D.C. Area Nonprofits Fear Loss of Funding As United Way Retools

The national United Way sets the agenda for its 1,300 affiliates, but they can set their own giving priorities. The national organization defined the three priority issues loosely to allow affiliates to be flexible in deciding how to award grants.

For instance, the Capital Area Food Bank, which receives United Way money, can be grouped in either the health or income categories.

"I would hope they will come at the whole thing from a broad perspective," said Lynn Brantley, president and chief executive of the food bank.

Brantley said food pantries and housing programs are "the important undergirding that people depend upon to exist, to know that these are things that do improve things in a community."

Most of the United Way's discretionary grants are already spent on national priority issues, said Allen Lomax, co-chairman of the local United Way committee that oversees such grants.

"There's going to be a little shift in thinking, but most of the grants we deal with help with moving families and children toward self-sufficiency and deal with affordable housing issues already," Lomax said.

In the past fiscal year, United Way of the National Capital Area raised $23.7 million that was designated by donors to go directly to select nonprofits and nearly $3 million in unrestricted funds to distribute as grants.

"The reality is, there is history with United Way where people donate to their specific agency, and that's viewed more as a transactional role for United Way," Anderson said.

But United Way leaders say they hope to increase unrestricted donations to help pay for the national priority issues.

"This isn't easy," Anderson said. "But this is the right thing, because this organization is about serving people and making sure donors are able to contribute to issue areas that are making a mainstream impact."