October 21, 2008 | Read Time: 1 minute
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.
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What do you think? Should the United Way have changed its priorities? Should the disgruntled charities have run the advertisement?
