What unique responsibilities does United Way have to its stakeholders, and how successful has the organization been with its overall strategy? Is United Way’s mission still viable?

In 2017, United Way Worldwide remained America’s largest charity organization. However, the organization had experienced a decline in total funds received over the past few years. The total funds collected had dropped about 4 percent from the $3.71 billion received in 2016, yet there were still significant challenges faced by communities around the world, most importantly lack of education, unemployment, poor health care, and homelessness. What could be done about the continuing trend – reduction in giving, increase in need?

The United Way Case illustrates the problems that have been created due to a well-established business model, in a challenging environment, facing the possibility of declining growth and competition from new directions, all under the threat of eroding trust. This case shows how a mature brand, with a powerful and mostly honorable history, can still stumble. Since the year 2000, United Way had seemingly reached a plateau of fundraising in the United States. Certainly, there were options for growth but charitable donations still had not topped the inflation-adjusted increases of the 1998-1999 campaigns. In addition, veteran fund-raisers on all fronts were citing challenges such as competition for donations, difficulty recruiting and keeping volunteer staff, and a growing focus on large gifts from very wealthy individuals, which, when publicized, could reduce the motivation for smaller donors to contribute. The explosive growth of single-focus nonprofits since 9/11 meant more choices for donors who increasingly wanted a connection to a cause. Coupled with the well-publicized scandals in organizations, such as the Nature Conservancy, Red Cross, and United Way of America itself, trust was eroded, legitimacy of mission was questioned, and governance issues were at the top of the to-do lists of nonprofit CEO’s.

In this environment, Brian Gallagher, United Way of America CEO since 2002, had established membership standards to enhance the level of accountability and transparency in United Way affiliates’ operations, re-branded United Way as doing “what matters” in the communities it served, and updated the “standards of excellence.” These standards provided a description of best practices to better reflect the organization’s strategic shift. United Way had transitioned from its traditional role as strictly a fundraiser to a new mission focused on identifying and addressing the long-term needs of communities. These initiatives required that the United Way affiliates buy into the change effort, since the power of the parent organization was limited to removing the affiliate from United Way membership if it didn’t comply. It was imperative for a nonprofit organization to get the necessary support at the local level in order to achieve stated organizational goals. Was Gallagher’s shift in strategy sufficient to ensure the continued viability of the United Way, or was its very mission perhaps no longer relevant?