FAQs

Q:        Why give to United Way of Regina?

A:         When you give to United Way of Regina, you make the most powerful gift you can to our community. Our work is local, our results meaningful and the investments we make together are changing people’s lives in lasting and positive ways in Regina.

Your gift will:
*  support children aged 0 – 6 and their families;   
*  help youth stay in school and connect to work; and,  
*  empower vulnerable families to succeed and build safe neighbourhoods.  

Your gift will also help ensure the availability of crisis services, especially for women and children fleeing domestic violence.

Q:        Where does my money go?

A:         Money raised by United Way of Regina stays in Regina and is invested in improving lives and building a better community for all of us.

The vast majority of your generous gift is distributed to our network of funded partners. We work with them to ensure your gift is being used in the most efficient and effective way to help improve the quality of life for all of us in Regina.  A smaller portion of the funds goes to helping support United Way programs such as Day of Caring, Labour Community Services, and our investments in organizational development work and volunteer training, which are helping to ensure the long term viability and strength of our network of community partners. Another portion is distributed through joint campaigns to other agencies and partners (e.g. Hospitals of Regina Foundation; Health Partners) and other individual donor designations to agencies outside our Circle of Care. 

Your United Way takes great pride in keeping our administration and fundraising costs consistently low. Approximately 11 cents of your dollar goes to support our fundraising costs and the “people resources” we require to train, motivate and support the thousands of volunteers who make our campaign a success each year.  Less than 6 cents of your dollar is used to maintain the people and systems in our infrastructure that are critical to our success.
Administrative costs ensure that:

*  your donation is processed promptly;
*  that funded partners are paid in a timely fashion;
*  that our audit and accountability controls are second to none; and,
*  that your personal information is protected.

By law, a charitable organization must spend a minimum 80% of their tax- receipted gifts on approved charitable activities. Your United Way exceeds that milestone and has adopted an additional standard – Imagine Canada's Ethical Fundraising Accountability Code, www.imaginecanada.ca

 
Q:        What are United Way of Regina's community priorities?

A:            We have reframed our community priorities through a Determinants of Community Well-Being perspective, and have identified desired outcomes in four areas:
*  early life,
*  education,
*  income and
*  social inclusion.

These priority areas and our target outcomes provide a focus for United Way of Regina activities, investments and reporting, but they also are intended to serve as a catalyst for broader community action.

The Our Common Future document available on our website outlines in detail the new priority framework and the outcomes for each targeted area. The reframing of the priority areas is intended to bring better focus to our work and that of our community partners.  The new framework should provide a better means of reporting back to the community.

Q:        Why not support my preferred agency or charity directly?

A:         When you give to United Way of Regina, you are making the most powerful gift you can to our community.  

How we raise, manage and invest your gift is all focused on the same end goal: to build a better common future by creating the greatest positive change in people’s lives and in our community. 

Whether we fund programs that support vulnerable young children, help high school students stay in school, or empower the families in our inner city neighbourhoods to take back their communities block by block, United Way’s impact is local, tangible and
meaningful and is focused on building a better common future for everyone.

We believe we share a common future. Everything we do at United Way is about building a better one for the city of Regina.  It’s what living united is all about – changing lives and improving our community. That’s the United Way difference and why we encourage donors to invest with us, rather than give through us.

We do, however, respect our donor’s wishes in directing their gift. The practice of Donor Designation is applied when a donor requests to have their gift given to a specific agency(s).

Q:        What is Donor Designation? How does it work?

A:         Donor Designation occurs when a donor directs their gift to be allocated to a specific charitable organization(s). Depending on whether or not an agency(s) is outside of United Way of Regina's family of funded organizations, the process of donor designation will operate in one of two ways:

i. A tax receipt will be issued and United Way will forward your gift to the specified agency(s) on a quarterly basis, minus an administration fee of 15% to be applied against processing costs, campaign expenses and pledge loss. Please note, organizations who receive such gifts understand the need for this fee, as it is unanticipated revenue and they do not have to incur any expenses or utilize staff time to raise funds. However, recipient organizations are grateful for the donations (less administrative overheads) and are informed of the donors name if United Way of Regina is instructed to provide it.

ii. If a pledge is made to an organization within our family of funded organizations, that gift is allocated without any administration fee. United Way of Regina and its agencies have agreed that these designations should be distributed to the agencies on a “first dollar in – first dollar out” basis. This means that any designated dollars are assigned to each agency(s) before we consider how much to distribute overall.

Q:        Who decides how allocations are made to funded partners?

A:         Our volunteer committees use various criteria to assist them in their allocations decisions. Some of the basic and ethical criteria require that an agency must:

* be managed by a volunteer Board of Directors in accordance with its own bylaws;
* provide human care services determined by the United Way Board of Directors to be important to the health and welfare of the community;
* ensure quality services that justify expenditures and do not duplicate other services in the community;
* operate on a sound financial basis, and maintain adequate records of its services and finances;
* make appropriate use of volunteers where ever possible, consistent with its programs; and,
* adhere to United Way policies and practices as stated in partnership agreements.

We focus on ensuring that funded partners are prepared to work in conjunction with United Way and other organizations, guaranteeing that effective collaborations are made. We are also focused on partnering to develop effective programs that can be evaluated using commonly shared outcome measurement tools.

Q:        What is the Tomorrow Fund?

A:         United Way of Regina’s Tomorrow Fund is a revenue stream separate from our annual Circle of Care Campaign.  The Fund focuses on attracting major gifts (from individuals, corporations and foundations), legacy gifts (wills and bequests), and donations through other planned giving vehicles such as gifts of securities, life insurance and other assets including cash. 

The Fund is made up of two endowment streams allowing donors to invest in issues for generations to come, as well as one “flow-through” venture capital stream.  The latter allows us to invest in projects addressing the root causes of key issues in our community in new and innovative ways. 

Nonprofit and charitable organizations are encouraged to apply to the Tomorrow Fund for project grants if they align with our four priority areas.

Q:        Is organized labour supportive of United Way of Regina?

A:         Each year, union members across Regina make a difference in our community through United Way. Labour’s involvement in United Way includes representatives on the Board of Directors and Campaign Cabinet, participation in the Annual Campaign through Joint Union/Management Campaigns and Day of Caring.

Each year union members gather to learn how to provide support to their co-workers, friends and neighbours during difficult times. The Canadian Labour Congress/United Way Union Counseling Program provides union members with training in communication skills, community services and peer support. Union counselors are a vital link between those in need and the community services that can provide assistance.

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