Ugh, It's United Way Time!

I really hate when this rolls around each year. Time again for us to give to our employer's United Way campaign. We have to be convinced each year how much good they do and that this year "let's break our previous giving record." Emails come at you hoping you'll give so that "we can say our department had 100% participation" in this year's campaign.

Well, my department will never have 100% participation, and that's all because of me. My feelings about United Way go back about 20 years when I was working in Arizona. While there, the pressure was enormous to give so we could get our 100% participation plaque to display in our conference room. Never mind if someone was basically coerced into giving, we still got our plaque. I indeed did give, because one was quite frankly bugged (i.e. harrassed) until they gave at least something. That's not charity to me, so when I left that job I vowed to never give again to this organization, and I haven't. Furthermore, it was implied that if you didn't give to United Way, you didn't give to any charity. Wrong again!

Does that mean I don't believe in what they do? No, they do a fine job. Although, I must say that the year I left Arizona was the same year the William Aramony scandal broke where it turned out the national chairperson was pilfering all those dollars for himself. That gave me even more reason not to give. Furthermore, I read United Way's campaign manual years ago and there was a specific reference in there about employee participation. United Way itself said that 100% participation was NOT a desired outcome, because that would mean some employees had likely been coerced into giving. But I don't think they exactly discouraged this from happening, because high-pressure campaign tactics have always been used everywhere I've worked.

So, here we are once again in the midst of a fundraising campaign and I'll probably have to fight off those emails about giving. I've had a couple run-ins with employees over the years pushing the issue, but I ain't backing down on this one.

By the way, I reread United Way's manual not too long ago. The part about discouraging 100% participation? No longer in there. Hmm.