Non-profits in big trouble

http://www.crainsnewyork.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2008811199976

And to think, I thought non-profits were more stable than newspapers.
Oops...

 

Stable is not a condition. A corpse can be stable. [/formercityeditorofmine]

 

I laughed my ass off when we got the annual United Way sign-up form in our last pay envelope. I had gone 20-for-20 in years signing up for a payroll deduction for UW. Not this year. I've got a kid to put through college.

 

When I worked at Disneyland we actually had to pick up our paycheck from the United Way representative during the drive.

 

Did we work together? Oh, I guess we just had similar experiences. ;D
Our publisher actually made us turn in the sheet with "no contribution" marked. I guess it was his way of making us feel shame. I'm not a big fan of donating to UW anyway. They do fantastic work, no doubt. But there are other groups who need my money a lot more. Apparently there are more than I thought, judging by Mr. Light's prognosis.

 

Call me selfish, but I've never given to the UW, for two reasons. One, when I was barely staying off welfare, it just seemed to me my generosity was tied to that of the paper, which was not, uh, generous. I didn't make enough to buy my own house and I was eating 49-cent frozen burritos every other meal because the paper was so flippin cheap. I had bigger concerns than whether the publisher looked good with the United way. Second, and my memory is a little hazy on this, I remember being appalled at a less-than-palatable relationship UW had.

So they can live without me. My charitable contributions take place in other ways that aren't in response to coercion.

 

Jeesh, flashbacks from United Way. I've had publishers who were very gung ho, and others who were more laid back about it.
I never understood what the point of putting extra pressure on employees to contribute was - it's unfortunate because UW ended up being the focus of employees ire instead of managers who are too heavy handed.

 

You know, it pisses me off to see the "strongarm" tactics that is displayed by this project, using employees to intimidate others in the workplace to give. This year, this "drive" came right after a series of cuts and a salary freeze. Nice timing as always.

And the sick thing is when the company still wants to take the credit for "your/my" donation. Thanks, but I'd rather give on my own by driving by an agency.

 

Let us not forget of all the charities, UW is one of the most top heavy... if you must donate, designate a specific charity in advance. Otherwise, you subsidize bloat...