Today's United Way Scandal
Charity Navigator used to evaluate the Washington, DC United Way. We removed their rating in 2003 because, after a financial accounting scandal, we were unsure of the data and didn't want to reward them for their financial improprieties.
Now we learn that their new CFO, brought in to help clean up the books, has resigned, charging that the scandal-ridden organization is exaggerating the amount of money it has raised. I guess we won't be putting them back up on our site again anytime soon.
Now we learn that their new CFO, brought in to help clean up the books, has resigned, charging that the scandal-ridden organization is exaggerating the amount of money it has raised. I guess we won't be putting them back up on our site again anytime soon.
posted by Trent Stamp at 2:23 PM
24 Comments:
It's sad that United Way's ability to regulate itself is so...lacking. Sad because ultimately it shakes the public's confidence in the federated workplace giving model overall, and causes irreparable damage to responsible fundraising charities that do good AND operate well within the parameters of the law. Shame on United Way. Does anyone else think workplace donations are a dying form of philanthropy, due in no small part to the repeated scandals of United Way?
Considering how many United Ways there are and how large their impact is, I am impressed that there have been so few issues in the past few years.
Actually, for a charity of its size and wealth -- and which has been charged with a public trust to honor donor intent and operate with financial transparency -- even one issue like this is unacceptable.
This is hardly the only United Way issue. The NYC United Way had a CEO misuse of funds scandal come out this year, and the national CEO has a misuse of funds scandal in the late 80s or early 90s.
When I was an employee of the University of Arizona, I met with the head of the Tucson United Way office to protest their distribution of charitable funds to organizations that did not meet their own nondiscrimination guidelines--although their standards say they do not fund groups that discriminate on the basis of religion or sexual preference, they funded the Boy Scouts of America, which refuses to allow atheists or gays to be members. While some United Ways have applied their standards consistently and denied BSA funding, Tucson was not one of them (and still isn't, to the best of my knowledge).
I also was on the board of a 501(c)(3) last year when one of our donors gave $1000 to us through United Way payroll deduction. United Way took a 15% cut--$150. Our donor was dismayed and now elects to donate directly.
There have actually been many United Way headline scandals across the country over the past years... how does United Way withstand the continual bad press? Don't get it. Not to mention the resentment of donors who were "coerced" to participate in their workplace campaigns. Can't tell you how many stories I've heard from employees who are mad about their coercion tactics.
Thank you for forthright web sites and blogs like this, it makes me feel taking the time to do research can be worthwhile.
I think anyone who gives to a big, anonymous charity based solely on peer pressure, as many do with the United Way, are doing themselves and the causes they care for a disservice.
I think it is important to remember that each United Way is run autonimously from all the others. Each one has its own Board of Directors and Board of Trustees and independently decides their mission and what organizations in their communities get funded. I think it would be a disservice to all United Ways for people to stop giving funding to their local agencies because of a few bad eggs. Ultimately, it is the community and the programs that help thousands of people which will suffer.
...Sadly, that's a responsibility and repercussion United Way must accept due to its inability to provide oversight to its various 'chapters.' No one could blame a donor for losing faith in United Way, given all the problems they've had over the years at numerous locations. The charities under their umbrella might want to reconsider United Way as their representative, too. Giving to United Way HAS dropped!
dear trent; i live in the woodstock ny area. in the town of woodstock @16 rock city road is my local chapter of united way family of woodstock. i worked as a volunteer on the suicide hotline, although i worked out of the goodness of my heart i was the best volunteer and never missed a shift. i was the only volunteer who had the proper credentials to work the hotline, because i studied psychology at city college for 7 yrs. i'm now 59 yrs old. instead of helping the needy in woodstock they bought land in saugerties and i believe kingston. they have set up a front and receive donations based on lies they are stealing taxpayers and private citizens money and keep as much as they can get away with. i have many many stories of horrible behavior on the part of employees of family of woodstock. 15 yrs of horrible behavior, some of which ended in death others in just plain old suffering and intolerable acts of greed and theft of services. i could go on and on, but i'd rather stop here, and ask you, Trent, what i should do to exact justice on these thieves and phonies what is my best course of action respectfully richardstarmountain e-mail rsternberg @hvc.rr.com
United Way uses coercion, guilt, public humiliation and pressure to extract money from donors. They are not asking people to give, they command donations. It's time people start talking about those practices.
