“Right now we are helping people, but I am not sure we are changing things.”

Over 20 years of helping United Ways with their strategic planning has taught me many lessons. For example, it is nearly impossible to predict the future, so developing a strategic plan for more than the next three years is merely guessing at what the future holds. More recently, I have learned the lesson of jumping vs. leaping.

A donation has been made in your honor this Mother’s Day to help Bay Area mothers living in poverty provide for their families. We are touched by this generosity and hope you are, too. On behalf of the community we serve, thank you and Happy Mother’s Day.

Recently, a friend of mine was told by his doctor that he needed to live a little healthier.

In the course of helping United Ways adopt an issue focus, we have conducted surveys with thousands of local United Way donors.

Nearly every United Way struggles with the challenge of trying to explain to their donors and community what exactly it is that United Way does. Even the tallest buildings in the world are not tall enough for most United Ways to be able to finish their elevator speech before reaching the top floor.