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United Way

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Submitted By wilkles
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United Way
Individual Marketing Project
July 21, 2015
Leslie Wilkerson

Client: United Way
Basic Client Need: Increase Donations – Fundraisers, social media, mail, & telephone.
Client Service Need: Appeal to the heart of people, if you get to a person’s feelings you will raise more money for a cause than a drive or analytical thinking. Keeping the people informed will increase donations, and make it easy to donate.
Clients Target Market: Individuals, Volunteers, Contributors, and local Charities within the communities.
Situation Analysis:
Goods and Services
United Way is the world’s largest privately-funded nonprofit. They are engaging people from all walks of life in nearly 1,800 communities across more than 40 countries and territories worldwide. United Way focus is on education, income and health dealing with children, citizens, and communities. They raise the awareness surrounding key issues that affect everyone, provide financial and one-on-one assistance to those who need it most, and promote social and policy change that helps strengthen people and their communities.
Industry
Their partners include global, national and local businesses, nonprofits, civic and faith organizations, as well as educators, labor, health organization, government and more. United Way and these organizations together raise more than $5 billion every year to create community solutions that improve life for everyone. The United Way volunteers who give their time, talent or skills make a lasting difference that impacts many.
Organization
United Way was established 125 years ago in Denver by a woman, a priest, two ministers, and a rabbi. United Way has evolved to meet the needs of the times and today the world needs it more than ever. Today’s United Way is bringing people, organizations and communities together around a common cause, common vision, and common path forward. Rather than measuring there success in dollars raised, they like to measure their success in actual lives changed, and United Way impacts up to 50 million lives every year. United Way has a lot of programs to help individuals such as MyFree Taxes, Club Connect, Born Learning, Aging, 2-1-1, Play 60, and Center on Human Trafficking and Slavery.
Competition
The American Red Cross, Goodwill industries, & The Salvation Army are its major competitors. More Charities in today’s society, the economy has made it harder for people to donate because of less money, jobs downsizing, lower wages. With the advancement of technology, internet makes it easier for people to donate and follow their hero and donate to whatever charity they do. Community foundations are taking away from United Way, more communities are coming up with programs and asking for the communities help and they see what is being done when sometimes you don’t see the results of the United Way directly in your community. United Way was plagued by a management scandal in 1992 it has remained at the forefront of emergency relief services for more than 100 years.
Environmental Factors
Technological breakthroughs can have profound impacts on the economy, social attitudes and governmental policy. This can result in new processes and products that open up new economic opportunity spaces. It can change the way in which people communicate with one another. Politically actions by the government change public attitudes that can cause policies changes which will have a significant effect on the citizens. United Way needs to understand the changing social attitudes since the attitudes of social groups determine which organizations individuals are willing to contribute money and volunteer time too.
Strengths
Accessibility of donating
Broad Avenue of charitable contributions
Established donors
Weaknesses
High Overhead
High administration cost
Uncertainty of where exactly donations go
Individual Donor Loss
Opportunities
United Way partnerships with more organizations like NFL, UPS, Red Cross, etc.
Specific donating, contributor determines where donation goes
Donating online
Donor and Revenue Growth
Threats
Economies in recession
Small local charities that focus specifically on one cause
Fraud case causing mistrust with United Way
Threat of New Entrants
Strategic Plan
United Ways target market is going to businesses. Because this is one way that companies and individuals demonstrate their commitment to the communities where they work and live.
United Ways mission statement is to improve lives by mobilizing the caring power of communities around the world to advance the common good. Vision Statement – United Way will build a stronger America by mobilizing our communities to improve people’s lives.
United Ways goals and objectives would be cutting number of students who drop out, cutting financially unstable working families, and increasing the percentage of healthy youth and adults. By 2018, 87 percent of high school seniors will graduate on time, up from 73.9 percent today. Only 37 percent of lower-income working families have a checking or saving account with at least $300 saved and about 50 percent own a home. By 2018, 1.9 million more working families will become financially stable and able to take the next steps to long-term independence it’s at 36 percent know and they want to be at 18 percent by then. By 2018, the percentage of your who are healthy and avoiding risk behaviors will increase from 34 percent in 2005 to 45 percent in 2018, that means 1.9 million more healthy young people. The percentage of adults age 18 or older who are healthy and avoiding risky behaviors will increase from 35 percent in 2005 to 47 percent by 2018 that means 29.2 million more healthy adults.
Strategies
United Way will get there through diversification with new programs to deal with the newer issues affecting the country, environmental concerns, and societal pressures on women and minorities. They need to truly understand our target audience and their online and offline habits to be supportive, accessible and communicate with clients on their own terms and on their own level. They address issues in communities that create and improve educational opportunities for children and youth to succeed, promoting financial stability, and improving health. United Way works to bring together partners including other nonprofits, government agencies, organized labor, businesses, faith-based organizations and individuals who bring the passion, expertise and resources needed to get things done. United Way will build a stronger America by mobilizing our communities to improve people’s lives. Direct mail, telemarketing, print advertisement, television, radio, grant proposals, internet appeals, door to door, planned giving, and cause-related marketing.
Sources of Funds
Contributions = 50,000.00
Member support = 20,000.00
Promotional material sales = 4, 000.00
Conferences = 2, 000.00
Miscellaneous = 1, 000.00
Total Income: 77,000.00
Program expenses = 40,000.00
Fundraising expenses = 5, 000.00
Administrative expenses = 15, 000.00
Total Expenses: 60, 000.00
Income in Excess of Expenses: 17, 000.00

Communicating United Way’s story effectively can raise visibility, boost credibility, deepen connections with donors, help engage new supporters, and drive lasting change in our communities.

References
Everydayhero pioneers next generation of online giving. (2014, April 30). Internet Business News. Retrieved from http://0-go.galegroup.com.library.acaweb.org/ps/i.do?id=GALE%7CA383668875&v=2.1&u=tel_a_tusculum&it=r&p=GPS&sw=w&asid=5f74cd45d76ec11b0662671381789749

Nicholson-Crotty, J. (2011). Does reported policy activity reduce contributions to nonprofit service providers? Policy Studies Journal, 39(4), 591-607. Retrieved from http://0-search.proquest.com.library.acaweb.org/docview/912042239?accountid=41894

United Way moves beyond fundraising. (2014, April 22), Herald-Times [Bloomington, IN], Retrieved from http://0-go.galegroup.com.lobrary.acaweb.org/ps/i.do?id=GALE%7CA365546780&v=2.1&u=tel_a_tusculum&it=r&p=GPS&sw=w&asid=e0e6ffcfee87743fb04531ea7bb0790f

Sharpiro, T. Rees (2011, November 14). United Way leader’s fraud scandal marred charitable legacy. The Washington Post. Retrieved from http://www.washingtonpost.com

Stewart, Stacey D. "United way's focus on early grade reading." National Civic Review 100.4 (2011): 37+. http://go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?id=GALE%7CA280302111&v=2.1&u=tel_a_tusculum&it=r&p=GPS&sw=w&asid=8d7659c31c06507a3853812739458f53

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