What is your opinion on this organization?

I know a lot of people rufuse to donate to United Way, yet some people sing their praises.

The company I work for pushes us to donate to them during the campaign period (September through October). When I say push us to donate, they push HARD CORE. Almost to the point that it's uncomfortable.

If this is such a great organization, then why do they have to be so forceful?

6/25/2008 1:34:14 PM

i really dont know what my opinion is. I donate a pretty small amount though.

6/25/2008 1:35:30 PM

last year i wanted to scratch someone's eyes out. i donate to other organizations of my choice, and chose not to donate to united way and got a lot of crap about it. even after specifically asking to be left alone about it i was still hassled

6/25/2008 1:38:04 PM

the last company i worked for that pushed for united way i opted to donate $1 per pay check. it got them off my back.

6/25/2008 1:42:26 PM

my company pushes united way pretty hardcore as well

but now that i'm away from the world headquarters i think i'll have an easier time at not feeling pressured by it

however, one of the things they did last year was the united way pub crawl. you paid $20, got a tshirt and pint glass and there were tons of drink specials at all the bars downtown. i went to that and it was a lot of fun

6/25/2008 6:45:36 PM

ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh


fucking man





i so wish i had a job that pushed "HARDCORE" for this right now


oh it would make my day

[Edited on June 25, 2008 at 6:49 PM. Reason : guess it depends on how much they are asking for "hardcore"]

6/25/2008 6:48:06 PM

you hardcore people

were they asking 2-5% of your income?

6/25/2008 6:59:56 PM

My company does this.

I calmly say no, or fill out the form saying I'm not going to donate, hoping it will go away.

Invariably, 5+ separate managers will approach me about it.

I blew up at one guy for it a few years ago, saying something like "You know how much it grates you that I'm not giving?" He says yes. "Well, my feelings for the United Way are about 10X that, and it's none of your damn business what I do with my money. Asking once is fine, this is ridiculous."

Later, I've matured and learned that the way to really piss people off is to patiently listen to all the great things they have to say, nodding appropriately. And then calmly say "no" again. Later, when they approach again, listen to the whole talk and keep nodding as if you just may take the bait this time. Then calmly say 'no' again. This makes them more mad and frustrated than any lashing out could do.

6/25/2008 7:20:20 PM

my company does this too

my manager thought it'd be cute to assign me the role of united way coordinator for our group my first year, in order to meet people

turns out it was a good way to pester everyone with two emails, and clip the notch on the profile.

meh, i still donate though, even though i probably should put those monies elsewhere

6/25/2008 7:36:56 PM

I actually have to fill out their form saying I'm going to donate zero. You can't just not turn the application in.

6/25/2008 7:49:57 PM

yeah they do that for us to

that was the job of the "coordinator"

to make sure that everyone in the group at least went to the website and declined it

no one had access to anyone's choice to donate or not to donate, just hat to ensure that everyone at least clicked through the page

6/25/2008 7:54:35 PM

Federal employees get hammered about the Combined Federal Campaign, but you've got literally hundreds (maybe thousands) of organizations you can donate to, so I just wait until then to donate. One of the better things about CFC is that they actually list the % of each dollar which goes to the actual focus of the organization and how much is blown on operating costs.

But yeah, my money is just that, mine. I'm not stingy with it, but it goes where I want it to.

6/25/2008 8:52:31 PM

i can understand why engineers would not want to give up their big salaries...i mean the gov gets a lot of that shit, the united way is wanting shit...damn it must really suck to make the money of an engineer...basically getting taxed cause you are smart but still get to be rich

6/25/2008 8:55:27 PM

Quote :

"I actually have to fill out their form saying I'm going to donate zero. You can't just not turn the application in."

my mom said one year they tried to decline her paycheck because she wouldn't sign the form saying she didn't want to donate.. then it became a matter of principle. you can't fucking deny someone their paycheck for doing their job just because you didn't get your precious form filled out one way or another.

and to dnl: i have no problem donating money to organizations that i think deserve it. i currently donate to the salvation army and the human rights campaign on the regular (monthly). my problem is that the united way people won't take no for an answer. you're going to have to try harder to make me look like a stingy bitch. why don't you stay in chit chat where you belong.

[Edited on June 25, 2008 at 9:28 PM. Reason : grumble]

6/25/2008 9:28:00 PM

it'd help if you posted how they are being hardcore and how much money "hardcore" is...just trying to prod you for info thats all...u didnt have to get mean about it and assume things

6/25/2008 9:30:45 PM

Quote :

"my problem is that the united way people won't take no for an answer"

or

constantly asking for money

or

constantly badgering for money

or

not dropping the issue until you give them money

or

making you fill out forms if you don't want to give money

or

if you do give money, there's always a reason you need to give more money

do you get it now?

