A Year of Modest Gains

United Ways across the country raised $4.2-billion last year, a 2.4-percent increase over 2006, but not enough to outpace the 4.1percent rate of inflation, according to figures released this month by United Way of America.

The economy’s downturn means that fund raising will be even more challenging in the coming year, but United Way officials are still relatively optimistic about their ability to raise money in tough times.

“It’s not that we haven’t felt the impact of the recession, but quite frankly we’ve done very well in this time period economically,” said Rick Belous, vice president of research at United Way of America, in Alexandria, Va.

Looking ahead to the end of this year, some United Ways are discussing whether to reduce their 2008 fund-raising goals.

The Greater Twin Cities United Way, in Minneapolis, for example, considered changing its goal, but has decided to stick with an ambitious plan to raise 4 percent more this year, or $91.6million.

To raise that sum, the Twin Cities United Way has reached out to businesses that are still doing well, such as agricultural companies, and asked them to make an extra gift this year. That money has been used to create a $1-million fund that will provide individuals with an extra incentive to give: a dollar-for-dollar match for new donations.

Struggle for Small Groups

Of the 1,285 local United Ways nationwide, the three organizations that collected the most last year remained the same as in 2006. For the eighth year in a row, the United Way of King County, in Seattle, topped the list by securing more than $119.5-million in contributions, a 3.4-percent decrease over the previous year. United Way of Metropolitan Atlanta was second with $101.1-million raised, followed by the United Way in Minneapolis, which raised $92.1-million.

Small United Ways reported more of a struggle last year. “We are doing everything we can to keep our head above water,” said R.J. Zonna, vice president of communications at the United Way of Erie County, in Pennsylvania. “Certainly as gas and food prices go up and people look at their 401(k)’s and see them go down, there is a concern.”

Mr. Zonna said that the charity raised only slightly more than it did in 2006, but in addition it benefited from a share of a $100-million gift made by an anonymous donor to charities in the region. The Erie United Way received $10-million from that gift, and recorded a total of $16.2-million in contributions, compared with its $5.7-million tally from the previous year.

Over all, Mr. Zonna said, given the current economic climate, his organization this year hopes to raise $5-million to $6-million, as it has the past few years. He says he believes that when people have limited charitable dollars, they tend to want to spend them on local causes, which is good for United Ways.

Setting Priorities

United Ways have been working to revise their approach in recent years so they will be viewed as effective solvers of serious community problems, and last spring United Way of America urged local groups to focus most of their money on organizations dealing with three major concerns: fighting poverty, improving Americans’ health, and keeping kids in school.

Even before that plea, many local United Ways had been focusing their giving on fighting homelessness, teenage pregnancy, economic instability, and other concerns in their cities and towns, and setting goals and timetables for making measurable progress toward solving those problems. Mr. Belous said that even though the approach wasn’t adopted specifically to cope with a recession, it is likely to help United Ways do better at weathering rough economic times.

One of the early adopters of the so-called community-impact approach was the Seattle United Way, which has had strong fund-raising results.

Christine Hynes, a spokeswoman for Seattle’s United Way of King County, says donors are responding to United Ways’ efforts to produce results.

“By focusing on solving problems, not just managing them, we are leveraging our investors’ dollars,” she said. “People understand that and respond to it.”

Staying Connected

But some donors may not be able to respond financially this year as they have in the past, and United Way is focusing on ways to keep those supporters connected by enlisting them to volunteer or undertake other activities, said Mr. Belous.

“Keeping people aligned with your organization” is a great way to deal with economic uncertainty, he said. “We have to move beyond just giving. We are also stressing volunteering and advocacy.”

To that end, United Way of America has started an online campaign called “Live United.” The goal is for the charity’s Web site to become a place where people can seek opportunities to get involved in volunteering and advocacy efforts in their hometowns.

Last year, the national organization said, it helped find tasks at local charities for 1.1 million volunteers, a 4.7-percent increase over the previous year.

United Ways are betting that supporters who feel connected to the organization through volunteering are more likely to give financially when they can. “If your focus is just on the dollars, you are not going to do as well as when you are thinking about what energizes and really excites and motivates people,” said Mr. Belous.

The United Way of Pierce County, in Tacoma, Wash., has been pushing its volunteer program. Last year the charity’s volunteers worked 96,000 hours, up from 13,726 hours the previous year, and they are on track to meet this year’s goal of 167,000 hours.

Constance Swank, a spokeswoman for the organization, said volunteers are “human capital” who can help offset lost income from United Way and other sources.

Nevertheless, donations to the Tacoma United Way dropped last year to $10.7-million, a 20.4-percent decrease. Ms. Swank said the decline stemmed from the difficulty fund raisers had in persuading individuals and companies to offer matching gifts, as well as changes in what people could afford to give.

In 2006, the charity raised $1.7million that donors matched with an additional $2.2-million. But last year, the United Way was able to secure only $500,000 in matching funds, and donors did not respond as well as they had in previous years. Their gifts, at $394,000, failed to meet the charity’s dollar-for-dollar matching goal.

“People were really challenged and they stretched, but they couldn’t sustain that level of giving,” she said.

Making sure supporters still have a role to play in the organization’s work is vital, according to Ms. Swank.

“In times like this, individuals need to be able to know that they are not powerless. They can either give some small part of their payroll to people in crisis, or they can volunteer their time,” she said. “Each one of those pieces is important to the strength and health of the community.”