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United We Give
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The United
Way of Greater St. Louis counts on individual donors for a big impact.
By Lou Malnassy
In his landmark study of the United States, Democracy in America,
social observer Alexis de Tocqueville took note of Americans’ generosity
toward each other.
“When an American needs the assistance of his fellows, it is very
rare for that to be refused,” Tocqueville wrote. “When some unexpected
disaster strikes a family, a thousand strangers willingly open their
purses.” Tocqueville wrote those words in 1835. Even he could not
have foreseen they would still be true almost two centuries later,
as the United Way of Greater St. Louis prepares for its annual campaign.
Although it is perhaps best known for annual employee campaigns,
individual giving accounts for a significant portion of the United
Way’s contributions. Support through such initiatives as the Charmaine
Chapman Society (see sidebar, p. 48), the Women’s Leadership Giving
Initiative and, especially, the Alexis de Tocqueville Society, individual
gifts accounted roughly for one-sixth of total United Way funding
in 2001.
The Tocqueville Society recognizes individuals who donate $10,000
or more to the United Way. In the 15 years since the Society was
formed, the number of donors has increased more than 10-fold, and
total contributions have risen 20-fold. In 2001, 370 donors contributed
more than $7 million.
Despite recent softness in the economy, the number of large donors
is steadily increasing, growing by nearly 10 percent in 2001. “We’re
seeing more entrepreneurs and people from mid-size companies,” notes
United Way president and CEO Gary Dollar.
John Jacob would like to see even more. The Anheuser-Busch executive
and his wife Barbara co-chair the Tocqueville Society this year.
“Society members range from young entrepreneurs like Michael Jones
of Global Technology Solutions to long-time philanthropists like
Desmond Lee. Community leaders like Gloria White are members alongside
executives like Jan Newton…We would like to see more members from
mid-cap companies.”
The Direct Approach
When it comes to convincing someone to make a large donation, there
is only one sure-fire approach, explains Edward Jones’ John Bachmann:
ask.
“The Number One reason people don’t give is well-documented,” Bachmann
explains. “No one asks them. People’s giving is a function of being
asked and knowing what is an appropriate gift. When you see what
your peers are giving, it becomes easier to judge your own gift.”
Peer contact not only brings in contributions without the need for
“professional” fund-raising efforts, it also means the pool of potential
donors increases each year.
“When initiatives like the Tocqueville Society started, it consisted
of 10 or 15 people sitting around a table,” Dollar recalls. “This
year there were about 300 people at the Chapman Society kick-off,
and 130 for the Tocqueville Society. About one-third of each group
were first-time members.”
“There’s still a great deal of room for growth,” Jacob adds. “This
year we’ve set a goal by growing 100 members and adding one million
new dollars.”
As the number of donors continues to grow, their demographics become
more diverse and more representative of the St. Louis community
at large. According to Dollar, new members of the Tocqueville Society
are younger than their predecessors.
Jacob sees it a little differently. The most obvious characteristic
of donors is not age, gender or race, but leadership. “The only
profile that carries is ‘leaders lead when leadership is needed,’”
he says.
“Ultimately prospective members are those with the capacity to lead
by helping people, because help is needed.”
In the end, it is the spirit of giving back to the community that
inspires donors. As Jacob says, “we know that the St. Louis community
cares about those in need. The United Way of Greater St. Louis ranks
first among United Ways around the country in dollars raised as
a percentage of the total campaign. The United Way, through its
200 agencies, impacts the lives of one in every three people in
our region…It is crucial to remember that individuals make the decision
to help people in our community through the United Way.”
Alexis de Tocqueville himself recognized the spirit of giving 167
years ago when he wrote “Feelings and ideas are renewed, the heart
enlarged and the understanding developed only by the reciprocal
action of men one upon the other.”
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Initiatives
Set Sights on Emerging Philanthropists
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The
United Way has long offered ways for women and minorities
to demonstrate leadership in the community.
Established in 1996, the Women’s Leadership Giving Initiative
is based on the idea that women have key leadership roles
in all aspects of the community and are in a unique position
to set the pace. In 2001, more than 1,500 women contributed
more than $3 million to the Initiative, chaired this year
by Patricia Mercurio of Bank of America–Missouri. The Women’s
Leadership Giving Initiative in the St. Louis region is recognized
as a best practice among the more than 1,400 United Ways nationwide.
One of the United Way’s most successful initiatives has been
to the African-American community. This year United Way renamed
its initiative the Charmaine Chapman Society, to honor the
agency’s first African-American president and CEO, who died
in 2001.
Arnold and Hazel Donald chair the Society this year. Arnold
Donald, chairman and CEO for Merisant Company, points out
that philanthropy has always had a special significance in
the African-American community.
“African Americans have a strong history of philanthropy.
This has traditionally been expressed through the church,
with family and in our neighborhoods. The United Way now holds
special significance for the African-American community through
the Chapman Society, because it highlights this history of
caring and extends it to ‘organized philanthropy.’”
Founded in 1994, the Chapman Society has benefited from strong
leadership from the area’s African-American community. With
more than 500 members, the Chapman Society leads all United
Ways in the total number of givers, as well as in the number
of African-American members of the Tocqueville Society.
“Through the Chapman Society we are able to reach out to peers
that we may not work with, who show a common commitment to
help people through the United Way,” Donald says. “The personal
approach that these efforts take makes a difference to the
United Way.” |
Lou Malnassy is a St. Louis-based free-lance writer |
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