Frequently Asked Questions
How is the United Way different from other nonprofit organizations?
United Way exists for one reason—to help us come together as one community to identify and address the issues that affect us all. Those issues, like
making sure children start school ready to learn and helping families become self-sufficient cross lines of race, gender, geography and faith, and can only be
addressed with collective focus and attention.
Where does the money go?
United Way volunteers from your community invest your Community Care Fund contributions into
local programs that
are proven to make our community stronger and safer. Your dollars help people
live better lives. These programs include after-school and mentoring agendas
that keep children safe and productive in their hours outside the classroom.
They additionally include job and life skills training to prepare people for
employment, and myriad forms of help for people with basic needs and more.
Can I give directly to my favorite agency?
It is possible to direct your gift to one or more agencies that receive United Way funding or to another United Way in the country. Because United Way is
in the "business" of community impact, not fundraising for agencies, we cannot earmark your gift to other organizations.
What else does United Way do besides fund agencies?
United Way does "whatever it takes" to help our community focus on and get results for important human issues. While United Way does raise and invest
dollars, we also help people volunteer, lend their professional expertise, and donate household and office items. United Way's Get on Board program will train
and place people on nonprofit boards. Volunteer Solutions connects people with volunteer opportunities in the region. Through Gifts In Kind, United Way helps
nonprofits operate more effectively and efficiently.
How much of the money raised by United Way is used for administrative purposes?
The Better Business Bureau Wise Giving Alliance for Charity Accountability
states that fundraising expenses should be no more than 35% of all related
contributions (for more information, visit www.give.org).
Less than 20 cents of every dollar raised by United Way is used for fundraising
and administration (less than 13 cents for fundraising alone)—placing
it among the nations nonprofits with the lowest overheads. Our efficiency
depends on community support to keep costs to a bare minimum—including
extensive volunteer leadership, executives "loaned" by
companies, public service advertising donations and more.
How do the troubles at other United Way chapters and other nonprofits affect our United Way?
They do not. Each of the 1,400 United Way chapters in the country is autonomous and managed by local volunteers. In Central Kentucky, hundreds of volunteer
leaders from all walks of life are involved in and oversee every detail of United Way operations, from fundraising to investments to financial management.
Our employees and their families are struggling. How can we ask them to give?
The success of our organization throughout it history has shown repeatedly that it is those who have themselves struggled who are in turn the most giving to
our community. The emotional reward that comes with the act of charitable giving does not belong to the elite of any community. Everyone should be given an
opportunity to express compassion through giving.