The United Way of the Twin Cities advertises itself as an organization that…
…creates a better life for us all by focusing on three key areas: Basic Needs, Education and Health.
We attack poverty on multiple, interconnected fronts to achieve lasting change. We LIVE UNITED by collaborating with partner agencies, corporations, community leaders and people like you.
United Way serves people living in or near poverty in nine counties: Anoka, Carver, Chisago, Dakota, Hennepin, Isanti, Ramsey, Scott and western Washington. Making a gift to United Way is the most effective way to help the whole community.
Many of us give – generously, in many cases – to the United Way through their various institutional drives at Twin Cities businesses.
So where does that money go?
To the MinnPost? The center-left-leaning media website?
Community Voices section is made possible by the generous sponsorship support of the Greater Twin Cities United Way.
“Attacking poverty” via sponsoring the MinnPost is certainly a new definition of an ” interconnected front”. Although the logic of the connection escapes me.
Do United Way contributors know they’re supporting agenda-based media?
It’s worth asking.
I sent a message to the United Way. I’ll let you know what I hear back. If anything.
I’m sending them a message, too, Mitch!
This really pisses me off!
I’d have been more surprised if MinnPost wasn’t getting money from the United Way. UW is well-known as a honey pot for all manner of leftist nonsense.
UW also has huge overhead costs. I always suggest the Salvation Army as an alternative charity.
On the other hand, the Twin Cities United Way is one that stood up to the gay lobby and continued to fund the Boy Scouts, when many other United Way chapters did not.
I have been sending them a message for many years, by returning my pledge card with a great big ZERO on it. Then I give that same amount to a charity of my choice, directly.
I stopped participating in the United Way drives at work years ago. Firstly, because of the way we were “encouraged” to participate it began to feel more like a shakedown than a charitable donation. Secondly, because of the UW’s high overhead and some of the dubious organizations they have supported in the past. I’d rather donate directly to the groups of my choosing and do it without feel pressured by my employer to comply.
Chad nails it. I remember the “shakedown” from my days at Honeywell. Management at US Bank are required to donate.
Might as well contribute to Jesse Jackson.
Hey Mitch unless I’m mistaken they also support Women against Military madness. When I noticed that in the book given out promoting united way I made the point that year of going through the book to pick out specific organizations so my money wasn’t diverted to them.
Walter Hanson
Minneapolis, MN
What Chad and Mr. D. say. Since United Way doesn’t give to the charities I like, I don’t give to United Way. It’s been that way for as long as I can remember.
The United Way has a history of this. The store I used to work at practically demanded we donate to them. We got “uniform free” days if we did. It seemed like a borderline racket since they were clearly in bed with our Union. I was one of the 6% people out there in the private sector that belonged to a union and freaking hated it.
/rant
Late again… complete agreement with Chad et al. It was also annoying that one was strongly encouraged to turn in the donation card – even if it was marked 0… hmm, jdm, not participating, huh? where’s that employment file?
I haven’t worked in a place that had UW for years, but I remember seeing donations to questionable entities even back in the day when I was less conservative than I am now.
Find good, focused charities and give to them.
I see the “promoting general goodness” type of charity as a lazy and ineffective way of giving. They track the success of their efforts just like the government does, and with equal success.
Late again… complete agreement with Chad et al. It was also annoying that one was strongly encouraged to turn in the donation card – even if it was marked 0… hmm, jdm, not participating, huh? where’s that employment file?
There’s a reason why they want you to turn in your donation card even if you don’t donate. Groups that gather contract information of their donors or potential donors have been known to bundle and sell it to other groups for their fundraising purposes. There were stories about other United Way branches and NPR selling lists of their donors to groups like the Democratic Party. I actually insisted when my last company contracted with the UWTC to handle the automatic payroll deductions for employee contributions that we had a clause in the contract prohibiting them from retaining, disclosing selling, lending, or otherwise using any employee information including their identities or contract information to any other organization including other UW branches or affiliates or for any other purpose. Their attorney was shocked that I pushed for that language saying that no one else had asked for it and the senior attorney at my company hadn’t even thought about that issue. If that’s any indication, it’s possible that they want you to fill out the card just they can bundle and sell your information.
I also don’t donate to the United Way for several other reasons:
1) If you want to send your money to support a group like the Red Cross or the Boy Scouts, send them the money directly and they get the full contribution. Send it through the United Way and they’ll only get part of it (assuming that they really do direct what’s left of your contribution to the group you chose).
2) Their overhead. If you look at their fundraising claims they usually talk about how much is spent on fundraising (which is only part of their overhead). Also they several layers of overhead and usually only talk about the fundraising costs of the UWTC. So if you send $100 to the UW and their overhead is 20 percent (made up percentages), then $80 will go through the next level who takes 20 percent which leaves about $64 that’s actually (maybe) going where you want it to go.
