Egan: United Way predicament means raising $30M leaves it short of $21M goal

The focus now, says United Way Ottawa president Michael Allen, is to alert donors about all the good work United Way is doing with its partner agencies.

For years now, the United Way has given donors the option of sending money to any registered charity in Canada.

This includes, of course, the 80,000 or so charities outside the United Way umbrella, including groups that have little to do with social welfare, or little do with Ottawa, period.

Donors, evidently, have gobbled up the expanded menu.

In 2012-13, local donors designated more than 4,000 charities to receive their funds, mostly through payroll deduction. The role of the United Way here is to act as a collector and “flow-through” organization, for which it takes a 15-per-cent cut.

The list of outside charities is as predictable as it is eclectic. The Ottawa Humane Society, for instance, received $427,872, the highest among many animal welfare organizations. The Bytown Association For Rescued Kanines (B.A.R.K.) was sent $29,581; Friends of Abandoned Pets earned $20,719; while Ottawa Therapy Dogs donations totalled $20,305.

There are many churches on the list, from Blessed Sacrament Parish ($6,567) to Christ Church Cathedral ($8,891) to the Mosque of Aylmer ($5,950). There are environmental groups (Ecojustice Canada $5,133), native support agencies (Odawa Native Friendship Centre $14,884), schools (Woodroffe Elementary $7,251), youth (Kids Help Phone $7,529) and senior organizations (Good Companions $12,690).

And doesn’t it add up? Last year, $13.23 million was directed outside the United Way, about 43 per cent of the total $30.6 million raised. Yet, in 1997, only about 11 per cent of the funds were directed by donors. So, the trend is there.

Which leads us to an important talking point.

Two weeks ago, United Way Ottawa announced it had raised $16.7 million for its own programs in this year’s campaign. While laudable, this is about $4 million short of the goal.

Obvious question: Is the United Way, in effect, helping direct money away from itself? And is this not contrary to its original mission, which was to aggregate fundraising, then divide the total to those inside the tent of public good?

United Way Ottawa president Michael Allen does not see things this way. He provided some history to help explain.

When it was born, the United Way was only a joint fundraiser for a number of worthy groups, combining multiple fundraising begs into one “ask”, with the funds sensibly divided.

Prior to 1997, the federal government ran United Way-focused campaigns within its workplaces. This was changed to give employees more options, especially to support national health organizations, such as the Canadian Cancer Society.

“The importance of that difference,” said Allen, “is that we are no longer allowed to talk about United Way’s work distinctly from the opportunity of donors to give to any Canadian registered charities.”

So, over time, the share of funds directed away from the United Way within the federal public service has grown to just over 40 per cent.

In the “official” United Way campaign, however, the agency still garners some 80 per cent of all dollars.

The focus now, says Allen, is to alert donors about all the good work United Way is doing with its partner agencies. Instead of just doling out money to member agencies — a term and model it dropped in 2002 — the organization now targets sectors or areas of “community impact,” he said.

“Up until this year, we were content with aggregating our revenue, but as we moved to this community-impact model, we were not doing a good job communicating to our donor base about the work we were doing.”

The United Way is certainly alive to the idea that it has been given “privileged” access to workplaces, said Allen, to create momentum during a prescribed giving season.

As a trade-off, it has to let the money flow wherever donors see fit.

“There aren’t a lot of other organizations out there, certainly no other charity that I know of, that raise money for 80,000 charities.”

Indeed, the United Way of the 1980s experienced what can happen when the roster of charities is narrow or possibly politicized. Recall the anger — even calls for boycott — because Planned Parenthood was supported with United Way funds. Anti-abortionists were upset. Little wonder the playing field is now wide open, with United Way making no value judgment about the directed-dollar destination.

The whole thing, frankly, is confused by the United Way’s role as third-party collector.

To wit: Its goal was $21 million in this campaign, it tells people it raised $30 million, yet it warns of a $4-million shortfall that will hurt social service delivery in the city.

To be charitable, the message is a little mixed up.

To contact Kelly Egan, please call 613-726-5896 or email kegan@ottawacitizen.com

Twitter.com/kellyegancolumn

Top charities chosen for directed donations in United Way campaign, 2012-13 (excluding money sent to United Ways in other cities)

1. Healthpartners Fund:  $5 million
2. Catholic Education Foundation of Ottawa: $433,680
3. Ottawa Humane Society: $427,872
4. Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario Hospital/Foundation: $287,531
5. Ottawa Hospital and Foundation: $144,142
6. Ottawa Food Bank: $136,585

Other notables:
Children’s Aid Society Foundation: $8,476
Country Cat Sanctuary: $6,589
The David Suzuki Foundation: $17,590
Immigrant Women Services Ottawa: $5,808
Shepherds of Good Hope: $99,387