Closing Session with Bill Millett – Scope View Strategic Advantage

RELEVANCE: IF YOU’RE LOSING THAT, LITTLE ELSE MATTERS ©2013 UNITED WAY SOUTHERN INSTITUTE CONFERENCEBill Millett, President, Scope View Strategic AdvantageToday’s Philanthropic Environment.United Ways across the country share at least one criticalcharacteristic with their for-profit counterparts-- they operate inhighly turbulent times and extremely competitive environments. Insuch conditions, the journey from organizational relevance toirrelevance can be a very short trip.The demand for agency transparency, rapid technologicalinnovation, economic times and aggressive challenges to acquiringinvestments from individuals, corporations, foundations and othersources are just a few of the forces creating uncertainty, instabilityand churn. And while the economy has certainly recovered bysome measures since 2008, there is little indication that employment rates and other key factors willreach pre-recession levels anytime soon.More than ever, a United Way’s credibility and relevance depend on effective, engaged and innovativeBoard and staff members-- ones who recognize that changing realities require new ways of thinking andnew ways of doing business. A primary issue for is to clearly define both a United Way’s relevance andthe measurable value that it delivers that would not be otherwise be provided.Static organizations in both the corporate and nonprofit sectors fare poorly in changing times. That theymay not survive at all is evidenced by the growing list of companies that were once dominant or majorplayers in their fields and that are now gone... names like Digital Equipment Company, Arthur Andersen,Pan American, Polaroid, Circuit City, Bethlehem Steel, Drexel Burnham Lambert and Borders.Each was overcome by altered circumstances that its leadership didn’t foresee or couldn’t address. Alllost the fight for relevance, and succumbed to competition. In many cases, they weren’t even prepared toput up much of a struggle. They counted on approaches that had served them well to continue to work inthe future. At times, ethical failures and a lack of transparency were also major contributing factors.Tough economic conditions substantially raised both the profile and ramifications of each shortcoming.Each company lost sight of the fact that relevance and comfort are mutually incompatible words.While the examples above come from the corporate sector, there are plenty of nonprofits in the samecategory. According to Paul C. Light, Professor of Public Service at New York University and recognizedphilanthropic scholar, more than 100,000 nonprofit groups nationwide will fail over the next several years.And while the large majority of them will be smaller agencies, he predicts the list will include more than afew big names. The same factors of the economy, greatly increased competition, an inability orunwillingness to change, complacency, non-transparency and ethicallapses will be in play.Almost any United Way that looks in 2013 pretty much as it did asrecently as 3-5 years ago has become less relevant to its communityand more vulnerable to losing mind share and dollar share. Whatwas once a relatively understandable and predictable charitableworld has been transformed into one that has few if any fixed points,where Boards and staffs try to solve puzzles with many moving parts,and where strategies that have worked before have become not onlyineffective, but often counterproductive.501-C Fenton Place / Charlotte, NC 28207 / Ph: 704.334.2931 / email: millett@scopeview.net / www.scopeview.net

2Further, nonprofit marketplaces have become increasingly sophisticated. More and more individualsthink of themselves not as donors but as investors, and they want definable returns on the funds theyprovide. They expect organizations to: anticipate wherever possible, assess and reconfigureprograms to address changing conditions, collaborate with others that are engaged in similar efforts,and clearly identify the specific value they bring to the equation.The Relevance of the United Way Movement in the U.S.So… how relevant are United Ways today? What is their standing in the general field of philanthropy?How has that position strengthened or weakened in recent years, and what criteria should be used tomeasure relevance in the first place?One way to judge this is the amount of moneyreceived by United Ways as measured by bothtotal dollars and the percent of overallphilanthropic monies. That’s a measure thatUnited Ways have helped to instill in the public’smind with the historic use of the dollar goalthermometer, a practice still widely used today.If you equate relevance with dollars, the signsare not good. The chart to the right showsgeneral philanthropic trends over the last fortyyears as tracked by Giving USA. There hasbeen a general upward movement for decades.Although the last four years have been difficult,there was a slight up tick in 2010 and 2011, andpreliminary indications are the numbers for 2012will also move upward.There are only two conclusions that can bedrawn from these numbers. Either UnitedWays have become less relevant or thewrong methodology is being applied todetermine relevance. In reality, there areelements of truth in both, and the leadershipof any United Way must carefully considerthe implications of each in determining thefuture positioning of the organization.One point is unassailable. A strategy ofsimply counting on an economic rebound toensure a United Way’s future is inherentlyflawed, and any agency using it should notbe surprised by the ultimate outcome.Contrast that with the UW-specific campaigndata for the last decade as detailed by theUnited Way Worldwide itself and shown on theleft. Campaign dollars have declined asmeasured by both current and inflationadjusteddollars.Since overall philanthropy is generally on theupswing and UW investments are trendingdown, the chart displayed immediately belowshould come as no surprise. The UW share ofthe overall philanthropic market has fallennoticeably, as has its percent of overalldisposable income.©

