The United Way System at the Crossroads: Community Planning and Allocation

Abstract

United Way (UW) organizations have long portrayed themselves as performing three core functions for local communities: fund-raising, community planning, and fund-allocation. Contradictory forces increasingly threaten the ability of UW organizations to perform all of these core functions. Some remain hidden and unacknowledged for some period of time. Many UW systems face the same challenges: how to raise funds, address needs, and respond to diverse constituencies; how to manage conflicts with adjacent United Ways; and how to create and maintain internal consensus to address these challenges effectively. These are important questions for understanding how organizations relate to their environment and for understanding U.S. society. The scope of United Way systems is impressive and plays a key role both in shaping community perceptions of problems and as a major avenue through which the corporate sector takes an active role in local communities.