There are people who's salary increases have been linked to amount donated to United Way.
They make you feel guilty of not donating money by harrassing you every day to return the form.
They ask (force?) the employer to draw a price for all who return their forms, whether they donate or not. How guilty does that make you feel?
They command 100% participation: if you don't give, the secratary knows, the employer knows, every one knows.
Tax receipts are handed out by the employer, who ends up seeing who donated what amount and how the donation was directed.
They setup "objectives" telling you "you can do better this year than last". If you don't contribute your share, you feel guilty. That is not what giving is supposed to be about. Giving out of guilt does not feel good.
They run the thermometer-thing. The secratary knows how much you give because she updates the thermometer. I don't want the secratary to know how much I give. A donation is a personal thing.
The public humiliation is when the secratary insists on getting the form in front of everyone else and calls your name: Joe, you have not returned your form yet!
They have worst tactics than telemarketers because we are captive in our workplaces and they known they can get us there: you can't escape the work place, but with telemarketers, you can hang up the phone.
I am a teacher in Mississippi and my school recently participated in a United Way fund drive. All teachers who donated $25 dollars or more are allowed to wear jeans all week this week. I chose to not give to this organization and now I get to stand out as unsupportive and uncharitable to my students. Talk about coercion!Worse yet I discovered that a quarter was donated in my name. I've been robbed of my silent protest so that our school would have 100% Apparently it's okay to lie for a worthy cause. I'm disgusted!
I recently received a "Happy Thanksgiving" card from the local UW and am incensed that monies are being spent in such a frivolous way. This does not encourage me to give again.
I worked for Dillards department store in 2005. They try to make you donate with their program called "Your fair share". When I refused to donate a percentage of my paycheck to do "my fair share" for the United Way, I was repeatedly harassed by everyone from my department manager to the store manager. The store also had mandatory meetings for the employees in an attempt to peer pressure us into donating. I refused to donate anything to the United Way then and I will certainly never donate in the future because of their "strong arm tactics". I suggested they read Ralph Waldo Emersons "Self Reliance" essay. Particularly the paragraphs on donating to charities.
As a grant administrator, I strongly object to our local United Way setting the "community priorities". Year after year "traditional" charities get slashed (not just cut) in favor of the "new" charity. Often the "new charities" are United Way operated or organized. Our UW has more employees than any local charity. It is very, top down, telling the established charities how to run their business and select their programs. I was a supporter when the United Way let the local volunteers set the priorities and the UW simply fundraised, checked for financial integrity and tried to prevent duplication of programs. I won't give them a dime.
As a grant administrator, I strongly object to our local United Way setting the "community priorities". Year after year "traditional" charities get slashed (not just cut) in favor of the "new" charity. Often the "new charities" are United Way operated or organized. Our UW has more employees than any local charity. It is very, top down, telling the established charities how to run their business and select their programs. I was a supporter when the United Way let the local volunteers set the priorities and the UW simply fundraised, checked for financial integrity and tried to prevent duplication of programs. I won't give them a dime.
Some people feel local needs will "lose" if people stop donating to the United Way.
I can tell you, that is not the case. In our area, for example, people are unaware of the 12-15% that is taken from donations to pay for United Way employees. Giving directly to charities will result in more money getting to those in need, not less.
Also, in our area, the UW requires all service providers that receive funding participate in a "blackout period," usually the most lucrative 3 months of the year for fundraising, by not soliciting any funds at all during that period - even from their own members. Service providers can provide more services if they raise money themselves.
Finally, our local UWs require service providers to complete reams of paperwork that have nothing to do with the UWs lack of financial integrity. They also require service providers to conduct a great deal of promotion of UW efforts, with costs in both dollars and time.
Researching your local charities, and donating directly to them, will always yield more funds and better results to those in need, than donating to the United Way. The UW actually weakens links between the haves and have-nots in our nation.