3Key Issues Impacting the Relevance of United Ways.Almost every United Way has been affected by economic events at the local,state, federal and global levels. The same downturn that decreased theavailability of UW dollars in so many places simultaneously increased thehuman service needs that UW funds support. The gap between programsneeded and the dollars required to provide them has widened even morewith the cuts to many government agencies.In general, it appears that the economy is in better shape as the summer of2013 approaches than it has been in the last four years. There is stillsignificant economic uncertainty, however, and job growth has not matchedthe upturn in the stock market. Consumer confidence remains uneven atbest. There is no doubt that concern with the immediate and long-term state of the economy will remainin the forefront of the minds and pocketbooks of companies and individuals that United Ways will seek asnew or expanded investors in the months and years immediately ahead.Economic obstacles, however, are not unique to United Ways. Nonprofits as a whole have been greatlyaffected, as have the corporate and governmental sectors. The focus of this paper is on the very realchallenges to relevance that UWs face in a way that other organizations do not. Five specific factors arediscussed below. Alone, any one of them would be significant; the potential collective impact of theseforces is enormous. The manner in which they area addressed will set the philosophical and operationalframeworks within which United Ways function and allocate their financial and human resources in theyears just ahead.1. Greatly Increased Competition.There has been a major increase in the options available topeople as they consider to which causes they shouldcontribute and in what amounts. According to the NonprofitAlmanac 2011, prepared by the National Center forCharitable Statistics at the Urban Institute, more than 1.5million nonprofit organizations were registered with theInternal Revenue Service in 2010, an increase of 20% since2000. In the last two years, there has been some drop-off.The emergence of the Internet and other digital technologieshas led directly to the rise of sophisticated marketing plansand programs by countless non-profits. Go on-line; with one click and within less than one second thereare hundreds, even thousands, of potential places to make your philanthropic investments regardless ofhow focused or broad your particular cause or areas of interest.At one point, United Ways were virtual philanthropic monopolies, or at least oligarchies. Those days aregone… long gone. And many of the strategies that worked then flop now. And yet, too many UnitedWays are still using them... and losing relevance in the process.2. Hard-to-Target Investors.UWs have historically been dependent on workplace campaigns asthe source of the majority of funds. The impact of downsized andmerged corporations means that workplace giving will either continueto diminish or need to be approached from a new direction. Fortune500 companies made up 26% of nonagricultural jobs thirty years ago.They have since lost a net of 12 million jobs, and now provide nomore than 10% of such jobs nationwide.With net job growth in the country coming from small to medium sizedcompanies, the question for the United Way is how to both identify theleadership of these organizations and then prove to them that investing in the UW is highly worthwhile—precisely because it is highly relevant to the interests of that company, its leaders and its employees.©

43. Generational Differences.The issue here is not the rise of social media, and how that isinfluencing the field of philanthropy. Certainly that is an importantmatter, and one that many UWs have responded to very well.Rather, the point is that social scientists generally concur on thefollowing point about the generations that are replacing BabyBoomers in positions of influence in the American workforce: Theyare more independent-minded and have different sets ofphilanthropic priorities, frequently focusing on single issues thatare the most important to them.This generational factor coupled with the two issues discussed immediately below-- workplacedemocratization and mass customization -- have tremendous implications for United Ways.4. Workplace Democratization.United Ways have long offered employers a simple consolidated way of handling the issue of companyand employee philanthropy-- one-stop shopping as it were. The United Way has allowed for minimaldisruption to company operations while insuring that dollars collected have gone to a reputableorganization with solid community leadership.There has, however, been a downside to this in those instances where company officials have used aheavy hand to meet internal and external money targets. While the United Way has had a formal noncoercionpolicy in place for many years, would anyone seriously contend that it has not been violatedwithin many workplaces, or that the United Way stance in such situations could often be accuratelycharacterized as quiet acquiescence?Many in the generations now moving into positions ofauthority were once subjected to that pressure, resented itthen and resent now. They even have a name for it: “CharityShakedown.” And they will not be prone to giving UnitedWays special access within their companies.This will only increase the growth of alternative workplacegivingfunds