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When United Way Ottawa unveiled its 2016 campaign goal last month, there wasn’t a dollar sign to be seen: The target of 60,300 wasn’t money to raise, it was lives to change.
According to United Way/Centraide Ottawa CEO Michael Allen, “lives changed” is a better way of measuring the impact of philanthropy, of showing donors how their money is making a difference.
But it also hides a hard truth. In the last five years, donations to United Way are down 18 per cent, from $34.9 million in 2011-12 to $28.4 million in last year’s campaign. Gone are the days when United Way aimed high and regularly surpassed its annual campaign goal. In an age when people can donate with the click of a mouse and when registered charities compete with online Kickstarter and GoFundMe campaigns, United Way’s advantage of a convenient, payroll deduction “I gave at the office” charity is gone for good.
“The problem for us is that we were kind of a one-trick pony,” Allen said. “We had this workplace channel and we weren’t really good at other forms of fundraising. Particularly as the marketplace was changing, we weren’t reacting very well.”
In 2012, United Way changed how it funded organizations, concentrating on three general themes: “All that kids can be”; “Poverty to possibility”; and “Healthy people, strong communities.” That meant cutting off some organizations it had long supported, which led to some very public complaints and controversies.
In 2013, it stopped including the amount of “designated” donations in its campaign goal, money that donors specify is for a particular cause or organization. United Way acts as a middleman for those donations (and takes a 15-per-cent cut to cover its own costs). “Designated” donations typically account for about 40 per cent of the total money raised.
Instead, United Way touted the money it was given directly, money it could distribute on its own in a way best suited for its three priorities. Allen argues that money — $16.6 million in 2015-16 — is a better measure of what United Way contributes to the community.
Even so, he acknowledges United Way has seen “a gradual – but not insignificant – erosion of our overall revenues.”
Nor is United Way Ottawa alone, says Bruce MacDonald, CEO of Imagine Canada, a national organization that supports Canadian charities and philanthropy.
“The advent of digital technology has been transformational for the sector,” MacDonald said.
“It’s interesting that in a society that has unprecedented demands for charitable institutions to be accountable, people will go on to a Kickstarter or a GoFundMe campaign and make a contribution with absolutely no guarantee that the dollars are being used for the purpose that they were given,” MacDonald said.
But MacDonald doesn’t criticize those informal campaigns. Giving $20 feels good either way, whether it’s to a registered charity or an online appeal.
“If people decide to help their neighbour or even someone they don’t even know, I still think that’s good for society,” MacDonald said. “The act of giving is important as a Canadian value.”
By focusing its spending, Allen says United Way can do a better job “telling stories” about the work it does. He cites a young woman who benefitted from United Way’s $50,000 investment in SWAG — Students Will All Graduate — in the Carlington neighbourhood where the high school graduation rate hovers around 40 per cent.
“So we see this young woman, who faced those odds but had support from her family and support from her community through the United Way. That’s the sort of story-telling impact that represents the new business model for the United Way. What we now promise donors is that we will invest those dollars for impact and we will report back to you on the results.”
Still, United Way has its critics. Some see it as bloated and corporate — a Mad Men-era organization when other workplaces are being disrupted by change. Its registration with Canada Revenue Agency shows it has 89 full-time and 29 part-time employees, five of whom make more than $120,000 a year. Allen’s own pay is between $200,000 and $249,000, more than Ottawa’s mayor and comparable to the director of the public school board who overseas an $860-million budget, 9,000 staff and 70,000 students.
In a searing letter to the Citizen, the former head of the Canada Safety Council, Emile Thérien, blasted United Way for having “lost its way,” dismissing it as “just another bloated, elitist, unaccountable registered charity.”
“People have lost confidence in it. People are finding other places to give to now,” says Thérien, who says he and his wife give directly to the Salvation Army and the Shepherds of Good Hope.
