Quote of the Month: May 2017

Our May Quote of the Month comes from our good friend Pamela Beckford at United Way of Wells County. Pamela has used this quote for years:

If you try to be everything to everybody, you're nothing to anybody.

– Pamela Beckford, Executive Director, United Way of Wells County

There are plenty of United Ways that try to be everything to everybody. For example, “everything” is funding dozens of programs, while “everybody” is trying to fund every nonprofit organization in the community. “Everything” is also trying to address education, income, health, safety net, etc., while “everybody” is trying to appeal to every possible donor. As Pamela notes, when a United Way tries to be everything to everybody, the results are quite the opposite. Our donor research for United Ways finds that upwards of half of all United Way donors do not know what issues their United Way addresses, and over one-third of United Way donors do not know the results of their contribution. We know from our donor research that the vast majority of donors do not want United Way to be everything to everybody. It is far better for your United Way to do one thing, and be known for doing one thing, than trying to be everything to everybody.

A big thank you to Pamela for sharing her quote this month! If you have a quote you would like to share for our Quote of the Month, please let me know at: Gary@perspectives4uw.com.