Share
Charlotte's two biggest workplace giving campaigns are struggling, and the immediate reasons seem obvious: a once-in-a-lifetime recession, the banking crisis and a CEO pay controversy that dented public confidence in the United Way of Central Carolinas.
But leaders in philanthropic circles say it's not that simple.
"We don't have the full picture of why giving has gone down to the extent it has," said Michael Marsicano, head of the Foundation for the Carolinas. "Some of the shifts were starting before the down economy and the controversies."
The foundation has joined the United Way and the Arts & Science Council in creating a task force to look for answers. The 12-member group is scouring the country, looking at other cities' workplace giving campaigns for telling trends or new ideas.
They came up with the idea last winter, as they raced to rescue homeless shelters and other charities hobbled by the economic downturn and skyrocketing need.
As leaders hammered out a $2.7 million rescue fund, they noticed the broader challenges facing the annual fundraising campaigns. The campaigns are critical, they say, because human-service charities and arts groups depend on the annual drives to supply huge chunks of their operating budgets.
The United Way, in the midst of its annual workplace campaign, is having another rough year. It says contributions to local charities are running almost 20 percent behind last year's troubled effort. Without more help, executive director Jane McIntyre has said, the agency could be forced to make more budget cuts for the 90-plus groups it supports.
The ASC, which runs the city's other major workplace campaign, saw its donations drop 37 percent last year.
One big issue the task force is studying: the question of how United Ways can thrive in an age when employees increasingly want to send their dollars to agencies beyond the United Way's orbit.
Traditionally, United Ways have preferred gifts to come without strings, allowing them to analyze community needs and shift money among programs as necessary.
But increasingly, donors want to choose for themselves. United Ways in Charlotte and other cities often let employers decide. Such choices carry big impact.
Last year, United Way's campaign raised $31 million. But nearly $6 million was designated by local donors to nonprofits outside the United Way network; $4 million in designations bypassed the agency entirely.
More change is afoot this year. Wells Fargo, with some 19,500 Charlotte-area employees, has joined the ranks of corporations allowing an "open" campaign with broader choices. Carolinas HealthCare System once held a United Way-only drive, but now includes the ASC and the Children's Miracle Network.
And Mecklenburg County government has said it will add non-United Way charities to its 2010 fundraising drive.
"These are trends that have been coming for a while, and they've accelerated," said Bart Landess, a senior vice president with the Foundation for the Carolinas.
Task force members have studied campaigns in 10 to 12 cities, including Atlanta, Minneapolis, Seattle and Orlando. They've noticed, for instance, that Seattle has heavy donor-designated giving while the opposite is true in Minneapolis, where about 80 percent of dollars are given to the United Way without restrictions.
Task force officials wonder: Is the United Way in Minneapolis benefitting because many corporations there haven't opened their campaigns? Or is it that the United Way there has marketed itself so well that donors pick it above other options?
Both, said Andy Goldman-Gray, senior vice president of marketing at the Greater Twin Cities United Way. Few companies have opened their campaigns, he said, and the agency also takes a "donor-centric" marketing approach by researching donors' favorite causes and tailoring communications to emphasize work in those areas.
"People feel less need to pick a specific agency," he said, "because they see the value of what we are doing."
McIntyre, the United Way director in Charlotte, said workplace giving campaigns can help define a company's philanthropic role in the community.
"Some companies believe it is very important for their employees to understand the community, the needs in the community, and to impact change," she said. "And there are others that that might not be as important in their culture."
Scott Provancher, head of the ASC, said the local workplace giving campaigns have proven highly successful over the years. He hopes the task force can find helpful new ideas, but he believes the recession and banking crisis should take much of the blame for the recent downturn in giving.
He's cautiously optimistic as he prepares to launch the ASC's campaign in January.
"There's a lot of uncertainty out there," he said. But "I think as the economy improves and people feel more stable in their personal lives, we will have more opportunities to have conversations (about giving) with them."