and federations that utilize payroll deduction forpublic and private sector employees to make charitablecontributions. Around since the late 1960’s, they haveprovided options for workplace givers seeking to supportsomething other than the mainstream list of United Way-affiliated agencies. They will find an increasedreceptivity within many companies, and United Ways need to be ready with answers as to why theinvestments should be made to the UW.There is another important factor to consider. With theyounger generations being more independent than theirparents, companies wanting to recruit the best and brightestof them will be more democratic and less autocratic thanpreviously. This is especially true of knowledge-intensiveand innovation-centered companies-- the predicted centersof employment growth. And this will hold for the way inwhich those companies approach philanthropy.The individuals they want to hire frequently do not want to betold which philanthropies are worthy of their dollars. Theywant to make that assessment on their own.And as younger people tend to do, they are inclined to look for new ways of doing things. The UnitedWay is many things; new is not one of them. Any part of the United Way movement that ignores new andsometimes seemingly radical strategies and tactics of advocacy and marketing does at its own peril. Justbecause certain approaches have worked before does mean they will now. In fact, it may well be anindication that they won’t.©

55. Mass Customization Replacing Mass Markets.Many of us grew up in a time when there were three major television networks, consumers who were atthe mercy of product manufacturers, and commercials that pretty much delivered the same “why to buy”message to everyone.It was an era of mass markets and mass marketing. In the 1960s, 80% of adult Americans could bereached through an ad airing simultaneously on NBC, CBS and ABC. It would be impossible to matchthat penetration in 2013 even if the spot ran on over 100 channels, as television stations now competenot only against dozens of often highly specialized counterparts, but also against thousands of websitesas well as other digital media catering to customers with specific interests.The marketplace has been transformed as the mass market has been replacedby an ever-growing number of micro markets catering to the precise needs andspecial interests of groups or individuals.What has happened to the media is just one example of what is occurring inalmost every functional marketplace. The evolution from mass to micro-marketsis a fundamental societal change. The United States today is a far more diverseand consumer-empowered country than it was as recently as ten years ago.The country has disaggregated into countless market sectors defined not onlyby such traditional measures as geography, age, race, ethnicity and gender, butalso by increasingly nuanced and self-determined product preferences.Burger King was one of the first companies to recognize this trend when it originated its highly successfuland fast-food altering “Have It Your Way” campaign more than thirty years ago. One of the initial slogansfor the Whopper said there were 1,024 ways to order one, a mathematically correct claim that was lateraccurately expanded to 221,184 as ingredients were added. The customer, not the restaurant, was nowin charge. And the restaurant better be prepared to deliver.That customized approach with products tailored to individual customersis an integral part of thousands of successful organizations. You order acomputer and it is assembled with the exact components you want. Youpurchase a new car and you can have it assembled at a plant accordingto your preferences. You choose golf clubs by brand, and then havethem custom made to your specifications through such options as shaftlength and composition, flex and grip size and type.The rapid development of micro-markets, or markets of one, is an accelerating social force, and one thatshows absolutely no signs of abating. That same trend increasingly applies to volunteerism andphilanthropy. More and more people have precise single-focus causes to which they are committed andin which they invest. They want to drive the decision… they want to do it their way. And what is theopposite of their way? The United Way.Therefore… One Person’s Priority is Another Person’s “I Could Care Less.”The combination of workplace democratization and the rise of mass customization lead to oneinescapable conclusion: Relevance is a moving target. Not only does it change over time as socioeconomicconditions change, but it can also vary from one individual to another depending on theinterests of each.Using a singular message to advocate the relevance of the United Way in today’s highly segmentedmarketplaces is an inherently flawed strategy. It is analogous to using a car’s safety features as the onlyelement of a dealer’s pitch to every one of its potential customers.For some nonprofits, instilling a more specific marketing mentality does not come naturally. But for UnitedWays to reach their full potential in today’s philanthropic environment, it must be done. It starts withidentifying those individuals and organizations you want to influence. That’s the easy part, and you’veprobably already done that and have a solid prospect list in hand.©