6/25/2008 9:36:20 PM

i dont even get how thats legal

6/25/2008 9:44:03 PM

How does the United Way manage to get so many places to hock for them?

Is there some incentive for upper management or something?

6/25/2008 9:57:53 PM

Quote :

"the last company i worked for that pushed for united way i opted to donate $1 per pay check. it got them off my back. "

did you work for UPS?

i did this too when i worked for them. the first year i gave $1 per paycheck, the next year $2, and i quit shortly after 3 years. every single year i forgot to write the donations off as a tax deduction. oh well.

6/25/2008 10:14:20 PM

i give to the united way through my work, but they don't badger us like you guys

6/25/2008 11:02:50 PM

Quote :

"How does the United Way manage to get so many places to hock for them? Is there some incentive for upper management or something?"

there's gotta be, i don't know why else it would be such a big deal.

6/26/2008 6:21:08 AM

damn, i'm surprised that so many companies push this so hard. It doesn't seem that this would be legal.

And it seems like all of these high pressure tactics are specific to the united way.

we just have a web portal at cisco that has a list of charities that are part of the matching gift program, and it's up to individuals whether they want to donate or not. If your favorite charity is not listed, there's a process to get it added.

But seriously i can't fathom my manager harassing me to donate to a specific charity or being automatically opted into donating. What the hell does the united way do anyway? The only time I ever see their name is when they're getting money, never when they've done something good for someone.

from wikipedia:

Quote :

"Criticism and scandals * Reportedly, some workplaces with United Way collection programs do not follow commonly used ethical procedures when soliciting donations. Employees may be pressured into donating through peer pressure which is tolerated by management. United Way has made public that it does not support such measures.[1] In some workplaces, the employees who may disagree with United Way's programs, ethics, and scandals are "stongly encouraged" to give. --"This is a free country. You don't have to give. But you are also free to work somewhere else!", Israel (Izzy) Cohen of Giant Food * Some local United Way chapters have faced criticism that their donation options are misleading. United Way allows individuals to specify that their donation go to a particular charity. However, if that charity is already a part of the United Way network, the money sent to that charity may not be affected by user requests unless the total amount of designations exceeds the amount otherwise budgeted for that charity. This rarely happens even for the most frequently designated charities, meaning that in practice individual designations have no effect on United Way funding. [2] Some United Way chapters maintain separate accounting for designated and undesignated funding, eliminating this criticism. * In 1992, William Aramony, CEO of the national organization, and in 2004, Oral Suer, CEO of the Washington, D.C. chapter, were convicted of misuse of donations. [3] * Some local United Ways have been known to double count contributions, thus making their totals look higher and the perceived overhead of operations look better. * Others have been accused of double-dipping overhead costs in donations, especially when donations are earmarked for a specific charity, or transferred from one location to another. * In 2001, Vassar College decided to end its annual support of United Way due to United Way's giving to the Boy Scouts of America.[4] In an effort to address these problems, United Way has implemented new membership requirements and accountability standards in 2003; however problems have continued to occur. * In May 2006, Kim Tran the former CFO of United Way of the National Capital Area (Washington, D.C.) resigned, claiming many issues remain.[5][6] * In April 2006, the New York City United Way revealed misappropriation of assets by Ralph Dickerson, the retired CEO of that chapter. The appropriation of resources occurred over a three year period, ending in 2005.[7] "

[Edited on June 26, 2008 at 7:13 AM. Reason : more info]

6/26/2008 7:09:05 AM

Quote :

"--"This is a free country. You don't have to give. But you are also free to work somewhere else!", Israel (Izzy) Cohen of Giant Food"

yeah, and i'd like to be free to punch you in the face...

i'm not going to get a new job just because i don't want to be asked to donate, that's retarded... especially when it's not just a job, it's a career.

Quote :

"United Way allows individuals to specify that their donation go to a particular charity. However, if that charity is already a part of the United Way network, the money sent to that charity may not be affected by user requests unless the total amount of designations exceeds the amount otherwise budgeted for that charity. This rarely happens even for the most frequently designated charities, meaning that in practice individual designations have no effect on United Way funding."

I KNEW IT!!! those bastards RAWR

6/26/2008 8:48:25 AM

they bug me too - numerous emails, stuff our mailboxes, asking in person.

we're teachers.. we don't exactly have a lot of extra money...
I buy some of my students binders, pens/pencils, supplies, etc... I also donate time & money to other organizations that I support.

I didn't realize United Way was this bad everywhere

6/26/2008 12:23:02 PM

ive never been overly harassed. but in the past if i get any greif, i will usually say somehting about donating to XXX church. And that I refuse to donate to any organization that didn;t support expanding the Faith.

Usually they leave you alone, because religion can be more touchy than anything.

6/26/2008 7:25:01 PM