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Donor Designation Policy

 

The option to designate is a service that United Way offers to donors. Donor choice policies strive to balance the wishes of donors for the distribution of their charitable giving and the needs of the overall community. Designations are handled as a separate funding stream for agencies, which receive donor designated dollars over and above their allocations from the Community Care Fund.

Corporate Designations

United Way of Greater Kansas City does not offer a corporate designation program other than to United Way’s Community Care Fund or specific Community Impact Areas.

Affiliated Agencies

United Way of Greater Kansas City offers individual donors the opportunity to designate any member agency, agencies with a formal agreement with United Way of Greater Kansas City, or other United Ways. Donors may also exclude a member agency from receiving any portion of a Community Care Fund gift.

Unaffiliated Agencies

United Way of Greater Kansas City offers individual donors the opportunity to designate agencies not affiliated with United Way if they meet the following criteria:

  • The agency has 501(c)( 3) status
  • The agency is located and operates within a 100 mile radius of metropolitan Kansas City or is a chapter or headquarters of a local United Way member agency.
  • The agency must be a health and human service organization. (See also policies related to Community Impact Areas and the Tocqueville Society listed below.) Religious, arts, environmental, educational, animal rights, civic organizations, foundations, fraternal or political organizations are not eligible unless their primary mission is health and human services.

Community Impact Areas

Donors may designate Community Impact Areas that are determined by the board of the United Way of Greater Kansas City. Click here to read more about our Community Impact Areas.

Administration and Fundraising Expenses

All effective organizations incur expenses for administration and fundraising. Designated gifts to agencies are reduced by the actual fundraising and administrative expenses of United Way of Greater Kansas City. Funds forwarded to agencies are based on actual collections net of the administrative and fundraising expense. (See also policy related to Tocqueville Society designations.)

Tocqueville Designations

Members of the Tocqueville Society (those who give $10,000 or more to United Way annually) will not be charged administrative or fundraising fees on their designations to agencies. As a result, funds forwarded to agencies are equal to actual collections.

To be recognized as a member of the Tocqueville Society, a significant portion of a donor’s gift must be designated to the Community Care Fund, a Community Impact Area, or remain undesignated (Undesignated dollars are allocated to the Community Care Fund) as follows:

Total Giving Level Minimum Community Care Fund/Community Impact Portion

  • $10,000 to $24,999 - 50%
  • $25,000 to $49,999 - $12,500 + 40% of amount over $25,000
  • $50,000 or more - $22,500 + 30% of amount over $50,000

(This policy is subject to grandfathering of a limited number of specific long-term Tocqueville Society donors. Donors who are grandfathered are expected to contribute a minimum of $5,000 annually to the Community Care Fund in order to maintain membership in the Tocqueville Society.)

Tocqueville Society donors may designate gifts to specific programs of local unaffiliated agencies that are not health and human service organizations only if those specific programs are similar to programs offered by agencies whose primary mission is health and human services.