Accountability and the United Way

As you all know, I'm a big supporter of the United Way. Seeing as their name comes up any time that nonprofit scandals are mentioned (several of our readings this week were no exception), I decided to cruise over to their web site and see what they had to say about their standards of accountability. Brian Gallagher, the national president and CEO, had these thoughts on the matter....

The fact is, today’s increased expectations of nonprofit organizations by policymakers and the general public actually constitutes a positive development for our sector. Those organizations that deliver on these expectations will strengthen their reputations and increase their competitive standing. Those that fail to do so risk their very existence. The non-profit sector needs to become more market driven and more responsive to the needs of community investors, in addition to maintaining higher standards of accountability and transparency. Good intentions alone don’t merit good will.

Accordingly, United Way of America established new Standards of Excellence, a comprehensive description of aspirational benchmark standards and best practices that are designed to enhance the overall effectiveness of the 1,350 United Way affiliates. They reflect the organization’s fundamental shift from its traditional role as a “pass through” fund raising organization to working with community leaders to identify and address long-term societal needs and improve people’s lives.

The release of the Standards of Excellence follows the implementation of new, stringent membership requirements for financial reporting and accountability. For United Ways across the nation, these standards reaffirmed the values of transparency, accountability and disclosure through compliance with our robust membership accountability requirements. However, over the last three years, there have been more than 50 United Ways that could not meet one or more of our stringent standards and have been disaffiliated.

Today, the primary measure of the United Way’s success is no longer the fundraising thermometer, but rather how well we deliver on our mission to make measurable improvements in communities nationwide. Local United Ways throughout America will offer an accounting of their operations against this key metric and we look to our investors, volunteers, partners and society as a whole to hold us to this higher standard.

It would appear that Mr. Gallagher's vision for accountability and governance is working pretty well, as evident by the Snapshot of Resources for 2004-2005. However, while revenue is up in the majority of categories, their planned giving has dropped off by 30%. In contrast, "Leadership and Tocqueville giving continues to grow far faster than the overall campaign (124% for Leadership/Tocqueville vs. 15% for the campaign over the past decade)." If I read this right, it would appear that donors would much rather give money now (Tocqueville Society membership requires a $10,000+ annual contribution) than leave funds to the organization through their wills, estates, trusts, etc (I believe that's essentially what planned giving is - right, Richard?).

**EDIT**
While the United Way isn't using funds raised as their benchmark, the numbers on the report show that they've been pretty effective in their efforts to repair some of the damage done to their image by the scandals over the years. But should they be worried about the drop in planned giving? As Richard said, planned giving is usually donor-initiated, prompted by a long relationship with the organization. Do these numbers mean that the UW isn't doing enough to cultivate these long-term relationships? Or is it just that donors prefer to receive "instant gratification", as it were?

Thoughts?