United Way Case Study

A new decade glimmered with hopes and possibilities as the Berlin Wall crumbled to the ground and the cold war ended. As the world celebrated what some believed was a fresh move to democracy a new foe appeared in the Middle East. Iraqi forces invaded neighboring Kuwait in August 1990 marking the beginning of the Gulf War.
National Guardsmen from across the country, including an Air National Guard Squadron from Little Rock Air Force Base (LRAFB) and National Guard troops from Camp Robinson, deployed in operation Desert Shield, later Desert Storm, to support the efforts of active duty personnel. Many Guardsmen joined for educational benefits, never dreaming of deploying overseas. Many left behind good paying jobs and took salary cuts. United Way of America (UWA) Board Members’ companies provided support for U.S. troops and ensured availability of counseling services in employee assistance programs for family members with loved ones in the Gulf. Some paid the difference between their civilian
salaries and military pay.
As life returned to normal, post-deployment, Little Rock became a national political scene as Governor William Jefferson “Bill” Clinton announced his intention for a presidential bid. Bill and Hillary Clinton were no strangers to the United Way (UW); the First Lady of Arkansas hosted 150 attendees at Campaign Rally I, an election-themed kickoff celebration at the Governor’s Mansion in 1990. A celebration that foreshadowed their victory celebration at the Old State House when the Governor of Arkansas became the 42nd President of the U.S. President Clinton’s tenure in the White House through the nineties elevated the presence of Little Rock, in the national media along with the critique this entailed.
Similarly, the President of United Way of America, William Aramony, came under significant scrutiny in the early nineties that led to his resignation.
Convicted in 1995 of twenty-five felony charges and sentenced to seven years in federal prison, the ordeal caused concern nationwide about the organization. During the nineties, Heart of Arkansas United Way was known as United Way of Pulaski County (UWPC). In an attempt to reassure the public Leon Matthews, President/Chief Executive Officer (CEO), stated to the people of Pulaski County and the state, each United Way was an independently run organization with total control at the local level. While they share a name, UWA did not have a hand in local business. Despite this message, some partners like Harvest Foods, a grocery chain, withdrew support from the 1992 campaign. However, Jitney Jungle, another grocery chain, joined the campaign that year. Despite the national scandal, the campaign ended with positive
results.
The nineties, wrought with numerous scandals, adverse weather, and terrorist attacks also brought about a technological revolution. The introduction of the world wide web, a communication superhighway of enormous magnitude, began to change the manner of business in every corner of the nation. The face of UWPC was now able to stream right into the very homes of future donors. Bill Scholl and Loretta Lever, former Board members, expressed how technology completely changed the way United Way does business.
Throughout the nineties, UWPC showed its adaptability by continuing to meet the ever-changing needs of the community. Steered by guidelines of their business model, UWPC went through several changes during the nineties. It began a process to develop a strategic plan in the early part of the decade.