Do you donate to United Way?

[LynneSin]

I almost was going to cancel my UW donations totally because I really need the cash but I had a thank you card from AIDS/Delaware, which is one of the groups I had donated to each year. So this year the only group I'm donating to is AIDS/Delaware. Figured they could use the money if they remembered to actually send me a thank you card (never heard from the other 3).

Anyone else donate thru United Way.

[JVS]

1. Fuck no!

[Rabrrrrrr]

2. I don't, because I think they're a stupid organization - but, they have changed,

and so I don't despise them as much any more.

Used to be they kept the money, used 15% or more of it for administration, and then doled out the rest as they saw fit.

But sometime in the late 90s (seems to me, anyway, about then) they decided instead to be a clearinghouse, and let people use their donations to go to any cause they want, and ALL the money would go to those causes, with United Way keeping none of it for their own use.

I like that much better than their old way. It's a good deal if one has an employer that can deduct automatic payments to United Way.

My employer doesn't, since I'm self-employed, so I just send money directly to my causes.

[MrCoffee]

3. No way, I just write checks to LVA, the ACLU, and some environmental yahoos

I don't want to pay the United Way's admin costs, and their rules for who is worthy of funding suck ass.

[Dyedinthewoolliberal]

4. Always

I even had a chance to work as a campaign representative for them, twice. I learned a lot about the operation and how they do things. There is a lot of mis-information out there about the UW. Best thing is it's controlled locally. All decisions on where the money goes comes from a committee of local citizens, not United Way employees,
That story of the guy misusing money was at the national office of the UW is an example. All the local ones pay a small fee to be part of the UW, advertising etc,. That guy also went to jail and had to pay the money back.......

[Deep13]

5. No, Physicians without Borders. nt

[livetohike]

6. No. Ever since they pulled their money from supporting Planned

Parenthood (20 years ago at least). I will never donate another dime to them.

[LynneSin]

10. Are you sure? Planned Parenthood of DE was one of the other groups I would give to

and they're still on the list. Just hurting for cash so I'm not giving to them this year

[livetohike]

15. I was working in Los Angeles at the time (1986 or 87) when United

Way pulled out. Maybe it was just in L.A. :shrug:, but after that I decided I would never donate to them again.

[av8rdave]

7. Yes.

[flvegan]

8. No. I have other charities that I do support

including my own.

[vard28]

9. They push it at work

but I just donate directly.

[Parche]

11. No

I only donate to the Heineken Way

:hi:

[BlancheSplanchnik]

12. NO! Used to be, Birthright was on their list of default donees.

Donate to UW, you were automatically giving to the christofascists--''WE control women's lives'' people.

Donees. Is that a word? *duhhh*** haha

anyway, I think they might have changed, but used to be, you couldn't donate to Planned Parenthood except by specific choice, which then restricted you to only one donee. I didn't like that.

and I don't like the little vaudeville show we're required to watch during UW campaign time. Yecch. High pressure selling techniques, no matter how slickly packaged, turn me off.

[Heidi]

13. I was a United Way fundraising chairman for two years in a Midwestern community,

but I later stopped supporting UW* because they funded Boy Scouts, which at that time was (and maybe still is, I dunno) going through the whole "No gay troop leaders" thing because it seemed to me that the Boy Scouts of America organization was implying that gay troop leaders were somehow a danger to children. So I began donating directly to concerns and projects whose policies and work I could support with my whole heart and my whole dollar.

*I know for a fact that UW supports some worthwhile agencies, but the "No gay troop leaders," and the subsequent Supreme Court affirmation of the policy, was a dealbreaker for me.

[SoxFan]

14. No

Bloated, cliquey, too close to the people who are more concerned with congratulating themsselves at cocktail parties than doing the scut work.

[mwooldri]

16. Not since our workplace stopped supporting them directly.

We used to have a United Way fundraiser, with the promise we could direct money to a charity that participates with them. Then from what I remember, things got a bit "religious" and our company has a strict "no donate to religion" rule. So they got together with a private company that operates as a clearinghouse for to direct funds to a charity of ones own choice. They still promoted United Way as a charity choice though.

[kath]

17. We choose our own charities to donate to - the list keeps growing and growing.

Doctors Without Borders, Habitat for Humanity, The Carter Center, CARE, Interplast, America's Second Harvest, Colonial Williamsburg, local public TV station.
We also give to Planned Parenthood, also donate used books, clothing, furniture, etc to Goodwill, Habitat, and a local charity that helps the poor.

Will add in the Southern Poverty Law Center this year, because I KNOW that all the hate groups will be going absofuckinlutely batshit crazy (even more than their usual batshit crazy). Also like to support the separation of church and state groups such as PFAW and Americans United for Separation of Church and State, but I think our memberships may have lapsed.

[Metta]

18. No, the local head was convicted of embezzeling big bucks.

nt.

[hamsterjill]

19. No, because of former employer

Many years ago, I worked for a company that almost "forced" participation in their plan for donating a portion of your paycheck to United Way. They wanted 100% participation to get some plaque for the owner of the business.

At age 23, I was the LONE standout who refused to do this. In addition, I found out that the employee's donations were deducted weekly from their paychecks, but the donations to United Way were only made once per month to lessen the accounting work. And although that makes good business sense, I suppose, this was a very large company and I'm sure that somewhere, somehow, some interest was made on that money for those three weeks that it sat in a company account, and I doubt that the interest went to United Way.

After a few people saw me refusing to donate that way, some, but not many, opted out, as well. This experience left a bad taste in my mouth about United Way, even though it wasn't particularly the fault of that organization, but was the fault of the employer.

Each person should do what feels right in his/her own heart. And I didn't like being "told" who to give my money to. I also felt that the United Way representatives knew that employees were being "squeezed" and didn't care as long as they got their donations.

[Chemical Bill]

20. Yes, all to a local homeless shelter.

UW makes it easy. It makes my employer look good, too (you know, that percentage of employees contributing thing).

Bill

[bigwillq]

21. No, but my sister

is a board member for our local branch. I think they do a lot of good things, at least they do for the area that I live in.

[FloridaJudy]

22. I've done "directed donations" through them

You can pick which charities your money goes to. Mine goes to Planned Parenthood (they're still on the list here in Florida), Doctors without Borders, Amnesty International, Habitat for Humanity and The Nature Conservancy. The Boy Scouts and the Knights of Columbus can whistle for their money: I don't donate to homophobes.

[Generic Brad]

23. Yes, I do

They help a lot of people in my community.

[csziggy]

24. No, because when I was a minimum wage slave clerk they extorted money

From everyone in the office. They would set a target amount for the entire office to raise, and all the workers, including those of us on subsistence level pay were pressured into helping to reach those goals. Some of the people in that office had to get help from United Way to make ends meet every month, but were still expected to contribute.

If I want to donate money to a good cause, it will go straight to that cause and not through a middle man.