minutes
Nearly six in 10 of the nation’s United Ways raised less money last year than they did in 2007, and that could pose challenges for organizations that count on United Way money.
At United Ways in more than 300 of the nation’s biggest cities, 57 percent raised less money, up from 34 percent in 2007. Only 32 percent achieved increases, compared with 55 percent in 2007, according to United Way Worldwide, the charity’s umbrella organization.
The total raised by the country’s biggest United Ways — those that produce at least $1-million annually — declined by 5 percent, to $4.02-billion.
But in some cities, the declines were much sharper. The Seattle United Way, as in previous years, raised more than any other local affiliate in 2008 and was the only United Way to break the $100-million barrier. But donations declined 14.5 percent from 2007.
At the affiliate in Mesa, Ariz., contributions dropped by nearly 40 percent as the local housing and credit markets collapsed. The organization laid off four people, a third of its staff, leaving eight employees.
However, the United Way managed to offset the impact of those staff cuts and help other local charities that depend on it by winning money through the federal economic-stimulus law. It got a three-year grant from the AmeriCorps national-service program, enabling it to hire and place 20 AmeriCorps workers, age 55 and older, who live in the area.
They are now working at United Way and at some charities that receive United Way dollars. Three of the workers, all of whom receive an annual stipend of $10,000 from the government in exchange for full-time service, are working to stem losses in the Mesa United Way’s fund-raising campaigns at area companies.
Before the recession, the United Way could depend on “loaned executives” whose companies let them work full time on the fund-raising campaign for a specified period, says Carol McCormack, the Mesa United Way’s president. That practice, she notes, has all but ceased as local companies have laid off employees and required their remaining workers to do more.
Some declines appear steeper than they actually were, United Way officials note. For example, in Hamilton, Ohio, the United Way reported a drop of more than 45 percent in giving in 2008, but it had received an unusually large, one-time gift of $1-million in the previous year. Take that gift out of the equation, and the decline in giving is 19 percent.
A Governor’s Push
Not every United Way struggled last year: In Lincoln, Neb., where unemployment is low, the United Way of Lincoln-Lancaster County reported a 24.7-percent rise in donations.
Brian Wachman, the charity’s executive director, says his United Way benefits from stable government employers in the region, including the state and the University of Nebraska.
In the state’s on-the job campaign, employees gave the United Way $438,000 last year, up from $352,000 in 2007. Mr. Wachman says the governor promoted the campaign, and higher-level executives now head United Way committees that meet monthly to keep it on track.
United Ways with the biggest gains tended to be relatively small ones that raise from $1-million to $4-million outside major metropolitan areas.
For example, among the 40 United Ways reporting double-digit percentage increases, the steepest rises were reported by United Ways in Salem, Ore. (42.2 percent), Greensburg, Pa. (40.8 percent), Casper, Wyo. (28.7 percent), Green Bay, Wis. (27.2 percent), and Baytown, Tex. (27.1 percent).
Among the largest United Ways that raise at least $9-million each year, the five biggest gains were far more modest, ranging from 5.5 percent to 17.3 percent.
Officials at United Way Worldwide attributed the ability of smaller United Ways to achieve bigger increases last year — even in regions where unemployment is high — to the fact that smaller affiliates are starting from a lower base and have more room to grow.
Nancy Kukovich, president of the United Way of Westmoreland County, in Greensburg, Pa., which had the second largest percentage gain of any United Way, raising $5.2-million last year, up from $3.6-million, says her small town has made it easy to build ties with local corporate leaders she might not otherwise be able to recruit.
She has persuaded six local car dealers to join an annual effort to persuade the region’s workers to almost double the average payroll deduction for United Way gifts, from $86 annually to $152. Each year the dealers give $3,000 apiece or a total of $18,000 for a raffle and any employee who gives $152 or more through payroll deduction is automatically entered. The winner can use the money to purchase a car at any one of the six dealerships.
Like many United Ways, the Greensburg United Way is focusing on a handful of “community impact” goals that seek to make a dent in social-services problems. It decided to present information on problems related to aging, children’s readiness for school, and other issues to a group of women who each give $1,000 or more annually and let them decide how to spend their donations. The group, which had 10 members before donors were asked to determine what cause to support, has since grown to 135. The women decided to spend their contributions on a program that provides shopping, transportation, and other services to frail elderly residents who would otherwise be unable to live independently, and they meet quarterly to get updates and assess the program’s progress.
The program to serve the elderly has attracted new grants totaling $600,000 annually from local foundations. One grant is being used this year to provide a dollar-for-dollar match to the United Way for every new woman who gives $1,000 or more to join the donors’ group, or to match gifts from members who increase their support. Ms. Kukovich says United Way officials estimate that the matches, by doubling what the women give, will result in $270,000 for the program to aid the elderly.
The concentration on meeting social-services needs is also helping the United Way of Marion County, in Ocala, Fla., where unemployment has reached 12.9 percent, but donations increased by more than 25 percent last year. Like some other United Ways, it has started what it calls a “prosperity campaign,” offering free services to help needy families become financially independent: filing their income tax returns, applying for new tax credits, offering them workshops on personal finance, and a discount prescription drug card.
Tina Banner, the Ocala United Way’s chief fund raiser, says that the prosperity campaign is one reason why donations increased at local companies such as Publix Supermarkets, where United Way contributions shot up by 15 percent this year.
“Donors and potential donors could see more than our hand out asking for money,” she says. “United Way has something to offer them — tools they can use to put more money in their pocket.”
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RECESSION PINCHES GIVING TO UNITED WAYS
Nearly 6 in 10 United Ways nationwide raised less money last year than in 2007.
That was a stark difference from the past, when the majority of United Ways
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