6What comes next is the key to maximizing the profile of the United Way as an absolutely essentialcommunity and national resource. That step is determining what issues are especially relevant to eachtarget and developing an appropriate customized marketing approach. It's more than just a shift awayfrom the one-size-fits-all marketing of the past. It’s an outright rejection of that philosophy. Today, to theextent practical, every target should be thought of as a market of one.The tailoring of an agency’s tactics to the individual “customer” is the essence of one-to-one marketing. Itconcentrates on initially providing an information mix to each target most likely to draw his or her interest.It then aims to repeat this approach many times with each customer so that powerful supportiverelationships are forged. Also referred to as mass customization, the approach seeks to reinvestcustomer development with the personal touch absent from many modern business interactions, therebypromoting greater customer loyalty and a far better return on marketing investments.In some instances, it may not be necessary or practical to go to the intensity of the one-to-one approach.Some clusters of target audiences may be similar enough that cases for UW initiatives can be built byfocusing on groups of customers rather than individuals. Regardless of whether marketing is one-to-oneor to a limited number, increasingly diverse marketplaces require much more personalizedcommunication rather than the general messages that still characterize many existing efforts.UW Presentations Should Be About the Relevant Value the UW Offers a Particular Target.There are United Ways, including some large ones, that use the same presentation whenever they call ona company or meet with a group of employees. It doesn’t matter whether the audience is a manufacturer,an accounting firm, or anything else. They see the same thing and hear basically the same message. Bydefinition, that presentation is all about the United Way and speaks in very general terms.Simply stated, that’s an insult to the people on the listening end. Ifyou want their investments, you need to show up front that you’vemade an effort to find out what’s relevant to them, and frame yourremarks and materials around how their interests mesh with whatyou offer. It’s not that difficult or time-consuming to localize thepresentation. Talk to someone you’re connected with inside thecompany; go on line and read about them. However you do it,make sure that you speak with your audience in their language,not yours.It is the difference of selling unique value to a single audience rather than common value to massmarkets. Done correctly, the target feels that the presentation is directly relevant to them. Because it is.And the “ask” is about what’s important to them, not just what you want out of the deal.Applying Relevance Marketing to Early Education Advocacy.To their credit, United Ways have a long tradition of supporting agencies and programs that help youngchildren and their families. The development of Success By 6 in the late 1980’s in Minneapolis tookmatters a step further, a big step. Rather than a program per se, it was a collaborative communitybuilding initiative that made the case for the importance of the community understanding the connectionof positive early childhood development to later success in life. It was subsequently embraced by UnitedWays throughout the country.The failures to position quality early education as a critical component of oureducational and economic infrastructure, to promote it effectively, to recognize thevastly changed and segmented nature of markets and to develop varied andspecific messages to appeal to each of those multiple markets have all contributedto the substantial under-appreciation of quality early education and to its resultantunder-funding.The evidence of its low-standing in terms of mind share and market share iseverywhere: the frequent lack of strong local, state and federal financial support, the educationalstandards set for early educators, the salaries and benefits, or lack of same, they receive, and the lowlevel of involvement in the issue by many key elected, business and other leaders.©

7Until recently, the early education community used the same basic “do it for the future of our children”language and similar warm and fuzzy images to promote itself. But there are more than a few people ofinfluence out there who just aren’t moved by those pictures, or moved enough. They often see earlyeducation as a “nice to” rather than a “have to,” baby-sitting or a subject that just doesn’t have particularrelevance to them or many of their constituents or employees.Advocates of quality early education must identify and use multiple definitions of relevance as to itsimportance. Shown immediately below are six distinct arguments for quality early education. Somecombination of some of them will be relevant to almost all targets you are trying to reach.The Business Case for the Importance of Quality Early Education.U.S. Chamber of Commerce: www.uschamber.com/issues/education/educationThe United States Chamber of Commerce is the world's largest not-for-profit businessfederation, and represents some 3,000,000 businesses (via its federation of local chambersand association members.“To keep America competitive and strong, the business community must be actively engaged inissues related to our nation's educational system as a means to ensure an educated citizenry ofself-sufficient, lifelong learners who have the skills needed to thrive in the global workplace, todayand in the future. The coordination of community resources, school support systems, familyengagement programs, and classroom teachers' efforts can diminish the barriers to learning.Employer engagement must be significant and have the ability to address some of the greatestchallenges facing education…These challenges include the lack of preparation of earlylearners who enter school for the first time, the significantgaps among groups of students, as well as theunacceptable number of students who never complete asecondary education or have the skills necessary to enterthe world of work or continue