Although United Way's allocations to its members declined somewhat during Jacobs' tenure, everyone had what they needed. Or at least not until it was too late. Even when it was clear last fall the money was running out, all parties agree Jacobs was still locked into her belief that the desperately needed money could be raised. Her finance chief wanted to cut agency allocations, and so did the board's finance committee. It's a puzzling history.
Many reasons There is no one explanation.
Chalk it up to a combination of questionable management, board weakness, historical policies and accounting practices that should have been changed years ago. All in a market where new strategies are needed to raise money for the scores of human resources agencies, tiny to medium-sized, that United Way subsidizes. The board, which fired Jacobs Thursday for keeping them in the dark, had warnings. And the board got detailed balance sheets, although directors say they didn't reflect the fact they were giving away more money than they were taking in. No one is accused of running off with United Way money.