3) Where the money actually goes. When I looked at the UWTC’s budget when I did their contract (out of my own curiosity), I saw that spent a large amount of money (hundreds of thousands) on a website designed to point people to where they could apply for public assistance as opposed actually providing services. Some of the groups that they supported directly (such as a women’s executive leadership group that seemed to host monthly speakers with wine and cheese) seemed rather questionable as well. Keep in mind that these weren’t just groups that you could choose to direct your contribution to, this was who the UW decided to directly support.
I also stopped having anything to do with UW many years ago. Same reasons as noted by others; massive overhead sucking up contributions, many of the beneficiaries I wanted nothing to do with, and the not so subtle arm twisting that was involved. For me there’s far better choices when it comes to my dollar contributions.
I have never really minded United Way as it allows me to blow off the hundreds of other groups asking for money, and feel guilty about it. They do support a lot of organizations. The Duluth United Way discriminates against the Boy Scouts, so while living there, I removed my donations. But here they are not quite as narrow minded.
On the other hand, I looked at the amount I was giving to the United Way (via pay check deduction) and realized that if I took that money and split it between two organizations that I really support (non-political), that donation will have a bigger impact.
and NOT feel guilty about it.
So if you send $100 to the UW and their overhead is 20 percent (made up percentages), then $80 will go through the next level who takes 20 percent which leaves about $64 that’s actually (maybe) going where you want it to go.
Don’t look to me to defend the UW (I haven’t donated to them since the 80s when my UW in San Diego went radical left wing), but UWTC is actually in the elite tier of efficient UW locations. We’re talking about an 10.5% overhead, which is very good for any charity, and the Pres/CEO takes home only ~$25K or so (the ex-Pres still there isn’t as good at $373K).
Me? I don’t like the double overhead of UW. I also don’t like the fact that even if you designate money not to go to a certain charity when they’re pressed they will admit that your money might not go the MinnPost, but they’ll make it up by giving more of someone else’s, i.e. they’ll do what they want since money is fungible.
So I give directly to entities I like: the Boy Scouts, Salvation Army, Feed My Starving Children, etc. Yes, it’s more work but yes, it feels better to know that my money is going to efficient, worthy causes.
random plug, dollar for dollar I think Feed My Starving Children does the most with the least. They buy in massive bulk at a massive discount and use strictly volunteer labor and it goes to people who REALLY need it. Not the “poor” in the US but true poverty stricken people in the 3rd world. Most people in those countries would (literally) kill to be at what is considered the poverty level here in the US.
Random thought… Hey Mitch we should get a group to go down and do that at one of their centers here in the twin cities. Put our money where our mouths are and go out for teh booze after.
And in true bipartisan fashion we should invite the drinking liberally crew since they always say how much they care. It’d be interesting to hear their response
Now THAT’s a challenge I’d love to see the liberals’ response to! My family and I would be happy to participate in such an event.
BTW, I agree with Ben that FMSC is very efficient and it’s very highly rated for that reason. The overhead for Feed My Starving Children is almost exactly the same 10% as the local UW (FMSC overhead is about 5% staff and 5% fundraising). But by donating directly you don’t go through the additional overhead of the UW to do good works.
Ben is right. Everyone should spend an hour or two at Feed My Starving Children loading up the soup packets. They are a first-rate organization, and have saved millions from death.
United Way can go pound sand.
So lets organize this guys! Pick a night and a 2-3 hour block so we can reserve it and then if its popular enough maybe we could make it a monthly or weekly/bi-weekly thing. I only request no Wednesday nights, I have a job then.
Re: the United Way and their overhead, you might find the following interesting:
I clicked on the UWTC’s FAQ and found the following:
“How much is used for ‘overhead’?
Our administrative and fundraising costs, including staff salaries, represent approximately 12 percent of contributions. Most of every dollar you contribute goes to initiatives and programs that help people and build a stronger community.
According to the Charities Review Council of Minnesota, a nonprofit is using contributions responsibly if overhead is limited to 30 percent or less of total donations. Other watchdog groups use 40 percent as an acceptable standard.
United Way has received the Charities Review Council of Minnesota’s “Meets All Standards” seal for meeting all 16 of the Council’s Accountability standards.”
But when I clicked on the link for the Charities Review Council of Minnesota, at the bottom of the page where they hide the disclaimers it says in hard to read white italics on a dark blue background “A United Way Funded Agency.”
So basically the United Way when bragging about how supposedly “efficient” they are and how they’ve won awards for their efficiency funds the agency which evaluates them and gives them the award for their supposed “efficiency.” No doubt this is funded with contributions and doesn’t get counted as overhead.
And no one calls them out on this B.S.
United Way can go pound sand.
Ditto.