No one questions that declining workplace campaigns are a problem. System-wide, the number of workplace campaigns continues to decline, the amount raised from workplace campaigns continues to decline, the participation rate of employees continues to decline, etc.

I could probably write a series of blog posts about why workplace campaigns are declining. We could talk about corporate restructuring, third-party processors, online giving, Giving Tuesday, employers not providing time for presentations, independent contractors, COVID-19, virtual workplaces, open campaigns, and several dozen other reasons why workplace campaigns are declining. And while declining workplaces are a problem, they are not your biggest problem.

Your biggest problem is that donors do not want to buy what your United Way is selling.

People no longer want, or need, an organization to vet and allocate money to deserving local charities. They can easily do that themselves, if they want to. If donors really wanted to buy what your United Way is selling, the percentage of employees who participate in workplace campaigns would stay the same, if not grow. Instead, the percentage of employees participating in workplace campaigns continues to decline.

The traditional United Way business model is obsolete just like Polaroid, Blockbuster Video, Sears, floppy disks, overhead projectors, telephone booths, newspapers, etc.

Selling what donors want to support requires a new business model – The Issue Focus Business Model.

Issue focused United Ways choose an issue, like poverty, homelessness, graduation rate, or kindergarten readiness, and they lead and convene the community to make a measurable change on that issue. Instead of a campaign goal, their success is measured by the number of families no longer living in poverty, people who now have a home, students who graduated from high school, or children that are ready for kindergarten. Rather than spreading their money a mile wide and an inch deep, they invest deeply in programs and services that address their issue. And they ask donors and funders to give to reduce poverty, end homelessness, increase the graduation rate, or have every child enter kindergarten ready to learn and not for a campaign goal.

The Issue Focus Business Model is built on the understanding that United Way donors want to impact a local issue and change lives. How do we know donors want this? Since 2011, we have been conducting research with United Way donors in communities large and small. We have asked thousands of United Way donors which they prefer to support – United Way raising money for local partner agencies and programs, or United Way making a measurable impact on a significant local issue. Only 15% of donors want United Way to raise money for local partner agencies and programs, while the remaining 85% of donors want United Way to make a measurable impact on a significant local issue.

The results are conclusive. United Way donors want their United Way to be issue focused.

The Issue Focus Business Model overcomes many of your challenges.

When a United Way is issue focused, people know exactly what their contribution will accomplish because an issue focused United Way only addresses one issue with an inspiring goal for success. Issue Focused United Ways raise more money because they are able to attract additional resources like grants, sponsorships, and planned giving to address their issue. When a United Way is issue focused, they are able to unify their community, volunteers, donors, partner agencies, board, and staff around a shared vision to address a single issue. Issue Focused United Ways can easily explain what they do in just one sentence, and even in as few as two words – “Crush Poverty” or “Halt Hunger.”

The Issue Focus Business Model does not, however, fix workplace campaigns. As you may have noted, almost all the reasons workplace campaigns are declining are external factors that United Ways cannot influence, control, or fix. What United Ways can and must fix is what they are selling, so that more people will contribute to United Way whenever they are asked at their workplace or in other settings.

The Issue Focus Business Model is the future of United Way

Take a couple of minutes and learn more about how an issue focus will transform your United Way by watching our free United Way Survival Guide video. The solution to your biggest problem is adopting a new business model – the Issue Focus Business Model.