Posted on 07/08/2004 1:57:25 PM PDT by RonF
It was the same when I worked at one of the top name brokerage firms. I heard that certain managers were getting some type of kickback or "bonus" based on the amounts that their departments were donating to the U.W. via the employee paychecks.
I won't donate even a penny to them now.
Why on Earth would you give through the United Way? They are not required to allocate your donation in accordance with your wished. They issue grants according to their own guidelines, not based on the allocations of donations. They could de-fund your local Boy Scouts at any time.
If you want to donate, write one check straight to the Boy Scouts and another check to the American Cancer Society or whoever. Get the United Way middleman out of the picture altogether.
Wrong. You think nobody from the Philly area designated the Boy Scouts last year? And yet the Boy Scouts get nothing from the United Way. Where did the money go?
you can't be FORCED to donate. This a tax.
(it also is a means of kickback. Take 1 million from empoloyees but only donate 1/2 million. OR at the very least put the money in escrow and keep the interest before the annual donation check gets written.)
And yet, the United Way cut out the Boy Scouts in Philadelphia this year. How is this possible?
The way it is possible is that the United Way is under no obligation to allocate money based on the direction of the donors. They can do what they want with the money.
Been doing that since before Aramony. Find a couple or so you like, donate straight to them. All UW does is hang on to some of the money, and then give what's left to whatever the hell they want. Little more trouble, but I KNOW where my money goes. By the way, sometimes your time is worth more the money you can afford. If you can donate time and keep the rare charity which actually has no payroll overhead from having it, that means more money goes to the intended recipients.
Years ago, I had a boss who treasured his "100% participation award", but I kept saying no to United Way. He finally asked me if he put in a dollar, would I sign off on it. I am nowadays ashamed to admit I did that.
I don't give to the United Way and I never will.
And when the United Way zeroes out a certain charity, that charity gets nothing, no matter how many people designate it. This is what they have done to the Boy Scouts. The check-off boxes on the donation form are a marketing scam, nothing more. They have no legal bearing on where your money goes.
Why not donate DIRECTLY to the BSA? They will get more money without the waste from the overhead expenses at the UW
I think those of you who have donated to UW before should tell them no more donations and tell them why. Then send the money directly to BSofA.
Our company places a LOT of pressure on everyone so we (the company) get 100% UW participation. I make my check out to the Sam Houston Council, BSA, and turn it in. (UW is not on the check anywhere.) Every check has come back endorsed by the BSA. Of course, I am in Houston, TX so maybe the UW rules here are more lax than other places. (I also refuse to buy, or wear anything from Levi Strauss for the same reason.)
That's not going to happen. The current Council is an amalgam of the old Philadelphia (city) and Valley Forge (suburban) Councils. The mentality of the two is completely different. There is some movement from the city contingent to move in the direction the UW is pointing, but I can guaran-damn-tee you there won't be a lot of motion from the old Valley Forge folks. Are there people in the organization 'playing for the other team'? Yes there are. However, they have the good sense and the common decency to keep their private business away from Scouting business.
As to the HQ building on the Parkway alluded to in the article, the city should just take it back. The PR would be a disaster for them, and the Council would save a crapload of money!! The building is extremely expensive to run and, in my opinion, not worth holding on to if the city wants to whine about it. There's a building just outside Valley Forge Park where most of the work takes place anyway. The Philly building is definitely expendable.
Sorry for ranting. The UW just plain sucks and that's all there is to it. As another poster said, if you want to support Scouting, give your money directly, or, better yet, volunteer.
Avoid the United Way.
As an Eagle Scout...I quit giving to UW 4 years ago and just send a check to the Boy Scouts...The company I work for gets up tight when I tell them no payroll deduction for this guy...last year I got called to the bosses office...he said a few others have joined my cause and they would like me to quit "talking" ...I just walked out...haven't stop talking about it since!
"...I designate half my United Way to the Boy Scouts and half to the Girl Scouts..."
- - -
Let me tell you how that works.
At the beginning of the season the UW designates percents of that season's
projected donation pie to go to each of the charity organizations they support.
They designate x% for Charity A; y% for Charity B; z% for Charity C; and so on.
When you 'direct' your donation to one of these rganizations,
it does not 'increase' their share of the pie.
The amount you direct to BSA is simply tallied up as
part of the x% they would have gotten anyway
(minus UW's administrative skim off the top).
Cash is fungible.
Thanks for the ping.
Good! It's really criminal the pressure that big businesses put on their employees to donate to the United Way and I'm just glad my boss backed me. Otherwise I was leaving and I adored my job.
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