Boston Business Journal - September 28, 2007

"Not So United Ways?"

With increased fund-raising competition and corporate philanthropy itself going through a sea change, many United Way organizations statewide are increasing their outreach to individual donors.

In some cases those efforts maybe stealing from Peter to pay Paul.

The heightened competition was on display early one recent morning at the Gloucester commuter rail station. United Way volunteers from North Shore United Way passed out pamphlets with bright pink notes stapled to them.

"If you work in Boston and give to United Way, you can designate your gift back to your local United Way and local charities," they read.

The pamphleteering, which is a once-a-year one-day effort at North Shore stations, has been going on for years.

Keep it local

In effect, the pamphlets are asking donors to bring money to their local agency rather than leave it for Boston purposes.

"We're not operating out of desperation," said Margo Casey, president of the North Shore United Way. "(People) think we're one big 501-(c)3. ... On the one hand United Way has tremendous name recognition, on the other hand I don't think people differentiate between one that serves the North Shore and one that serves Boston."

Casey conceded there is greater competition for funds among all nonprofits and said she's working on outcomes and getting the word out on how relevant her group's services are in the eight communities it serves. In some cases people were not aware a United Way operated in their own communities.

The effort is meant to educate constituents and hopefully attract donors. "While primarily 80 percent (of the money) is raised through connection to the workplace campaign, the growth of new dollars are coming from individual donors," said Dennis Carman, president and CEO of United Way of Greater Plymouth County.

Carman said he's spending more time strengthening relationships with existing donors and engaging high-level volunteers who could connect him with potential donors -- or be donors themselves -- in order to deepen the way his organization raises funds.

United front

Mary Kay Leonard, interim CEO and president of United Way of Massachusetts Bay/Merrimack Valley and group vice president of investor relations for United Way of America, said she has not seen the trend of individual United Ways pamphleteering to pull money away from other United Ways but instead has seen an effort of greater collaboration among the organizations.

She also sees the pamphleteering as giving donors choices.

There are 21 United Way organizations in Massachusetts, including the UWMB/MV, the largest of them all. It raised $45.011 million in 2005 and $44.990 million in 2006 from donations that included individual gifts as well as workplace giving. It, too, is expanding its fund-raising efforts to include more individual donors and planned gifts as a way to expand its donor base. "Our focus over the next year is to get to know our donors better and engage with them more deeply, whether that's one-on-one or through digital communication," said Leonard.

By comparison, the North Shore United Way raised $952,000 in 2005, according to its public IRS filing.

None of the handful of United Ways asked said they competed against each other for donor dollars.

Michelle Hantman, president of United Way of Greater New Bedford, said she is reaching out more to private donors, increasing grant writing and adding planned giving -- going after bequests -- to offset the dwindling labor base in the region, where major textile manufacturers once had headquarters. Her United Way serves nine communities in the region.

"Clearly, there is more competition out there," said Hantman, who worked for the same United Way between 2000 and 2004 and then returned last year to be lead the organization. "You have to change with the times, you have to adapt to the needs."

Naomi Kooker can be reached at nkooker@bizjournals.com