It is best to stand united

Doing more with less has been a recognized necessity of life in business for some time now, and the concept is catching on in government. Inevitably the need for greater efficiency spreads throughout other institutions, including social service agencies.

For generations the United Way and its predecessor, the Community Chest, have acted as clearing houses for dozens of charitable entities that provide services to virtually every segment of the community. The idea was to make it easier for people to support charitable work. And it has worked admirably, reducing fund-raising costs for member agencies and allowing donors to provide support for many charities with one pledge. The pledge can even be spread throughout the year through payroll deductions.

The model has worked so well that it has received strong support from major employers throughout the community and from labor unions.

It should come as no surprise, however, that in an area such as the Mahoning Valley, where thousands of jobs have been lost in major industries, the time has come to look for ways to make the united effort work even more efficiently.

Merger talks re-emerge

More than a decade after directors of the Trumbull United Way rejected a merger with United Way of Youngstown and the Mahoning Valley, a proposed consolidation is back on the table. A merger in the mid- or late-’90s would have been easier, involving two then roughly equal entities. But the consultants working on the proposed merger found an atmosphere of territorialism and rivalry that apparently doomed agreement. To the extent that those factors still exist, they are complicated by a new dynamic: The Mahoning United Way is aiming for a campaign of more then $2.5 million, while Trumbull last year raised well below half that.

Nationally, many United Way organizations have consolidated or are studying consolidations, with the encouragement of the United Way parent organization.

They range from the 2004 consolidation of 52 Chicago area offices into 13, which saved more than the Mahoning and Trumbull drives raise per year, to the much smaller consolidation this year of the United Way of Niagara and the Eastern Niagara United Way into the United Way of Greater Niagara in Niagara Falls, N.Y.

Regardless of size, every United Way is obligated to find the most economical way of raising and distributing money for the important work done by its member agencies.