Which Comes First – Resources or Impact?

Do resources drive impact or does impact drive resources at your United Way? The choice you make will determine your United Way’s relevance and sustainability.

Chicken or Egg?

In some respects, this question is similar to the classic question “Which came first – the chicken or the egg?” According to people who think about these types of questions, the egg came first. BBC Science Focus Magazine explains it this way: “At some point in evolutionary history when there were no chickens, two birds that were almost-but-not-quite chickens mated and laid an egg that hatched into the first chicken.” 

If people can figure out the answer to the chicken or the egg question, then we should be able to figure out the answer to whether resources drive impact or impact drives resources.

When Resources Drive Impact

Resources drive impact refers to United Ways that raise as much money as they can and then allocate the money they have raised. Resources drive impact at your United Way if you start with a goal of raising a certain amount of money (the “campaign goal”) and then allocate the money you have raised to funded partner agencies or programs.

So, you might be thinking that the answer to the question of whether resources drive impact or impact drives resources is obvious because without money (resources) there can be no impact. Money, at a United Way where resources drive impact, is like “fuel.” It takes money to create impact, therefore, more money = more impact.

A donor would be likely to conclude that when United Way raises more money, impact is greater because more money is allocated to partner agencies and funded programs. Conversely, it is easy to see how some donors might conclude that United Ways are less successful when they raise less money. In response, some United Ways set lower campaign goals each year, so that they can say they achieved their campaign goal, even though they raised less money than the year before. 

At United Ways where resources drive impact, donors sometimes feel United Way is just passing through their contribution. Why would a donor contribute to United Way, only to have them take a percentage for their administrative costs, and pass the remainder through to partner agencies or programs? If more money = more impact, a donor can create more impact by donating directly to their charity of choice. If you frequently get asked about the administrative costs at your United Way, donors see your United Way as a pass-through organization and don’t want to see their impact diminished to pay United Way’s overhead.

When a donor gives to a United Way where resources drive impact, they know that money will go to local partner agencies or programs. However, impact is nearly always conveyed in the past tense, such as a list of last year’s funded partner agencies and programs. United Ways where resources drive impact refer to programs that were “funded” rather than programs they will be funding with a donor’s contribution. This is a topic we explored in our Stop Living in the Past blog post. If all of the conversation is about last year’s funding or impact, does that suggest that impact comes before resources?

When Impact Drives Resources

Impact drives resources refers to United Ways that decide what issue they want to impact, for example, reading at grade level by third grade, and how they want to address this issue, for example, Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library, and then ask for the money to address the issue. Impact drives resources at your United Way if you start with a goal to measurably impact an issue (often referred to as the “bold goal” such as “70% of all third graders reading at grade level by 2025.”), choose what programs you need to fund to achieve the goal, and then raise money to fund the necessary programs.

When a donor gives to a United Way where impact drives resources, they know before they give how lives will be changed. They know their contribution will be used to help achieve the bold goal and what program(s) will be funded with their contribution before they give. This is important because we know from surveying local United Way donors about why they made a contribution to United Way, the top responses include: “By giving to United Way, I will have an impact on issues I care about“ and “My giving can achieve change or bring about a desired impact.”

At United Ways where impact drives resources, there are new possibilities for diversifying resources beyond workplace campaigns. When United Ways can share an impact goal related to an issue in the community, and have identified specific programs for achieving that goal, they are able to approach new funding sources like foundations and governments for funding. Even companies that have refused to hold a workplace campaign have been open to the possibilities of providing corporate sponsorship for specific programs that impact an issue they care about in their community.

The Answer to Which Comes First

Impact comes first for two reasons:

1. Relevance. Why should a donor support your United Way? A United Way is relevant when donors understand how their contribution to United Way will impact an issue they care about in their community. Donors must know the impact of their contribution before they will give to your United Way.

2. Sustainability. United Ways will only be sustainable when they can diversify resources beyond workplace campaigns. When a United Way can clearly articulate the impact they desire to make and what programs are required to achieve that impact, they will be able to diversify their funding through grants, sponsorships, planned giving, etc.

How to Have Impact Drive Resources

If you want your United Way to be relevant and sustainable, impact should drive resources at your United Way, and this is precisely what Issue Focused United Ways do. Issue Focused United Ways choose an issue, like poverty, homelessness, the graduation rate, or kindergarten readiness, and they lead and convene the community to make measurable change on that issue.

Instead of a campaign goal, their success is measured by the number of families no longer living in poverty, people who now have a home, students who have graduated from high school, or children that are ready for kindergarten. Rather than allocating funds a mile wide and an inch deep, they invest deeply in programs and services that address their issue. And they ask donors and funders to give to reduce poverty, end homelessness, increase the graduation rate, or have every child enter kindergarten ready to learn and not for a campaign goal.

The Issue Focus Business Model is built on the understanding that United Way donors want to impact a local issue and change lives. When a United Way is issue focused, people know exactly what their contribution will accomplish because an issue focused United Way addresses one issue with an inspiring goal for success. Issue focused United Ways raise more money because they are able to attract diversified resources like grants, sponsorships, and planned giving to address their issue. When a United Way is issue focused, they are able to unify their community, volunteers, donors, partner agencies, board, and staff around a shared vision to address a single issue. Issue Focused United Ways can easily explain what they do in just one sentence, and even in as few as two words – “Crush Poverty” or “Halt Hunger.”

Learn More

Take a couple of minutes and learn more about how an issue focus will transform your United Way by watching our free United Way Survival Guide video or schedule some time to talk with us about how an issue focus might work at your United Way.