Maione eyes relationships with donors

Maione
Maione

United Way of Rhode Island President and CEO Anthony Maione believes the local economy is slowly improving. As the man in charge of the nonprofit that raised $13 million in its last fiscal year, he knows what he’s talking about. Rhode Island is emerging from the hardest fundraising climate Maione has ever seen, but signs of life have returned.
A new initiative with Hasbro, Inc. shows the resilience and imagination of local companies willing to work with the United Way to make a difference. The new Hasbro Summer Learning Initiative engaged more than 1,000 kids in high-quality summer-learning programs last summer.
However, Maione laments that the competition for funding in a still-challenging economy often means great programs get funding over good ones.

PBN: How would you characterize the corporate-giving climate in Rhode Island right now?
MAIONE: This has been the toughest fundraising climate in my career. Rhode Island was severely impacted by the recession, individuals and organizations alike. In response, organizations cut back their operating expenses, including philanthropy. Fortunately, for us, some organizations and individuals actually increased their donations during this time period, which offset, in part, some of the decreases.

PBN: How does this year compare with last and the year before?
MAIONE: The entire nonprofit sector has been raising less money since 2008, and we are not exempt. We have taken small percentage losses over the past few years but we still rank among the top 50 United Ways in the country.

PBN: There is a lot of talk that the economy is improving. Is it showing in increased giving?
MAIONE: When the stock market improved, we saw an increase in donations of appreciated stock, and we have had some very good results in companies, despite the recession. There is no doubt that as Rhode Island comes back, so will philanthropy. Helping others is in the DNA of so many in our community. As people and companies have more to give and feel more secure about the future, they will help.

PBN: What has UWRI done to deal with decreases or leveling off of corporate giving in recent years? Is there anything new this year in its efforts to raise money?
MAIONE: United Way is focused on relationships with our donors, whether they are companies or individuals. We try to understand what they want to achieve and then match that against the results we are delivering. A great example is a new initiative with Hasbro, Inc. Hasbro has a great interest in children and education. We partnered with them to establish the Hasbro Summer Learning Initiative in Rhode Island. … The results indicate that the children who participated did not lose two months of educational achievement over the summer; some actually advanced in their academic proficiency. Hasbro was in it with us every step of the way, contributing their knowledge of what worked, as well as making a significant corporate contribution.

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PBN: What does UWRI do with the money it raises?
MAIONE: In a nutshell, we are pursuing solutions to social problems, getting results and engaging our donors to achieve those results. UWRI works in four key areas: education, income, housing and 2-1-1, our 24/7 information and referral help line. We are not only providing funding for really good programs, but we are also changing the way services are delivered and staying focused on results.
PBN: Are there more groups vying for those funds now than before?
MAIONE: There are new nonprofit organizations vying for funds. Additionally, due to shrinking public and private funding sources, there is a lot of competition among nonprofits. Our process is open and competitive; we utilize volunteers from our community to analyze proposals and award the grants. It’s very difficult because really good programs are losing out to programs that are even better. •

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