Harvard Business School

Harvard Business School

9-197-036
Rev. April 1, 1999

United Way of Southeastern New England (UWSENE)
The Balanced Scorecard is really a managerial tool, not a policy tool. A CEO needs to keep the board fully informed but not overwhelm the members with details and operational decision-making. There is a delicate balance about how much information and detail you provide. I certainly reportto the board and seek their approval of where I want to take the organization. But the vision is mine. Having said this, I would be comfortable sharing the BSC in depth with the board and reporting how we are doing on the measures. — Doug Ashby, President, UWSENE

History
United Way of Southeastern New England (UWSENE) is a not-for-profit corporation operating in the state of Rhode Island andadjacent communities in Connecticut and Massachusetts. United Way organizations provide services to donors, communities, and social service agencies. They enable individual donors to contribute, in an annual consolidated campaign at their workplace, to a wide range of human service programs in their communities. UWSENE conducts workplace campaigns at over 900 work establishments. A separate mailcampaign solicits thousands of individual givers not associated with a workplace. United Way organizations provide community services by giving local human service agencies access to the fund-raising capabilities of United Way. UWSENE directly funds more than 100 agencies through its Community Care Fund and Critical Issues Funds allocation processes. In addition, a donor choice option enablesindividuals to reach directly many additional agencies (more than 1,300 in 1995). UWSENE also provides agencies and other funders with information and technical assistance to assist in program planning, service coordination, and service improvement. Its community building initiatives support community development, children and families, welfare reform, and jobs. Consolidated fund-raising in Rhode Islandoriginated in 1926 to eliminate the inefficiency and disorganization caused by having each individual social service agency conduct its own annual fund-raising drive. The first Providence Community Chest drive raised its goal of $442,000. The organization subsequently was known as The Providence-Cranston Community Chest, the Red Feather and the United Way Fund. Over time, the federation ofseparate drives throughout towns and cities in Rhode Island, and nearby communities in Massachusetts and Connecticut, coalesced into the United Way of Southeastern New England. In 1995, UWSENE raised more than $17.4 million

Professor Robert S. Kaplan and Research Associate Ellen L. Kaplan prepared this case as the basis for class discussion rather than to illustrate either effective or ineffectivehandling of an administrative situation. Copyright © 1996 by the President and Fellows of Harvard College. To order copies or request permission to reproduce materials, call 1-800-545-7685, write Harvard Business School Publishing, Boston, MA 02163, or go to http://www.hbsp.harvard.edu. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, used in a spreadsheet, or transmittedin any form or by any means—electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise—without the permission of Harvard Business School. 1

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United Way of Southeastern New England (UWSENE)

from about 68,000 donors; 63% from workplace campaigns, 21% from corporate gifts, and 16% from individual and foundation contributions. UWSENE has an endowment of $50 million, the largestendowment of any United Way in the country. The income from this endowment, of about $2.5 million per year, and other income of about $400 thousand, covers all of UWSENE’s fund-raising and management expenses. The endowment enables the organization to offer a guarantee that 100% of all funds collected from donor contributions will flow to community services. Competition had emerged even in...