Imagine Canada’s Bruce MacDonald cautions against measuring a charity strictly on its administration cost, which hovers around eight per cent for United Way Ottawa, according to its CRA filings.
“Think about the causes you care about and what is required of those organizations to make the difference you expect,” MacDonald said. “If you see kids that don’t have shoes, you can spend $20 to get them shoes and that covers your needs. On the other hand, if you want to help someone you see lying on the street, that’s a more expensive intervention. They might require mental health treatment, addictions counselling, job retraining, food, clothes, shelter … Just simply asking how much your spend on administration is not a reasonable measure of the worth of their organization.”
Allan knows United Way faces many challenges. Payroll deductions becomes more difficult as workplaces downsize. The federal public service, the backbone of the Ottawa campaign, is coming off a decade of downsizing under the former Conservative government. The impact on this year’s campaign of the government’s Phoenix payroll fiasco is yet to be known.
“No one has their head buried in the sand about the (Phoenix) challenge, but we’re addressing it with as much sensitivity and strategy as we can to manage the challenge,” he said.
Despite the criticisms, United Way remains essential for more than 100 agencies and services: from the Boys and Girls Club of Ottawa which, at more than $500,000, is the single biggest recipient of United Way largesse, to lower profile charities like Youville Centre.
At its Mann Avenue location, Youville Centre provides support for young mothers, aged 14 to 21, as well as addiction counselling. It relies heavily on its $64,000 of United Way funding.
“Youville Centre is not a household word,” said executive director Cindy Simpson. “I think that’s the important thing that’s lost when we’re all doing our own fundraising campaign. We’re not going to be successful on our own. The amount of effort I’d have to put in to raise $64,000? I don’t have that staff capacity to carry that off,” Simpson said.
“We see 80 moms in a year. Look at the impact of changing the trajectory of those 80 moms’ lives. And then you look at the impact that has on those 80 moms’ children and the impact of substance use and maternal depression on a child’s life? This is a real investment in the future of those babies … We wouldn’t be doing it without United Way.”
bcrawford@postmedia.com
Twitter.com/getBAC
查看原文...
According to United Way/Centraide Ottawa CEO Michael Allen, “lives changed” is a better way of measuring the impact of philanthropy, of showing donors how their money is making a difference.
But it also hides a hard truth. In the last five years, donations to United Way are down 18 per cent, from $34.9 million in 2011-12 to $28.4 million in last year’s campaign. Gone are the days when United Way aimed high and regularly surpassed its annual campaign goal. In an age when people can donate with the click of a mouse and when registered charities compete with online Kickstarter and GoFundMe campaigns, United Way’s advantage of a convenient, payroll deduction “I gave at the office” charity is gone for good.
“The problem for us is that we were kind of a one-trick pony,” Allen said. “We had this workplace channel and we weren’t really good at other forms of fundraising. Particularly as the marketplace was changing, we weren’t reacting very well.”
In 2012, United Way changed how it funded organizations, concentrating on three general themes: “All that kids can be”; “Poverty to possibility”; and “Healthy people, strong communities.” That meant cutting off some organizations it had long supported, which led to some very public complaints and controversies.
In 2013, it stopped including the amount of “designated” donations in its campaign goal, money that donors specify is for a particular cause or organization. United Way acts as a middleman for those donations (and takes a 15-per-cent cut to cover its own costs). “Designated” donations typically account for about 40 per cent of the total money raised.
Instead, United Way touted the money it was given directly, money it could distribute on its own in a way best suited for its three priorities. Allen argues that money — $16.6 million in 2015-16 — is a better measure of what United Way contributes to the community.
Even so, he acknowledges United Way has seen “a gradual – but not insignificant – erosion of our overall revenues.”
Nor is United Way Ottawa alone, says Bruce MacDonald, CEO of Imagine Canada, a national organization that supports Canadian charities and philanthropy.
“The advent of digital technology has been transformational for the sector,” MacDonald said.
