Our September Quote of the Month comes from industrialist Henry Ford:

“If I asked people what they wanted, they would have said faster horses.” – Henry Ford

This quote was suggested by Laura Toni-Holsinger, Executive Director of United Way of Harrisonburg and Rockingham County in Harrisonburg, Virginia. In suggesting this quote, Laura said that her United Way has focused a great deal on what it means to build a car.

Unlike United Way of Harrisonburg and Rockingham County, many United Ways are still trying to raise and train faster horses. The horses of the past, such as payroll deduction and funding a variety of local nonprofit organizations, are not what today’s donors want or need. United Ways need to stop obsessing over how to run more workplace campaigns, and as Laura says, determine what it means to build a car. The car that donors want is focused on impacting the community by addressing an issue in a meaningful way. We call this an issue focus and we have been helping United Ways transform to an issue focus for nearly six years. An issue focus is the car that every United Way will need to build, sooner or later.

If you have a quote you would like to share for our Quote of the Month, please let me know at gary@perspectives4uw.com