Part three:
A 'brand-new' future
Promoting an image of excellence
Jori Klein / Staff
All appears quiet at the United Way headquarters on Commerce Park Loop, but a number of problems churn within.
Some contend Tucson agency needs to solve own problems
By Carol Ann Alaimo
ARIZONA DAILY STAR
Think of a hamburger and you might think of McDonald's.
Now think of whom you'd trust to solve a community problem. If the answer's not the United Way, then the agency still has work to do on its new image-boosting plan.
In Tucson and nationwide, United Ways are trying to craft a new identity that people instantly associate with creative problem-solving - the sort of branding enjoyed by companies such as McDonald's, Disney and Kodak.
Some think the Tucson agency should start by solving some of its own problems.
And creativity may be needed because they are challenging problems, some of which cut to the core of United Way's reason for existence.
With traditional dollars shrinking because of donor choices, many member charities say they've had to strike out on their own to raise money they used to get from United Way. In effect, they now compete against United Way and each other for these donor-designated dollars - the precise situation the United Way system was created to avoid.
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"It's become a popularity contest, and some programs are a lot sexier than others," said Ray Clarke, president of the Tucson Urban League, a member agency that provides job training, emergency aid and other services for the needy.
"I don't want to sound negative, but the money people designate does not necessarily match up with where the greatest needs are in the community," said Clarke, who fears lesser-known agencies could get left in the dust if they don't have a high profile to attract donor dollars.
Janet Marcotte, a former United Way board member and volunteer who is now executive director of the YWCA of Tucson, thinks the local United Way has some soul-searching to do about its future role.
"I think the United Way needs to make some fundamental changes in how it operates," said Marcotte, in the wake of problems the Star found in a three-month investigation of the agency.
Debbie Low, a past president of the local chapter of the National Society of Fundraising Executives, agreed.
"There are some serious issues and changes that need to be made," said Low, who is also associate executive director of the Girl Scouts Sahuaro Council, another local United Way agency.
Beth Walkup, a United Way board member, said the agency needs to examine issues such as public disclosure practices and out-of-town giving.
"The United Way needs to be aboveboard in everything it does. The public has a right to expect that," Walkup said.
Ed Parker, president of United Way of Tucson and Southern Arizona, has pledged that changes are already being made or will be soon to any problem areas.
Beyond that, Parker is pinning much of his hope for the agency's future on the United Way's new "branding strategy" - an image-boosting plan being promulgated by United Way of America.
"People buy Disney products or visit Walt Disney World because the brand conjures up the aura of magic," says a recent United Way booklet aimed at its affiliates. It said United Ways need to build similar profiles when it comes to community problem-solving.
"The new brand is that you want the community to see you tackling a community issue, putting outcomes on the table, mobilizing everybody together to do something about it," Parker said.
Some of the problems the local United Way faces are not unique to Tucson.
Many affiliates nationwide are grappling with donor choice, the role of member agencies and other thorny issues in a bid to boost United Way's waning influence in the charity circles.
Here's some of what they're up against, according to a recent report from United Way of America, the umbrella agency that serves local affiliates:
Donor perception: Donors nationwide don't buy United Way's new claim to being a community builder. A recent donor survey showed 48 percent picked religious organizations when they thought of community problem-solvers. Only 6 percent said United Way fit the bill - fewer than the 7 percent who mentioned state, federal and local governments.
Reputation damaged: Nearly a decade after scandal struck at United Way's national head office, the organization is haunted by the black mark on its reputation.
In 1992, William Aramony, then president of United Way of America, was fired - and later convicted of fraud - for stealing $1 million of United Way money to support a jet-setting lifestyle that included Concorde flights to Europe. The incident "created a culture of mistrust" that continues to affect the United Way system, the report said.
Lagging behind: In the aftermath of the scandal, United Ways nationwide got left in the dust during a 1990s boom in charitable giving. Total giving grew 45 percent between 1992 and 1999, while giving to United Ways only increased 4.1 percent, said the report.
Falling employee participation: Employee participation in corporate workplace campaigns dropped from 46.6 percent in 1989 to 33.7 percent in 1999. The downturn cut across almost every industry sector, including mining, construction, manufacturing, transportation, retail and financial firms.
The study also found that donor choice is on the rise nationwide. In 1991, about 12 percent of all United Way campaign dollars were designated to specific charities. By 1998 it was 23 percent.
