United Way raises more than $37M using new strategies

United Way of Southwestern Pennsylvania raised $37.2 million across five counties in its annual campaign, an increase of less than 1% from the prior year.

“I think the increase is nice, but I would’ve liked to see a little more,” said Michael McGarry, the campaign chair in Allegheny County, and chairman and chief executive of Downtown-based paints producer PPG.

He said the loss of major corporations in the Pittsburgh region in recent years has hurt United Way fundraising. “We’re trying to overcome things … we’ve lost some pretty significant companies,” Mr. McGarry said.

The charity relies heavily on workplace campaigns to raise dollars that it distributes to nonprofits that assist the needy.

While no Fortune 500 companies have pulled out of the Pittsburgh area recently, some employers such as BNY Mellon, EQT, Arconic and Westinghouse have trimmed staff and Bayer plans to close its operations in Robinson by the end of 2020 in a move that will affect about 600 jobs.

In 2017, United Way leaders cited downsizing in the local steel industry as a factor in why campaign totals slipped that year in Allegheny County.

For the 2018-19 fundraiser that just concluded, gifts in Allegheny County rose by 1.6 percent to about $33 million, from $32.4 million the prior year.

The balance came from campaigns in Westmoreland, Fayette, Butler and southern Armstrong counties.

Four organizations in Allegheny County each raised $1 million or more: UPMC, PNC Financial Services Group, Highmark Health and FedEx Corp.

PPG, which employs about 2,400 in the region, raised $975,370 including employee gifts to the workplace campaign, a corporate gift and special events conducted as part of the campaign such as raffles and a cornhole tournament.

Support from smaller donors

To fill a void left by Pittsburgh’s changing corporate landscape, the local United Way has made a push to engage smaller businesses and younger donors.

The recent campaign generated a total of about $100,000 from new

corporate partners that include small- to mid-size companies with fewer than 500 employees, said Linda Jones, senior vice president, community philanthropy and fundraising at United Way.

“That’s where we’re really targeting efforts and thinking how to be a partner with them — not just in [fundraising], but in bringing teams together for volunteer opportunities,” Ms. Jones said.

The number of donors in the Bridges Society — made up of people age 45 and younger who contribute $1,000 or more annually — grew by 35 percent to 675 individuals, up from 499 in the prior campaign.

That group’s total donations rose from $1.1 million to $1.4 million.

“We’re seeing more younger professionals engaged in our activities,” Ms. Jones said.

Mr. McGarry agreed that millennials — typically defined as those born from 1980 to the mid 1990s — “are maturing and giving money.”

“I think that will continue,” he said. “It’s a natural evolution.”

United Way said it also grew membership in its Tocqueville Society — individuals who pledge $10,000 or more a year — and its Women’s Leadership Council in which members donate at least $1,000 annually to support women in crisis.

More than 2,500 donors together raised nearly $238,000 in a special United Way fundraiser held in the weeks following the shootings at Tree of Life synagogue in Squirrel Hill. Those funds were donated to the Our Victims of Terror fund sponsored by the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh.

“That was pretty fantastic,” Mr. McGarry said.

Books, calls, seniors

United Way said its programs in the past year assisted about 480,000 individuals in the region including at-risk children, seniors, the poor and people with disabilities.

Among its initiatives, PA 2-1-1 Southwest — the helpline that provides callers with an assist obtaining support for critical human services including food, housing and utility payments — expanded to 13 counties in the state.

The 100,000 Books Campaign surpassed its goal by providing 121,000 books to children and their families.

“Open Your Heart to a Senior” support program grew its volunteer base by 38 percent to 3,208 participants.