Many United Ways use the Live United message as part of their marketing and branding efforts. But, a lot of people have no idea what Live United means. One United Way that is making Live United come alive for their community is United Way of Monroe County (Bloomington, Indiana). They have a page on their Web site dedicated to explaining what it means to Live United.

This page starts with a definition of Live United: “When you Live United, you choose to improve your community by giving of yourself to make an impact.” Then, the page continues with stories from people making a difference as they Live United. (Please note that the picture of their Web page only shows the first two stories and that there are additional stories on their Web page not shown here.) An example of one of their stories about early education appears below:

What are they doing right?

First, they are not assuming that people know what Live United means just because they may have seen or heard of Live United. They have a simple definition of Live United and at the bottom of the page they talk about how when people Live United they have the power to bring about positive change, lasting change.

Second, the stories relate to their community impact focus categories of education, earnings, and essentials. Each of the stories has a headline that connects the category to a specific outcome, such as “Education: Graduation Support” or “Essentials: Sufficient Food.” On the right of the page with these Live United stories are the icons for each of the community impact categories, so someone who is interested in learning more about United Way of Monroe County’s efforts in education, earnings, and essentials can easily click on these icons for more information.

Third, in addition to telling a good story, there are statistics about the issue, such as “Currently, only 1 out of 3 local children entering kindergarten has early literacy skills.” Statistics like these demonstrate to the reader why this is such an important issue to address in Monroe County. Equally important are the examples of how your donation helps address the issue found at the end of the story. For example, in early education, donations fund the distribution of free books to at-risk children, provide free Born Learning materials, and support Kindergarten Countdown for preschoolers. These stories include all of the information a donor would want to know in a concise and informative manner.

The idea of Live United is not complicated, but it is not obvious exactly what Live United means without some explanation. United Way of Monroe County has a great Web page with both the definition of Live United and some stories about how to Live United. If your United Way is using Live United in your marketing and branding, consider what United Way of Monroe County has done and make Live United come alive for your donors and community. United Way of Monroe County, you are Doing It Right!