As many United Ways enter into the thick of campaign season, we thought it would be a great time to review the three things you MUST tell your donors to get them to give.

When your donors think of your United Way, what words come to mind? We frequently ask donors this question, and the hundreds of words donors use to describe United Way reaffirm the fact that most donors do not understand what your United Way does.

Tis the season! It’s that time of year again when, with ample confidence and overwhelming exuberance, we prepare our New Year’s resolutions. As you contemplate your personal New Year’s resolutions for 2019, there is no reason not to prepare a New Year’s resolution or three for your United Way as well.

One of the most common refrains I hear from United Ways is that the times are changing. Society is changing, technology is changing, the economy is changing, and even competition for charitable giving is changing.

As I noted in my previous blog post, many United Ways communicate information like their campaign goal, number of investment panels, number of funded partner agencies, and how many volunteer hours it took to determine the allocations – but, this information does not motivate donors to give.  

There was an interesting talk show on NPR several weeks ago about the demise of the printed newspaper. For nearly three decades, newspaper circulation has declined every single year.