Another setback at United Way merger table

'Everybody can't be a coach'
6/24/11
Thumbs up as Santa look-alike loses his locks
6/24/11
Charles Krauthammer: U.S. needs a new way to decide when we’re at war
6/24/11
Treasurer: ‘County finances can be rather complex’
6/24/11
> More opinion headlines

11:37 AM Thursday, September 10, 2009

Our support of a single, regional United Way agency is well-documented, so naturally we are somewhat disappointed that another party has left the bargaining table.

The Warren County United Way last week said it was also withdrawing from negotiations for a merger between area United Way organizations. In early August, the United Way of the Greater Dayton Area was the first to withdraw from the talks which have gone on for more than three years.

That leaves only the Butler County United Way and the United Way of Greater Cincinnati at the table. The Greater Cincinnati United Way, by the way, includes the Middletown agency (they merged in the 1990s), as well as Hamilton, Clermont and Brown counties in Ohio; Boone, Campbell, Kenton and Grant counties in Kentucky; and Dearborn and Ohio counties in Indiana.

After Dayton’s departure in early August, United Way officials from Butler County, Cincinnati and Warren County had decided to take a 90-day recess from further talks, and meet again to reassess the process on Nov. 23.

Warren County’s sudden pullout last week may have been a surprise, but the Nov. 23 meeting is still on the calendar.

Warren County United Way President Michael Schepers used the same language that had been spoken earlier by Dayton’s Gary Auman — that no compelling business case had been made for a regional agency. So these two agencies will continue to go it alone during a difficult economy when contributions are shrinking. “Greater Cincinnati, Butler County, Dayton have all steadily progressed downward,” said Butler County Common Pleas Judge Michael Sage, who had facilitated the talks.

It was believed that a merger would have allowed for efficiencies in administrative overhead that currently exists for each individual United Way organization, as well as eliminating any duplicated services. The goal was to ensure that as much of every donated dollar goes to the worthy causes and agencies that United Way supports, rather than on administrative costs.

The talks had also been prompted by the unmistakable trend that is erasing old boundaries up and down the Interstate 75 corridor between the Greater Cincinnati and Greater Dayton areas. That trend toward a Cincinnati-Dayton metroplex — which will include Butler and Warren counties — will continue inexorably, whether the United Way agencies merge now or at some point in the future.

It appears for now that fears of loss of identity and local control may have prevailed.

But we trust that the decisions by Warren County and Dayton do not preclude further discussion about collaboration on fund-raising and other matters with their neighbor agencies, and perhaps they will be ready to talk about a merger again as future economic conditions change. The process may occur in incremental steps over years.

However, a merger now would have provided easier choices for donors whose busy lives cross those fading regional boundaries. It would have eliminated the difficult choice that some families — whose members perhaps live in one county and work in another — must face when it’s time to decide to which United Way agency to contribute.

As far as the two remaining organizations at the table, we hope that the Butler County United Way — which serves Hamilton, Fairfield, Fairfield Twp., Liberty Twp., Morgan Twp., Ross Twp., St. Clair Twp., Wayne Twp. and West Chester Twp. — will continue discussions with Cincinnati. Given the area’s closer identification with Cincinnati and Hamilton County, it could be a good fit.

In Middletown, the Cincinnati merger has helped to buffer the local United Way from some difficult economic setbacks in some years.

Although we may be disappointed that this one effort at regionalization has fallen short of its original goal, let there be no doubt that we continue to support the important functions provided by all of these United Way organizations and the agencies they help financially.

We hope that you, too, will continue your generous financial assistance during this time of economic hardship — when the services provided by these agencies are needed more than ever.

Share this article