In Tucson, about 30 percent of the campaign dollars raised last year were designated by donors, including the more than $2 million that went out of town or outside of the United Way service network.
The spike in donor choice has spurred some United Ways to tighten their rules in order to protect their social safety nets - the core of local charity services that serve the disadvantaged.
In Phoenix, the Valley of the Sun United Way doesn't accept donations to out-of-state charities or to causes that do not serve people in need, President Brian Hassett said. Exceptions are made in a few cases, such as with federal employees or donations to other United Ways, he said.
"I think the United Way needs to make some fundamental changes in how it operates."
Janet Marcotte
executive director, YWCA of Tucson
"The United Way needs to be aboveboard in everything it does. The public has a right to expect that."
Beth Walkup
United Way board member
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As a result of the policy discouraging pass-through gifts, Hassett said, only about $800,000 of the $45 million raised in Phoenix last year went out of state. The general fund for member agencies has been growing each year, he said.
"We have to be true to our mission, which is health and human services," he said.
"What we're concerned with is raising money for the people here in our valley."
United Way Services of Greater Cleveland now has some of the most aggressive restrictions in the country.
Donors there who want to give outside the United Way system must donate at least $100 and put half of it into the United Way general fund, the pool of cash that gets distributed to member agencies. The other half can only go to local nonprofits that provide health and human services.
"This was a very aggressive move for us at the time and a lot of people were afraid that donors would balk," said Paula Slimak, marketing director for Cleveland's United Way. Instead, they gave $1 million in new dollars on the heels of the 1999 change, she said.
Before the change, "People were giving 'through' the United Way, but not 'to' the United Way," Slimak said.
"We had to explain that you're not helping the United Way if it all goes to another entity outside the system. Any decent, humane community needs to have certain basic core services or it affects everyone's quality of life."
Parker, Tucson's United Way president, said he doubts such restrictions would fly in the Old Pueblo.
Not long ago, he said, he approached a few large local donors and asked if they'd consider giving matching gifts to the local general fund for member agencies. "It didn't go over well. They didn't like the idea," Parker said
Mark Desmond, president of United Way of Metro Nashville, also has taken steps to curtail giving outside the United Way system. By 1996, four years after the national scandal, Nashville's general fund had shrunk to $6.3 million - less than one-third of the $20 million it raised that year.
"We had to draw a line in the sand or we would have gone out of business because our core reason for being was disappearing," said Desmond.
The next year, Nashville passed new rules limiting donor designation to local nonprofits providing human services, and raised an extra $1.3 million. Eventually, Nashville also ended up disbanding the member agency system in favor of a new setup where any qualified agency can bid for contracts to provide services.
Desmond started getting worried when his general fund shrank to about one-third of all donations. In Tucson the fund has nearly evaporated.
Locally, the general fund now represents about one-tenth of all donations - about $1.5 million of the $15 million raised in last year's campaign.
The city of Tucson provides an additional $1.5 million on top of that, which United Way also distributes to agencies. But that arrangement may come to a permanent end by next year under a proposed city change to its social service spending.
Making the pledge
Tucson's United Way says it will try harder this year to encourage donor support for its general fund - the pool of money people give directly to United Way to be distributed among member agencies. The fund, shown on local pledge forms as the Community's Greatest Needs Fund, fell to
$1.5 million - or roughly one-tenth of all the money raised last year. Several United Ways nationwide have put rules in place to protect their general funds, but Tucson has not. Local United Way donors are allowed to give to any nonprofit agency.
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In a 1992 interview, Parker told the Arizona Daily Star that he wasn't too keen on the idea of donor choice.
"If United Way became merely a conduit for giving to local charities, that would be the shallowest United Way you could be part of," he said.
In a recent interview, Parker said he stands by his earlier statement but added: "Every single person has the right to do what they wish to do with their charitable dollar."
Nonetheless, in the upcoming fund-raising campaign, donors will be asked to consider giving more to the local general fund, he said.
Susan Rubin, executive director of Jewish Family and Children's Service, another United Way member agency, is among those hoping the tactic works.
"The dollars that traditionally come from United Way are very important to maintaining services in Tucson and Pima County," Rubin said.
"Without those dollars, a lot of people are going to be hurting."
* Contact Carol Ann Alaimo at 573-4138 or at caalaimo@azstarnet.com.
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