on with higher education.Studies by the Federal Reserve Bank of Minnesota revealthat the capacity for developmental skills begins in the firstfive years of life. This is the beginning point for a person'screativity, communication, team working, problem solving, and critical thinking skills. Thesestudies reflect that there is a great need for children to enter kindergarten prepared to learn.Unfortunately, too few young children today are in fact prepared with these tools.The Manufacturing Institute: www.themanufacturinginstitute.orgThis Washington, DC organization is affiliated with the National Association of Manufacturers,and is dedicated to improving and expanding manufacturing in the United States. Its programpriorities are: the development of a world-class manufacturing workforce; the growth of individualU.S. manufacturing companies; and the expansion of the manufacturing sector.“If education were a problem in manufacturing, we would fix it at the earliest source: EarlyChildhood. Early Childhood Development is recognized within the manufacturing community forthe significant contributions it makes to educational attainment leading to a more productiveworkforce and to the resulting long-term economic impact of these early investments.Recent studies show that reaching children beforekindergarten is essential to their lifetime success. Keyworkforce skills such as motivation, persistence and selfcontrolare developed early. Cognitive and non-cognitiveabilities are important for a productive workforce, and gapsthat emerge early are difficult to change. Meeting the workforce manufacturing and businessneeds of the future means meeting the educational needs of children today.”©

8The Business Roundtable: www.cvworkingfamilies.org/node/227The Business Roundtable is the bluest of blue chip business associations. It is comprised ofthe Chief Executive Officers of 160 leading U.S. companies with $6 trillion in annual revenuesand more than 14 million employees. Member companies comprise nearly a third of the totalvalue of the U.S. stock markets, and invest more than $150 billion annually in research anddevelopment, nearly half of all private U.S. R&D spending.“Over the past two decades, business leaders haveinvested time, expertise, and resources in efforts to improveK-12 education in the United States. What we have learnedleads us to conclude that America’s continuing efforts toimprove education and develop a world-class workforce willbe hampered without a commitment to early childhoodeducation for 3-4 year-old children. The economic and social costs to individuals, communities,and the nation of not taking action on early childhood education are far too great to ignore.”However the research is clear: the return on investment is linked to quality; simply increasingparticipation without ensuring program quality will not produce positive results. Successfulprograms will include:(1) Aligning the objectives of early education systems with states’ standards in the early grades;(2) Ensuring that teaching staffs possess the skills, knowledge, and attitudes to help youngchildren enter school prepared to succeed; (3) Supporting parents as their children’s first teachersand providing high-quality program options to parents who choose to enroll their children; (4)Embracing accountability for measurable results; (5) Building partnerships to finance, sustain,and improve the system.”The Crime Prevention Case for the Importance of Quality Early Education.Fight Crime: Invest in Kids: www.fightcrime.orgThis bipartisan organization is comprised of over 5,000 law enforcement leaders and crimesurvivors nationwide. It has called on Congress and state lawmakers to expand pre-kindergarten,one of the most effective strategies to increase graduation rates.“America faces a dropout crisis that poses a significant threat to public safety. Nationwide, anestimated three out of ten high school students fail to graduate from high school on time; and formany cities and minority populations, the numbers are much worse.High school dropouts are three and one-half times more likelythan high school graduates to be arrested, and more than eighttimes as likely to be incarcerated. Across the country, 68% ofstate prison inmates have not received a high school diploma.According to researchers, ten percentage point increases ingraduation rates have historically been shown to reduce murderand assault rates by approximately 20%. Increasing graduationrates by ten percentage points would prevent over 3,000murders and nearly 175,000 aggravated assaults in Americaeach year.Many efforts are underway nationwide to increase graduation rates, but the most tested andwidely adopted school reform shown to greatly increase graduation rates is high-quality prekindergarten.Evidence from two long-term evaluations of the effects of pre-kindergartenprograms show that participating in high-quality pre-kindergarten increases high schoolgraduation rates by as much as 44%.”©

