In the 'old days,' United Way used to provide funding to agencies for whatever they requested. They became accustomed to the constancy of funding. But times changed and the sleepy nonprofit became history. Today's nonprofit watchwords are competition for market share, service provider, leader, change-agent, partner, and neighbor. Nonprofits unwilling or unable to compete will certainly become nonexistent.
Competition is everywhere.
United Way's role in building community needs with dollars allocated involves taking a strong stand in funding only those programs that address priorities with service excellence. Is doing that in its approach to funding programs that address community needs. It is doing that by instituting an innovative fund distribution system called the Community Care Fund . It requires agencies to provide proof of the effectiveness of their programs before resources are invested. This new process in allocating contributions is based upon the community goal-setting initiative called Common Commitment.