Charity Giving and United Way
In response to “Asian, Black Charities Seek Payroll Deduction Rights” (Metro, June 7), I would like to offer a point of view.
Employee payroll deduction for charitable purposes is provided by many businesses as a way to encourage and facilitate employee participation in building a healthier community. A vast number of business owners have been choosing United Way as the vehicle to help provide this employee opportunity for some 100 years.
United Way is picked for the job because it has learned to fund raise, both in and out of the workplace setting, effectively and at a significant savings in time and dollars.
It is the donor who decides which organizations benefit monetarily from the United Way campaign. Many donors choose to direct their gifts to specific organizations which may or may not be directly connected to United Way. The majority of donors support United Way’s allocation program in which groups of volunteers distribute dollars based on well-researched community need.
In an effort to impact local needs beyond the millions of dollars it raises each year, United Way also joins hands in partnership with many groups such as scouting, Jewish Federation, Catholic Charities, Urban League, the Mexican American Opportunities Foundation, and American Cancer Society. Together, we discover innovative ways to address community problems. These organizations participate with United Way while maintaining their own presence and independence in the community.
It would be a costly mistake on the part of our community to erode the notion of United Way. To lessen its effectiveness would mean the loss of an unencumbered community vehicle replaced by competition among interest groups. The cost of multiple campaigns within companies in time and money could ultimately mean the loss of payroll deductions to any federated campaign at the workplace.
No matter how worthy the individual causes, be they ethnic or issue related, to position them competitively rather than in partnership with each other would dissolve the glue that strengthens the fabric of our community.
The United Way urges the community of givers--including the private sector--to use the United Way fund-raising experience and capacity to provide their employees with the opportunity to support community services.
LEO P. CORNELIUS
President, United Way
Los Angeles