9The Military Readiness Case for the Importance of Quality Early Education.Mission Readiness: www.missionreadiness.orgMission: Readiness is the nonprofit, bi-partisan organization led by senior retired military leadersworking to ensure continued American security and prosperity into the 21st century by calling forsmart investments in the next generation of American children.)“Competent, educated, and healthy young people are the future patriots tasked with defendingAmerica’s national security and prosperity. Today, over 72% of 17 to 24-year-olds do not meetthe basic minimum standards required for military service.A world-class military requires world-class health andeducation. The most effective long-term investment we canmake for a strong military is in the health and education ofthe American people. We must invest now in the nextgeneration to preserve our nation’s security, freedom, andopportunity. We call on all policymakers to ensure America’snational security by supporting interventions that will prepareyoung people for a life of military service and productivecitizenship; this includes fully funding early childhoodeducation programs…”Developing a Relevance Index.The sources discussed above are just several of the many organizations and agencies outside theeducation arena who have made the case for the relevance of quality early education to the future of thenation as well as of its youngest citizens. Look at the varying relevance values for quality early educationas marketing building blocks. Using them in this manner makes it possible to customize the message byassembling various value combinations to attract maximum attention from a target whose interests youhave been able to pre-determine.When you know what issues are relevant to the target, you can put the right combination of argumentstogether with the right emphasis and prepare it for delivery.Illustrative Marketing MatrixTarget Relevance Message(s) Messenger(s)1. Business Person #1 Economic, Right Thing for Kids Person A2. State Senator Crime Prevention, Economic, Patriotic Person B3. U.S. Congressman Patriotic, Economic, Military Readiness Persons C, D4. County Commissioner Right Thing for Kids and Community Persons D, E5. Business Organization Economic, Immediate Impact on Productivity Persons F, G, H6. Business Person #2 Economic, Crime Prevention Person E7. State Representative Right Thing for Kids, Local Economy Persons A, G8. Local Agency Director Measurable Returns Deserve Funding Support Persons I, J9. Agency Board Member Right Thing for Kids, Crime Prevention Person B10. Parent Right Thing for Your Child, Quality Matters Persons B, G, JEach of ten illustrative “individuals” above is a micro-market. While there are several areas in which thereis a common interest among them, the exact same mix is never duplicated. The degree to which a UnitedWay’s advocacy and marketing efforts can mirror that customization will directly impact that agency’sability to sustain and enhance its relevance.©

10The Relevance Value of Community Impact: “Donor” Undercuts It.United Ways have traditionally talked about “donors” and “givers” making“donations” and “gifts. Many people at all levels of the United Way movementstill use that language. Often, the terms are used interchangeably. Go to themajority of UW websites and you’ll find that terminology featured prominently.Simply stated, that is a mistake, and not a small one.There are certain times when asking for a donation is appropriate; i.e., a relieffund for tornado or hurricane victims. But in general, United Ways should not be looking for people towrite a check and walk away. Rather, what are needed are “investors” who expect the UW to define anon-going scope of work they are underwriting, the expected returns on their investment, and what actuallydoes or does not happen. The words “donor” and “investor” have significantly different implications. Andit is the “investor” mindset that is increasingly being held in today’s economic times and by thegenerations that are succeeding retiring Boomers in organizational hierarchies.There has been a consistent emphasis on the importance of making a real difference through the wiseinvestment of campaign funds, and then tracking what is happening as a result. There has, however,been no such consistency at the local level, as individual United Ways have moved with widely varyingdegrees of effort, enthusiasm and success to making community impact a reality.One reason for this has been that the emphasis on community impact has occurred at exactly the sametime that several major external factors are impacting the United Way itself. The individual and collectivedisruption of these forces coupled with the intrinsically disruptive nature of morphing from fundraiser tochange agent have often created an atmosphere of confusion, frustration, and even outright hostility insome parts of the country. Even now, a dozen years after the impact approach first surfaced, there arenumerous examples of United Way organizations that talk the community impact game, but don’t reallyplay it.With so many nonprofits competing for finite philanthropic dollars, United Ways must not simply separatethemselves from the pack, but drive home the value they provide that cannot be achieved elsewhere.The UW doesn’t just raise dollars; it analyzes the challenges in a community and underwrites programsthat can effectively address high priority needs.That is a distinction that must be emphasized at every opportunity. It is the primary answer to a questionthat often comes up: “Why should I give to a middleman like the United Way rather than directly to aprovider agency?”So it is ironic that United Ways can be their own worst enemyin this regard. When UW officials, materials and websitestalk about “donors” as they so often do, they are using thevocabulary of fundraising, not impact. Rather thandistinguishing themselves from the competition, they positiontheir agency as part of the crowd. In essence, they aresaying that they are a philanthropic commodity. And bydefinition, a commodity has no differentiating value.The true relevance of any United Way is not the amount ofdollars it collects, but the impact made in the community bythe effective investment and use of whatever dollars areobtained. Without an intense focus on treating those from whom you seek dollars as investors and usingthe resultant funds to make a measurable and substantial community difference, a United Way willbecome increasingly irrelevant in an era when relevance is everything.©