What We’ve Got Here is a Failure to Communicate

Does your community really understand the work you do?

After more than twenty years of conducting public opinion polls and surveys for United Ways across the country, we can say that most of the time the answer is no.

When we ask community members about the words they associate with United Way, we commonly receive responses like: community, helpful, charity, and giving.

Although those words are all positive, they are unfortunately vague. This is because, in our experience, saying that United Way addresses education, income, and health isn’t enough. It is extremely uncommon for community members to be able to name any specific issues their United Way addresses or associate any specific accomplishments with their local United Way.

This is a problem not only because you are unlikely to attract new donors when the community at large does not understand what you do, but when understanding is lacking, negative opinions - based on rumors or misunderstandings - can tarnish your organization’s reputation.

Do not let your reputation and attractiveness to donors suffer at the hands of a poorly informed public. Learn how to communicate a simple call to action that will attract community members and donors alike to your cause in our upcoming webinar Positioning Your United Way for 2020: What You Must Plan & Start Doing Today.

Kasey and I have created this 90-minute webinar to help you tackle this and other common challenges, and we will teach you how to position your United Way for success in 2020. To learn more about the other topics our webinar will cover, to read reviews, or to register for this event, visit http://www.perspectives4uw.com/webinars/.