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Four area United Way agencies raise about $78 million annually

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By Margo Rutledge Kissell, Staff Writer 7:37 PM Thursday, June 11, 2009

LEBANON — Amy Davis attended Thursday’s meeting in Lebanon to hear the business case for a potential merger between four area United Way agencies, but left disappointed.

“It makes it a more centralized organization that’s faceless,” Davis, a community leader and United Way donor, said after the meeting at Workforce One of Warren County.

The meetings were by invitation only, as will be sessions next week in the Dayton area, Butler County and the Cincinnati area. United Way officials said they want to provide an environment that encourages open feedback from participants.

“It would be unfair, in my mind, to share that document with the public because the final product might be radically different,” said Butler County Common Pleas Judge Michael Sage, the regional exploratory team’s chairman.

With combined annual fundraising campaigns of about $78 million, joining forces would make the regional United Way one of the biggest in the country.

Proponents say one advantage of a regional United Way is sharing backroom operations, Sage said.

“We don’t have a hard number yet” on how much savings that could add up to in administrative costs.

However, Sage said the goal for a regional United Way would be “for every dollar collected, keep expenses at 12 percent” — something none of the four agencies currently meet.

Sage said some of the money saved could be used to attempt to grow a campaign to raise funds benefiting health and human service agencies spread across Montgomery, Greene, Preble, Butler, Warren and 10 counties covered by the Cincinnati United Way.

Gary Auman, chairman of the board for the United Way of the Greater Dayton Area, said that the intent of the proposal is that none of the agencies would get less funding than it does now. However, there is no written guarantee local dollars would stay local.

The goal is to have the boards for the four United Way agencies vote on a proposal in August.

“It’s going to ultimately be voted on in each of the communities as to what this thing looks like, where the control and authority will lie in this new model, should it actually come to fruition,” said Allen Elijah, president and chief executive officer of the Dayton area’s United Way.

Since Jan. 1, 2004, 87 United Ways have merged with other United Way agencies.

“Approximately 20 are in various stages of discussion about mergers across the USA,” said Kenneth C. Euwema, vice president of membership and financial accountability for United Way of America, based in Alexandria, Va.

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