First Off, United Way does help the community more than just giving directly to the charity. United Way has a set of guidelines and puts your dollar right where it is really needed. There are groups of volunteers that regulate how your money is spent. The agencys also have to update united way quarterly on how they have used the money and exactly how it directly impacted the community.
I think if you would donate to the community you would feel better about yourself and not so selfish. I think your employer probably just is trying to encourage employees to give so that they have decent, caring employees, as opposed to selfish bitter employees.
I wrote to the United Way during the Christmas season because my husband started dating Val Claycomb in Elizabethtown , Ky - She participates in the United Way organization. Needless to say my husband took all the money out of my bank account and took her out on the town. She works for United Way? I contacted the organization for help during the x-mas season and did not get a response. I really would love to see people fight the coruption in the United Way. It is my opinion that they use their Name and Power for their benifit.
I would like to see them take up the issue of married women , in my case 25 years of marriage, and to fight for the morality or amoral behaivor of the cheating spouse and the financial turmoil it presents to women who have raised a family and also have health issues. Not only did they not respond to my original letter for financial assistance during Christmas but the woman that coached him to take my money works for the United Way !!!! It is a rediculous organization that puts pressure on companies to give money; but whos Pockets are really being filled? I can only speak from my experience and they did not help me !!
I wrote to the United Way during the Christmas season because my husband started dating Val Claycomb in Elizabethtown , Ky - from the United Way organization.
He took all the money out of my bank account and took her out on the town. She works for United Way? I contacted the organization for help during the x-mas season and did not get a response. I really would love to see people fight the way that they use their Name and Power for their benifit.
I would like to see them take up the issue of married women , in my case 25 years of marriage, and to fight for the morality or amoral behaivor of the cheating spouse and the financial turmoil it presents to women who have raised a family and also have health issues. Not only did they not respond to my original letter for financial assistance but the woman that coached him to take my money works for the United Way !!!! It is a rediculous organization that puts pressure on companies to give money; but whos pockets are really being filled? They did not help me.
This is all rather academic. I have not seen any change. I am wondering is there going to be any change? I doubt it. Our upper mangement in a large major corporation is instituting the 1000 dollar ping on executive staff. Given the pervasive and continuing downsizing environment that has plagued my industry, this is really a tax to keep your job, but then again it is not. But if they don't give, I wonder if it put them on the list.
I would be very interested in seeing a follow up post on changes based on what is listed here.
How do we break the coercive giving grip the UW has on companies?
I'd also like to see an expose on how UW has this grip in the first place. Seriously, can they really cause damage to a multi-billion dollar corporation? If giving is so darn important to the corporation, why doesn't the corporation just give? Why do they have to force the employees?
Screw United Way. I hate that organization. For years I was an admin. asst. in banks and was told that I "had better give fair share to United Way...or be fired!, Or have my name put on a list, or have to attend a function others who give fair share don't" I was threatened, harrassed and intimated into giving to United Way. And, furthermore as an admin. asst. I worked on the projects and found them to be mostly about DRINKING. Kick-off breakfasts (drinking), kick-off lunches (drinking), kick-off dinners (drinking)oh, here's a big one - GOLF OUTINGS.....MORE DRINKING. Followed by, of course, awards dinners for whomever employer extorted the most money from the lowly worker. Awards dinners, banquets, closing dinners, etc.- all means drinking, drinking, drinking. I AM SO ELATED THAT I DON'T HAVE TO WORK ANYMORE - WILL NEVER CONTRIBUTE TO UNITED WAY. So there. All that money for the banks to mis-manage and drink and piss away.
I refused to give to the United Way because of these Scandals that it cost me my job. I worked for a Cleveland company for over 30 years and was dismissed because I would not give to it.
As a former teacher I saw the United Way misuse funds at our school. We taught at a low income school, but just keep in mind that the funds were not dispersed to those who needed them most. Each kid was given about hundred dollars worth of school supplies, even though half of these kids already had many of these.
The kids who already had school supplies used their scissors to cut pages out of the dictionaries given to them, and used their pens to stab the erasers. Several of us teachers commented we would never donate to the United Way after seeing how these funds could have been used better.
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