AUW postpones change in funding priorities
By Johnny Brannon
Advertiser Staff Writer
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Two months after announcing a shift in fundraising policies to steer money toward specific social needs, Aloha United Way has decided to delay the change and reconsider how to move forward.
The high-profile charity distributes millions of dollars each year to dozens of nonprofit agencies, and the proposed change had caused a ripple of concern within O'ahu's charitable community.
The issue arose from AUW's efforts to address some of the island's most pressing problems, such as homelessness and drug abuse, in more comprehensive ways. The change would have directed at least one out of every four dollars from each donation toward two key AUW projects: the Community Initiatives and the Community Safety Net.
AUW has long facilitated donations to other nonprofit agencies by allowing supporters to designate their gifts for agencies of their choice. Some agencies that get money from AUW through designated gifts could get a lot less if one out every four dollars is redirected, but other agencies could receive more money, depending on the services they provide.
The goal was to have a larger focus and direct money toward addressing specific societal problems and issues, rather than just to specific agencies, said Shari Chang, AUW vice president of marketing and communications.
AUW's thinking was that "you can't just put money toward a program but not put money toward clearing up what the root problem is," Chang said. "Otherwise, you're going to still have that same problem in the future."
The agency announced the change in letters sent to previous designating donors in May. Letters sent last week said the change would be postponed "until we can review the policy further." AUW's main annual fundraising campaign begins in September.
Some donors had expressed concerns or requested more information about how their money would be used, but no one indicated they would withhold support unless the changed policy was shelved, Chang said.
"We heard from some people who didn't seem to like it," she said. "The reason that they didn't seem to like it is that they didn't seem to understand how it tied into the new mission. Once you explain it to them, they seemed to understand it much better."
RELIEVED AT DELAY
Some nonprofits were glad for the delay, but remain hopeful that any changes will be beneficial. For example, the Hawai'i Foodbank receives about $70,000 per year through AUW from donors who designate the foodbank as a recipient. The change could have chopped one-fourth of that amount right off the top.
"It was a large concern to us, and we're relieved that they've put it on the back burner," said Polly Kauahi, the foodbank's development director. "The majority of the funding we receive through Aloha United Way is designated funding, and every dollar we receive allows us to feed more hungry people."
Despite its concerns, the foodbank had not complained to AUW about the initial decision to change funding allocations, Kauahi said. Like many agencies, the foodbank depends heavily on AUW for assistance. The change in focus could be beneficial in the long run, and it's important for agencies to work together, she said.
Chang said AUW's Community Initiatives project has five major goals:
The Community Safety Net is a fund that supports more than 400 programs and services provided by 63 agencies to help some of O'ahu's neediest people.
SEEKING RESULTS
The projects coincide with efforts to increase accountability and measure results, and could mean that some agencies receive more, or less, money from AUW in the future, she said.
"I think the tough part is when you identify the initiatives, you have to start figuring out how to allocate resources, and that's what's still in the infancy stage: operational changes to now support the initiatives and the Community Safety Net," Chang said.
Some service agencies have never tracked the results of their efforts in measurable ways, she said.
"That's where we have to come in and try and work with them to come up with a way that they can track their results so that we can report back to the community," Chang said.
The 63 agencies that AUW partners with for the Community Safety Net are audited annually and meet other criteria, she said.
The majority of people and companies who contribute to Aloha United Way don't designate which agency they want their money to support, Chang said.
"But it's important that we address it if they have some concerns. Or if they don't understand the mission, then our challenge is to make sure they understand it," she said.
The Honolulu Advertiser and its employees contributed more than $100,000 to AUW last year. The paper's management did not express an opinion to AUW about its changed funding-allocation policy, or the decision to postpone the change, according to Advertiser President and Publisher Mike Fisch. However, if the proposed change stands, it may affect the way the paper gives to AUW in the future, he added.
UNEASY OVER SHIFT
Alan Shinn, executive director of the Coalition for a Drug-Free Hawai'i, said he believed AUW's intentions were good, but that he was also not surprised that some donors had been uneasy about the changes.
"It was a little inconsistent with Aloha United Way's past policies on giving, which was choice, choice, choice," he said.
Shinn said he had not raised any objections to AUW, and that it wasn't clear whether his agency would have received more money or less under a changed donation policy. Redirecting one-fourth of designated donations could reduce the amount from those sources. But the overall amount of support from AUW could increase, because reducing drug abuse is one of the community initiatives, Shinn said.
"We just hope the campaign goes well, because that's the whole point of this: to raise as much money as possible and get that money to critical services and agencies that provide those services," he said.
