United Way Sets a Record High at $20.6 Million

Contrary to Orange County’s tight-fisted reputation, the 1989 United Way fund-raising campaign amassed a record-setting total of $20.6 million, exceeding an ambitious goal of $20.5 million and ending four consecutive years in which the agency failed to reach its financial target.

Elated United Way officials, announcing the 1989 pledge totals at a banquet in Anaheim on Wednesday night, attributed the outpouring to a heightened sensitivity caused by a series of natural disasters, including the Bay Area earthquake in Northern California and Hurricane Hugo in South Carolina.

“This, coupled with better donor education locally, helped create an urgency in people to become involved that may have not been there a year ago,” 1989 campaign chairman Ronald L. Merriman, managing partner of KPMG Peat Marwick in Costa Mesa, said in a prepared statement. “The community is to be congratulated for its generosity and support. That generosity will translate into much needed help in the year ahead for those who are less fortunate.”

Another reason the 1989 fund-raising effort went so well is that United Way enlisted a record number of so-called “loaned executives” to coordinate its volunteer collection campaign, said Merritt Johnson, United Way of Orange County president. In 1988, Johnson said, United Way was assisted by 40 executives on loan from local corporations, while in 1989 it had 50.

“We’re very, very pleased,” Merritt said of the campaign results. “It took a lot of hard work by many volunteers. And (the results) sort of decry the belief that Orange County is very stingy.”

The United Way campaign began Sept. 9, and the money it raised will help support 122 organizations that provide health and human services throughout Orange County.

The vast majority of the programs are for local residents, although Johnson said some of the money goes to support such national organizations as the American Red Cross and Boy Scouts of America. Local programs include the Childrens Hospital of Orange County, an alcoholic rehabilitation house in Santa Ana, and a speech and language development center in Buena Park.

Mostly through payroll deductions, the United Way organization in 1988 raised $18.6 million, an 11% increase over the 1987 total. Despite the increase that year and in two previous years, the campaign had not met its goal in any of the last four years, falling $600,000 short in 1988.

In announcing 1989’s campaign goal of $20.5 million last August, United Way officials had expressed concern that county-based corporations were contributing far less per capita than comparable urban areas. The national amount raised per capita averages about $17, compared to an average of $8 in Orange County, officials had said.

To help meet that projection, campaign officials said they targeted Pacific Rim businesses and high-income individuals and groups previously not tapped.

The campaign also focused on the need to better finance agencies dealing with substance abuse, child care and health care, which were identified as key issues in a community survey. An update of that survey conducted in December found child care as the community’s top social concern, followed by such issues as homelessness, physical and sexual abuse, and mental and emotional health.

Johnson said the 1989 fund-raising total tops three consecutive years of gains in contributions. It also represented a doubling of campaign totals since 1980, when $10.2 million was raised.

The pledge totals increased steadily through the decade except in 1986, when contributions plunged to $16.5 million from the $17.5 million collected the year before. The following 1987 campaign succeeded in raising just $200,000 more than 1986.

Johnson blamed the downturn during that period, in part, on sharp losses in the county’s oil service industry, which was struggling amid a worldwide oil glut. The Orange County economy was also suffering at the time from layoffs, takeovers and mergers.

Another factor in the slowdown, Johnson and other campaign officials have said, was a 1986 scandal involving United Way officials in Los Angeles, which caused a backlash against the Orange County operation. In early 1986, it was disclosed that about $300,000 in cash loans had been made since 1980 to five top employees of the United Way organization in Los Angeles. The loan money--much of it unsecured and interest-free--came from United Way donations.

In addition to the campaign pledge announcement Wednesday, several awards were presented to volunteers during the United Way Campaign Celebration and Recognition Dinner at the Anaheim Hilton.

Among the most prominent honors was the presentation of United Way’s Dimensions in Giving Award to Peter and Gail Ochs for a second consecutive year. The award is the most prestigious honor bestowed by United Way of Orange County, and it paid tribute to the Ochses’ work in the past three campaigns. Where the Money Goes It is unknown how United Way officials will spend the record $20.6 million raised in the 1989 campaign. But here is how the $18.6 million raised in 1988 was distributed. United Way Services to the Community: 3.6% Non-Member Designation: 3.3% Drug/Crime Prevention: 2.7% Membership Dues: 1.2% Adult Senior Development: 1% Youth Development: 16.1% Health: 17.3% Emergency Needs: 12.9% Family Support: 9.5% Management & Administration: 8.9% Fund Raising: 8.4% Disabled Services: 8.4% Community Development: 6.7% United Way of Orange County Campaign Totals for the 1989s In millions of dollars ‘80: $10.2 ‘81: $11.7 ‘82: $13.3 ‘83: $14.5 ‘84: $16.5 ‘85: $17.5 ‘86: $16.5 ‘87: $16.7 ‘88: $18.6 ‘89: $20.6 Source: United Way of Orange County