Nobody likes being passed over or overlooked. And yet, it is something that has happened to all of us at one point or another. For me growing up, it was anything to do with sports.

My hand eye coordination could charitably be called appalling and to make matters worse, whenever there was a game involving a ball, I would usually wind-up cowering in the back, frightened of being trampled. Basically, everyone thought I was useless.

So, whenever it came time to pick teams in gym, I was one of the last people chosen. Slowly, girls would begin to peel off to join their respective teams and soon it would be me and maybe one other athletically challenged girl. And as I stood there waiting to be put out of my misery, I would always wonder why my classmates chose others instead of me.

To a certain extent, this is what is happening when a donor designates. They are choosing another organization over you. But why?

Well, the answer is pretty much the same one that I would have received back during my PE days. Your donors don’t think you have anything to offer them. They know how this other organization performs, know what they do and their stats. But there is a good chance that they don’t know about the amazing work that you do or perhaps they are under the misguided assumption that all United Way does is pass-through contributions, so they might as well just designate to their specific charity instead of letting you decide where to send it.

Until you change this perception you will never reduce your designations. Your United Way needs to show donors that you aren’t just a pass-through, that there is real merit in funding you and your work. In our webinar Reduce Designations: How to Get Your Donors to Give to You we discuss how to change your donor’s perceptions of you and how to encourage them to give unrestricted gifts.

And as for middle school me, always being picked last, there was one upside. Anytime there was a game of dodgeball or kickball, I was normally one of the last people standing. Because it turns out I had some talents regarding PE after all – I was a fast runner and I could dodge balls like a dream. I guess I just needed to sell my strengths better.

Be sure to join us on Wednesday, March 10 at 2 p.m. ET for our webinar Reduce Designations: How to Get Your Donors to Give to You. And don’t forget, if you can’t join us on March 10th, still sign up and we’ll send you the recording for you to watch afterwards.