The Big Risk You Are Taking With Your United Way
There is a great quote attributed to Steve Jobs, the co-founder of Apple. Back in 1979, Apple executives got their first look at the graphical user interface for computers being developed by Xerox. The graphical user interface was transformative for computers as it took them from the rigid structure and limitations of rows of text and allowed people to use a mouse and click on icons and folders. Having seen the graphical user interface Jobs realized that Apple needed to completely change their direction and invest in developing their own graphic user interface. An Apple executive said to Jobs “If we invest in this, we will blow up our company.” Jobs responded, “Better we should blow it up than someone else.”
Two Risks
There are two risks you may be taking with your United Way – are you taking the risk that your donors will continue to rely on your United Way to pass-through their donations to local charities or are you taking the risk of adopting a new business model that measurably changes lives in your community by addressing an issue like poverty, graduation rates, hunger, or homelessness?
Betting on the Past
The risk of donors continuing to rely on your United Way to pass-through their donations may not seem like such a big risk until you consider three facts: workplace campaigns will continue to decline, fewer donors find any need or value in United Way allocating their contribution, and competition is everywhere.
First, workplace campaigns have and will continue to decline. There are no signs that workplace campaigns will ever return to pre-2008 levels, which means the captive audience of potential United Way donors in the workplace is shrinking every year.
Second, donors no longer need or value United Way allocating their contribution to local charities. With the internet and websites like Charity Navigator and Guidestar, donors can easily research the accountability of local charities, and then easily make contributions to all of their chosen charities online. Our research with local United Way donors has repeatedly found that when given a choice donors want their United Way to measurably impact a single issue in the community by a 4-to-1 margin over having United Way allocate their contribution to a variety of local charities and programs.
Third, competition exists everywhere from open campaigns and third-party processors in the workplace to Giving Tuesday and GoFundMe making charitable giving even easier. Competition will continue to proliferate in unpredictable ways, providing donors more choices to give.
Betting on the Future
The risk of the uncertainty of adopting a new business model that measurably changes lives in your community may seem overwhelming until you consider the following: the Issue Focus business model measurably changes lives in your community, the Issue Focus business model addresses most challenges facing United Ways, and the Issue Focus business model has a clear playbook and strategies for success.
Issue Focused United Ways choose an issue, like poverty, homelessness, graduation rate, or kindergarten readiness, and they lead and convene the community to make a measurable change on that issue. The measure of success is no longer the campaign goal, but rather how many families are no longer living in poverty, how many homeless people now have a home, how many students graduated from high school, or how many children are ready for kindergarten.
Issue Focused United Ways overcome all of the common challenges facing United Ways. People understand what Issue Focused United Ways do because they have a simple message like “Crush Poverty” or “Halt Hunger.” Issue Focused United Ways raise more money because they attract additional resources like grants, sponsorships, and planned giving to address their issue. Issue Focused United Ways truly convene their community, bringing together not only the organizations they fund but all organizations working on the issue in their community.
Becoming an Issue Focused United Way takes time and requires effort, but the path is clear. Based on the success and experience of other Issue Focused United Ways, we know the strategies you need to succeed and have the playbook to move your United Way from where you are today to an issue focus. Our Traditional Issue Focus Transformation will start your United Way on the journey to becoming issue focused in just a couple of months.
Learn more about the benefits of an Issue Focused United Way by watching our free United Way Survival Guide video.
Which Risk Are You Taking?
Is the bigger risk staying on the current path or embracing the uncertainty of adopting a new business model that will significantly impact your community? To paraphrase Steve Jobs, don’t let someone else blow up your United Way.