“It’s interesting that in a society that has unprecedented demands for charitable institutions to be accountable, people will go on to a Kickstarter or a GoFundMe campaign and make a contribution with absolutely no guarantee that the dollars are being used for the purpose that they were given,” MacDonald said.
But MacDonald doesn’t criticize those informal campaigns. Giving $20 feels good either way, whether it’s to a registered charity or an online appeal.
“If people decide to help their neighbour or even someone they don’t even know, I still think that’s good for society,” MacDonald said. “The act of giving is important as a Canadian value.”
By focusing its spending, Allen says United Way can do a better job “telling stories” about the work it does. He cites a young woman who benefitted from United Way’s $50,000 investment in SWAG — Students Will All Graduate — in the Carlington neighbourhood where the high school graduation rate hovers around 40 per cent.
“So we see this young woman, who faced those odds but had support from her family and support from her community through the United Way. That’s the sort of story-telling impact that represents the new business model for the United Way. What we now promise donors is that we will invest those dollars for impact and we will report back to you on the results.”
Still, United Way has its critics. Some see it as bloated and corporate — a Mad Men-era organization when other workplaces are being disrupted by change. Its registration with Canada Revenue Agency shows it has 89 full-time and 29 part-time employees, five of whom make more than $120,000 a year. Allen’s own pay is between $200,000 and $249,000, more than Ottawa’s mayor and comparable to the director of the public school board who overseas an $860-million budget, 9,000 staff and 70,000 students.
In a searing letter to the Citizen, the former head of the Canada Safety Council, Emile Thérien, blasted United Way for having “lost its way,” dismissing it as “just another bloated, elitist, unaccountable registered charity.”
“People have lost confidence in it. People are finding other places to give to now,” says Thérien, who says he and his wife give directly to the Salvation Army and the Shepherds of Good Hope.
Imagine Canada’s Bruce MacDonald cautions against measuring a charity strictly on its administration cost, which hovers around eight per cent for United Way Ottawa, according to its CRA filings.
“Think about the causes you care about and what is required of those organizations to make the difference you expect,” MacDonald said. “If you see kids that don’t have shoes, you can spend $20 to get them shoes and that covers your needs. On the other hand, if you want to help someone you see lying on the street, that’s a more expensive intervention. They might require mental health treatment, addictions counselling, job retraining, food, clothes, shelter … Just simply asking how much your spend on administration is not a reasonable measure of the worth of their organization.”
Allan knows United Way faces many challenges. Payroll deductions becomes more difficult as workplaces downsize. The federal public service, the backbone of the Ottawa campaign, is coming off a decade of downsizing under the former Conservative government. The impact on this year’s campaign of the government’s Phoenix payroll fiasco is yet to be known.
“No one has their head buried in the sand about the (Phoenix) challenge, but we’re addressing it with as much sensitivity and strategy as we can to manage the challenge,” he said.
Despite the criticisms, United Way remains essential for more than 100 agencies and services: from the Boys and Girls Club of Ottawa which, at more than $500,000, is the single biggest recipient of United Way largesse, to lower profile charities like Youville Centre.
At its Mann Avenue location, Youville Centre provides support for young mothers, aged 14 to 21, as well as addiction counselling. It relies heavily on its $64,000 of United Way funding.
“Youville Centre is not a household word,” said executive director Cindy Simpson. “I think that’s the important thing that’s lost when we’re all doing our own fundraising campaign. We’re not going to be successful on our own. The amount of effort I’d have to put in to raise $64,000? I don’t have that staff capacity to carry that off,” Simpson said.
“We see 80 moms in a year. Look at the impact of changing the trajectory of those 80 moms’ lives. And then you look at the impact that has on those 80 moms’ children and the impact of substance use and maternal depression on a child’s life? This is a real investment in the future of those babies … We wouldn’t be doing it without United Way.”
bcrawford@postmedia.com
Twitter.com/getBAC
查看原文...
