ups and united way

[over9five]

"God says to give 10%"

Really? God says this? Did he tell you directly? Because I never read that in the Bible. Could you point us to the book and chapter?

 

[dannyboy]

Tie

I dont have a problem with it. They save the individual groups from having to have people in the organization from spending all of their time fundraising. And at the rate of 10-18%, they are some of the lowest in the fund raising arena. That in itself is a great accomplishment.

But if you want to give to a certain party, the only way for them to have 100% of your money is to give to them directly. Otherwise they only get 82-90% of what you gave, not like Dawg posted.

d

(Message edited by dannyboy on September 01, 2005)

 

[Brownnblue]

UPS allowed me to work for United Way for 3 months as a loaned executive. I did not have to report to anyone but United Way for the 3 months. I saw FIRSTHAND what United Way did for people in our community. I met and talked to the people who distributed and monitored the funds that were collected. I can also say there were no kickbacks or incentives paid back to anyone and any talk of this is pure B--- S---! This boycott does only 2 things. First and foremost, it hurts the needy and the communities that YOU live in! Secondly, it creates a reason to not give to anyone and walk away feeling you were justified. There are union people who get help from United Way agencies every day. Are you saying your beef with UPS is worth punishing them??? By all means attack the issue of hours and overtime! Just don't punish those who need our help and charities that help make that possible. I will get off my soap box now - I prefer to read and enjoy the conversations - this one just makes my blood boil.

Just a question, I have always designated my United Way contribution to a specific personal agency. I have always requested some kind of reciept to show that my money actually went there, but have never received one. Is there any way this can be done?

 

[pauliep1_98]

I left Big Brown in 1998 after 22 entertaining years. I could never figure out the whole United Way thing. Than again, there were alot of things that I could never figure out.

 

[scratch]

Brownnblue,

When you chose the particular charity that you want your money to go to, that charity should acknowledge your gift. I always get a Thank You Card from the local Boy Scout Council. I am a volunteer Program Director at a local camp and the proud father of two Eagle Scouts. I urge all of you to go out and find some charity that means something to you and volunteer. When you have someone come up to you and tell you that you have made a difference in their life, that is one of life's greatest rewards.

 

[wkmac]

I too always get thank you and confirmation of amout letters from the organizations I designate. It might be the agencies you choose don't follow this practice but I'm surprised they don't.

 

[Retired 2016]

I give directly to the organization. As a Boy Scout executive told me that prevents United Way from skimming off 20% (10% to run the campaign and 10% for overhead). The exec also told me that unless the designated gifts were greater than the allocation the Boy Scouts received, the Boy Scouts would not receive one dime more than the allocation. He told me that in the history of our local united way no organization has ever received deisgnated gifts greater than their allocation.

 

[scratch]

Dave Reed,

Your post is 100% correct. I quit giving to the United Way at work last year because I agree that it is better to give straight to the charity so they get every cent. The United Way is a great organization that does a lot of good for people. But I have done volunteer work for the Red Cross, built Habitat Homes, The Foundation Fighting Blindness, a local Food Pantry, worked soup kitchens feeding the homeless, and a couple of others besides what I do for the Boy Scouts. I also support about thirty missions that my chuch is involved with. My point is, your dollar goes a lot further when you give it straight to the charity instead of it being wasted by someone else deciding who gets what. And all these charities need volunteers, and I urge all of you to find one and make a difference to someone.

 

[dannyboy]

Dave

you and he are correct. For example, the Boy Scouts are to receive a $10,000 allocation from the united way. IF they raise the goal, the boy scouts will get the full $10,000.

Now say you wanted to be really generous and donate $500 a month to the united way for the boy scouts. That is $6000. Off the top comes 20%, or $1,200. The Boy Scouts get $10,000, and a note from them that you donated directly for them. They do not get any more or less than the allocation. Ever, unless the fund raising goes far beyond the goal, and the allocations are raised.

So you see, it is somewhat of a deception to say that if you allocate to a certain organization through the united way, 100% of your donation will go to that organization. Because it doesn't. But id does make a lot of people feel better if they think they are giving money to one cause and 100% of the money goes there that they have given.

if you really wanted to help the organization, you should give to them directly. That way, they would get your full $6,000, plus they would also get the $10,000 they are allocated from the United Way for a total of $16,000.

Yeah yeah yeah, i know, some of the worth while programs will not get funded if you don't give. That is another subject, and not the focus of this thread.

As I said in an earlier post, the United Way serves a valuable service. And for those that would not give on their own, they do encourage giving to worth while causes. But as a practical matter, it costs them money to raise money, therefor you pay for that off the top of your donation.

SK, you are to be commended. It is that volunteer spirit that made this country, and if we saw more of it, the government would be close to going out of business. In ever case i know of, the more you give of yourself, the bigger the blessings you receive in return. It very well might not be a money blessing, but then there are so many blessings that you could never put a $$ figure to.

Y'all know what I mean!

d

 

[tieguy]

Dave Reed,

Your post is 100% correct. I quit giving to the United Way at work last year because I agree that it is better to give straight to the charity so they get every cent. The United Way is a great organization that does a lot of good for people. But I have done volunteer work for the Red Cross, built Habitat Homes, The Foundation Fighting Blindness, a local Food Pantry, worked soup kitchens feeding the homeless, and a couple of others besides what I do for the Boy Scouts. I also support about thirty missions that my chuch is involved with. My point is, your dollar goes a lot further when you give it straight to the charity instead of it being wasted by someone else deciding who gets what. And all these charities need volunteers, and I urge all of you to find one and make a difference to someone.

The only rebuttal I have to that is to think what you have at your favorite organization without a united way. As you get familar with that organization look at how much of their resources they dedicate towards fund raising. If they were not supported by united way they probably would have to dedicate much more of their resources towards fund raising. Nothing is free. without a united way leverage corporate donations for these organizations they would have to spend much more time soliciting funds to survive. Thats the part the united way directly impacts.It's worthwhile because the united way are professionals at collecting these dollars. If each organization had to rely soley on their own collection skills some would do very well and others would not.

 

[wkmac]

The only rebuttal I have to that is to think what you have at your favorite organization without a united way. As you get familar with that organization look at how much of their resources they dedicate towards fund raising. If they were not supported by united way they probably would have to dedicate much more of their resources towards fund raising. Nothing is free. without a united way leverage corporate donations for these organizations they would have to spend much more time soliciting funds to survive. Thats the part the united way directly impacts.It's worthwhile because the united way are professionals at collecting these dollars. If each organization had to rely soley on their own collection skills some would do very well and others would not.

You make a good point tie but IMO if a person designates an amount to an organization and after the adminstration fees come out, that charity should still recieve that designated amount no matter if local goals had been met concerning said agency with United Way. That's JMO.

 

[dannyboy]

Tie

you do rais a very valid point. Instead of just having the united way coming by once a year, you would have upwards of 100 different agencies asking for your time and money. There are very valid points to both sides. But I think that some of the untruths that are linked to the United Way might just be some of the reasons that are underlying some of the issues raised on this thread.

d