The Evidence is Everywhere
You don’t have to look far to find evidence of the challenges facing United Ways such as fewer workplace campaigns, declining workplace campaigns, and fewer donors. There is evidence of these challenges all the way back to the early 2000’s and there is no sign of these numbers improving anytime soon.
EVIDENCE OF MORE CHALLENGES
There is evidence of a lot more challenges facing United Ways that are not as easy to track and harder to measure, such as:
People Don’t Understand. When people ask you what your United Way does, can you tell them in a sentence or less? Our research provides evidence that less than half of all people who have heard of United Way think they know what United Way does, making it a challenge to convince people to give or volunteer for United Way.
Disengaged Board Members. Many United Way CEOs and executive directors tell me that they have board members who regularly miss meetings, do not respond to emails, and do not come to events – clear evidence of disengaged board members. For many United Ways, the work and effort required to get board members to actively participate in governance is a growing challenge.
Entitled Partner Agencies. Partner agencies often believe that United Way exists solely to provide them funding, as evidenced by their indignant response to any changes to their funding. Many United Ways face challenges from partner agencies that make it difficult to achieve meaningful, measurable impact for their communities.
Missing Younger Donors. Our research has found evidence that less than 15% of local United Way donors are under age 35. United Ways face significant challenges when their older donors retire and what they are doing is not appealing to younger donors.
Staff Turnover. United Ways are struggling to keep talented and experienced staff. I hear evidence of this as United Way CEOs and executive directors bring up the challenges of hiring and retaining staff frequently during our conversations.
Mergers. In the corporate world, when a company closes locations, all is not well and it is no different for United Ways. When United Ways are no longer able to remain sustainable, and the only solution is to merge, this is more evidence of the challenges facing United Way.
OVERWHELMING EVIDENCE
Ignoring all of this evidence and continuing to do what United Ways have always done will not address any of these challenges.
The root cause of these challenges is that people no longer value or need United Way to allocate their contribution to local nonprofit organizations.
Back in the 1970’s and 1980’s, United Ways fulfilled a purpose: to vet local charities and make sure donor’s dollars were being spent wisely. But that is something your donors no longer need you to do. United Way has been replaced by Guidestar, Charity Navigator, and similar organizations that hold nonprofits accountable. In this internet age, donors can research and evaluate charities at their fingertips, without having to give your United Way a single dollar.
Donors have also realized they don’t need you to direct their dollars for them. Today, giving is as easy as Googling the charity they want to support and entering their credit card number. Donors can support all the charities they want directly, without having money taken out to fund the overhead of an organization that they believe just distributes money. They no longer need the pass-through organization you once were. That time has come and gone.
You must find a new way to create measurable impact, diversify and grow your resources, attract new donors and funders, and make your United Way relevant.
YOUR NEW DIRECTION
It’s time for United Ways to make a change. After working with over 145 United Ways since 1989, we have identified there are three different types of United Ways. So how do you determine which type of United Way is right for your community?
We help United Ways decide which type of United Way is right for their community with our New Directions Board and Staff Retreat.
During this half-day retreat, we will explain the three types of United Ways, how their business models work, and why each type of United Way exists. During the retreat, we’ll give your staff and board time to ask questions about each type of United Way, and more importantly, time to have a conversation about which type of United Way is right for your community. When is the last time your board and staff sat down together and talked about why your United Way exists?
TWO EASY NEXT STEPS
Download our New Directions Board and Staff Retreat Overview.
Grab some time on our calendar here and we can have a conversation about how our New Directions Board and Staff Retreat will help set a new direction for your United Way.