SPECIAL REPORT: Rappahannock Area United Way Closure
While some were shocked by the announcement, others pointed to the changing ways in which people give as a possible reason for Wednesday's sudden announcement.
By Martin Davis
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
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Shock. Remorse. Respect. Well wishes.
These were just some of the responses from local community leaders to the Rappahannock United Way’s announcement on Wednesday that it would cease operations on June 30.
Several local leaders said that they were stunned by the news and shared reactions similar to that of Brisben Center CEO David Cooper. “I was shocked by the news that the Rappahannock United Way was closing at the end of June,” Cooper told the Advance over the phone. The organization’s “impact on the Brisben Center has been significant over the years, and we are in gratitude for the contributions and support from [the United Way] on behalf of the Brisben Center and the Board and staff. We wish them all the best.”
Stafford County Public Schools’ Chief Communication Officer Sandra Osborn said that the closing “is something that is deeply saddening to us. The United Way has been an incredible partner for many years, and we appreciate all of the staff, volunteers, and donors who enriched the lives of so many. The United Way will certainly be missed in our area, not only for the services they provided, but for the sense of care and continuity it brought to our community.”
Others spoke more broadly about the impact of the organization’s loss.
“United Ways across the nation,” said Fredericksburg Regional Food Bank President and CEO Dan Maher, “are such vital resources to help communities reinvest in themselves and their strongest nonprofits …. [O]ur community will certainly miss the advocacy and the unity that the great team at the Rappahannock Area United Way has brought to the community.”
Others spoke directly to the importance of the impact the organization has had on their agency. “We have benefitted as a nonprofit organization in this community by the focused philanthropy that United Way allowed people to benefit from,” Legal Aid Works Executive Director Ann H. Kloeckner told the advance, “like their workforce [giving] campaigns.”
These campaigns allowed government workers and others to select individual organizations to support via payroll deductions. In this way people could support group’s like Kloeckner’s who might otherwise have not thought to do so.
The Changing Philanthropy Tide
Some leaders, while disappointed by the news, were less surprised because of the changing nature of philanthropic giving.
Though “thankful for the ways they’ve continued to support us through workplace giving,” Micah Ministries Executive Servant-Leader Meghann Cotter told the Advance, she also noted that “The United Way has worked hard over the past couple years to find its new identity in a changing market, and that identity has been relatively narrow on the ALICE population.”
Like every nonprofit organization, United Way Worldwide has had to adapt in recent years to how people give.
The workplace contribution program referenced by Cotter and Kloeckner, for example, has become less important over the past decade as United Way International has moved to shift its business model away from that approach.
While United Way International up to the pandemic was a fundraising behemoth, it had since 2007 been on a 10 year slide in the amounts it was raising. Between 2007 and 2018, according to an article in Charity Watch, donations to United Ways fell by almost 28%.
The reasons are varied. The growth of the internet made it possible for every nonprofit to ask for money online directly, meaning donors no longer required a middle organization like United Ways to give.
Further, sophisticated giving channels like donor advised funds grew in popularity, giving donors control over their giving desires in ways that United Ways could not.
Smaller donors had more options, too. Groups like CharityNavigator, GuideStar, and Charity Watch made it possible for individuals to quickly identify, research, and contribute to organizations they wanted to support.
A review of Rappahannock United Way’s 990 tax forms since 2017 show that decreased donations had affected it, as it had most United Ways across the United States.
Prior to COVID, Rappahannock United Way realized drops in revenues in every year from 2017 - 2019. The organization got a significant bump in funds in 2020 and 2021 due to COVID, but funds fell sharply in 2022 and again in 2023. It also had negative net revenues from 2021 - 2023.
Though the Rappahannock United Way’s 990 for 2024 is not yet available, according to its 2023-2024 annual report, the organization realized another significant drop in fundraising — down to $1.6 million.
That’s a $250,000 drop, or 14% percent decline, from 2023. The report does not list the organization’s total expenditures for 2024.
Whether declining funds were responsible for Rappahannock United Way’s closing is not currently known. The Advance has reached out to United Way representatives at the national and state levels, as well as at Rappahannock United Way, to ask about the extent to which changes in philanthropic giving practices might have driven the closure. As of publication, the Advance has not heard back.
Not the First
Rappahannock United Way is not the first United Way in the region to close its doors.
In 2018, Piedmont United Way based out of Culpeper closed its doors. A story from Inside Nova quoted President of the Board of Directors Russell Houck saying: “Declining revenues for the last decade led us to that decision. We had sought since February of 2018 to merge our organization with either Rappahannock United Way based in Fredericksburg or Jefferson United Way based in Charlottesville. Neither organization showed an interest in a merger.”
The property owned by Piedmont United Way was sold and the proceeds distributed to United Way partner agencies.
Rappahannock United Way’s announcement did not say how its physical assets would be handled.
Loss
The organization’s closure will have negative consequences for vulnerable populations at a time when federal funds are threatened to be sharply curtailed for social service organizations. And the economy, while stable for now, is showing signs that it could lapse into recession.
The particulars of how this closure will affect them, however, are not currently known.
The ALICE report is not produced by Rappahannock United Way, but rather was supported financially by the organization. How the closure affects reporting on this area is unknown. So, too, is the future of the local Prosper program, which is focused on helping people reach financial stability.
In a statement posted to Rappahannock United Way’s website Wednesday evening, the organization said that “RUW’s leadership team and Board of Directors are working closely with donors and partner organizations to ensure a smooth transition and continued support for those who rely on community services. All remaining funds and resources will be responsibly allocated in alignment with RUW’s mission and values.”
Though gone, the organization will not soon be forgotten.
“The legacy of the Rappahannock United Way,” said Kloeckner, “is that there are lots of vibrant nonprofits, and they should be supported.
This story was updated at 9:07 a.m. on Thursday, May 1, to add a comment from Sandra Osborn, and to clarify information regarding how local organizations will be affected by Rappahannock United Way’s closure.
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