Everything you wanted to know about United Way California Capital Region and more, from fundraising methods to nonprofit affliliations.

Who is United Way California Capital Region?

Your local United Way is an independent local affiliate of United Way of America serving Amador, El Dorado, Placer, Sacramento and Yolo Counties. Founded in 1923, UWCCR has raised more than $400 million for the regional nonprofit community.

Who runs United Way California Capital Region?

UWCCR is managed by a staff of 30 nonprofit professionals and governed by a local board of directors representing the regional community it serves.

What do you do?

We work with 450 employers in Amador, El Dorado, Placer, Sacramento and Yolo Counties to raise money through workplace giving campaigns. We work with volunteers and selected nonprofits to invest the money donors direct to us in tackling tough issues in our community in the areas of Education (STAR Readers project), Income ($en$e-Ability project) and Health (Fit Kids project).

Do you provide direct services?

No. Anyone seeking non-emergency assistance should contact InfoLine at (916) 498-1000 or by dialing 2-1-1 if you are in Sacramento County.

Why should I donate through United Way?

United Way gives you the chance to LIVE UNITED your way. You can support United Way’s bold new strategies by giving to the United Way focus areas of Education (STAR Readers project), Income ($en$e-Ability project) and Health (Fit Kids project), you can donate to your favorite nonprofit—any nonprofit, you can rally your friends, family and coworkers to get involved in a cause, and you can volunteer with us or one of our nonprofit partners.

Also, United Way offers payroll deduction, which gives you the chance to make a bigger impact on the issues you care about by giving a little at a time instead of one lump sum at the end of the year. It’s a win-win: You pay a little at a time, giving more in the long run, and nonprofits receive a steady stream of money without the costs of fundraising.

What are United Way’s projects?

Over the last couple of years, United Way has launched regional collaborative groups to determine and tackle some of the region’s top issues:

• Education: Improving high school graduation rates
• Income: Increasing financial self-sufficiency for adults and foster youth
• Health: Improving people’s lives by reducing obesity

Each collaborative creates a project that will help measurably reach the overall goal in the next seven to 10 years.

Working toward these regional goals, United Way’s new projects are:

• STAR Readers: Ensuring students are reading at grade level by fourth grade
• $en$e-Ability: Empowering households to be financially literate
• Fit Kids: Decreasing obesity through nutrition and physical activity 

How did you choose which big issues to focus on?

We used a very data-driven process that has included a multi-county needs assessment, multiple town hall and regional meetings and a blue-ribbon task force of community volunteers. All of this information developed through that process was used to create recommended areas of focus (Education, Health and Income) and presented to our Board of Directors, which has ultimate authority to approve our Impact projects.

How does United Way help my community?

Since 1923, your local United Way has raised more than $400 million for the nonprofit community by partnering with employers to offer their employees the opportunity to give to the nonprofit of their choice through payroll deduction. Beyond that, we bring together some of these nonprofits and a variety of community leaders to work on projects that that get measurable, positive results on some of the tough issues facing our regional community.

How does United Way raise money?

We do frequently get corporate donations, but the vast majority of the money we raise comes from individual donors whose employers partner with us to offer their employees the opportunity to give to the nonprofit of their choice through payroll deduction.

Which local companies support United Way?

More than 750 local private and public sector companies and organizations support United Way through workplace giving campaigns.

Who is United Way’s CEO?

Steve Heath, a Sacramento native and former volunteer board member of this United Way and others, joined our local United Way on December 1, 2004. Before coming to Sacramento, he served as the executive director of the Combined Federal Campaign of the National Capital Area.

What is the relationship between our local United Way and United Way of America?

United Way California Capital Region is one of about 1,300 independent local affiliates of United Way of America with a local board of volunteer directors. United Way of America does not own UWCCR. We pay dues to United Way of America and receive support services from it.

Why aren’t the Boy Scouts on the list of certified partner agencies?

In order to be one of our Certified Partner Agencies, a nonprofit organization must sign a statement saying that it does not discriminate on the basis of age, sex, religion, ethnicity or sexual preference. When we put this policy into place a number of years ago, the Boy Scouts opted not to reapply for certification. However, people can still give to the Boy Scouts through our various campaigns and every year the local Boy Scouts Council receives thousands of dollars through United Way.

Does United Way fund Planned Parenthood?

Planned Parenthood is not a United Way California Capital Region Certified Partner Agency and therefore does not receive any direct funding from our Community Impact Fund. As with any other nonprofit, however, gifts can be designated to Planned Parenthood by individual donors. United Way donors always have the option of designating their gifts to any 501(c)(3) organization, including Planned Parenthood.

How is United Way associated with the NFL?

Our local United Way does not have a direct relationship. The NFL – United Way partnership, which is the longest-running public service advertising campaign and sports/charity partnership of its kind, is managed by United Way of America. All NFL representatives appearing in United Way ads are volunteers who receive no compensation. The NFL pays for production costs and airtime. There is no cost to local United Ways for the spots.

About Donations:

Where does my money go?

Your local United Way lets you give Your Way. You can choose to give to United Way projects that get great results, a nonprofit certified by United Way or any federally tax-exempt 501c3 organization in the U.S. We provide you with the data you need to make an informed choice, and you decide where your donations go.

Do United Way dollars leave the region?

While donors can give to any nonprofit 501c3 in the United States, gifts to United Way Projects are invested in Amador, El Dorado, Placer, Sacramento and Yolo counties through grants to nonprofits that are working together to address tough issues in our community.

What is United Way’s overhead?

Our current overhead is 19.04 percent.

Does United Way charge a fee for giving to the nonprofit of my choice?

We do not charge fees to donors for designating gifts to specific nonprofits (other than United Way). We do usually deduct a small amount (usually about 15%) from a gift before passing it on to a designated nonprofit. This covers our cost of raising the money and making sure it gets to where to donor wants it to go. So, it is not a fee to the donor, it is a fee to the recipient nonprofit—and it often amounts to much less than it would have cost the recipient nonprofit to raise the money itself.

Why should I give through United Way and not directly to my favorite nonprofit?

If you want to do it that way—and if you will really follow through and do so—that is fine with us. Philanthropy is important to you and to your community on many levels and the most important thing is that you do give to the cause(s) you are passionate about. But experience tells us that despite the best of intentions, most people who say they will give directly don’t actually do it—usually because they forget. By signing up to give through payroll deduction, you don’t have to worry about it. It is done automatically for you. And a second benefit of giving through United Way is that you can usually have more of an impact on the issues you care about by diving through payroll deduction. For example, most people can’t afford to make a $300 donation all at once. But with a payroll deduction of just $6 a week (or its equivalent) they can give $300 to a cause they care about. That makes what we do a “win-win” situation for both donors and nonprofits.

Is United Way’s overhead higher than that of other nonprofits?

That depends on which other nonprofit you’re talking about, but in most cases the answer would be no. (You can see our overhead ratio and the overhead ratio of each of our Certified Partner Agencies if you click on “Search for Nonprofits” at the top of this page.) At 19.04%, we are well within the range organizations like the Better Business Bureau say is acceptable.

What can I do if I feel I was forced to give through United Way?

We absolutely do not condone coercion of any kind. Philanthropy is a voluntary act. If you feel you were forced to give, you should go to your human resources department and ask to have your pledge canceled. If you are not comfortable doing that, please contact us. Once we verify that we have received money from you, we will refund it and we will work with your employer to have the payroll deduction process stopped. We will also council the employer to be more careful.