Original Source: The Indianapolis Star
By Maureen C. Gilmer
Nonprofits in Central Indiana have long counted the presence of Eli Lilly and Co. in their backyard among their blessings. The Fortune 500 corporation with 41,000 employees worldwide — 10,000-plus in Indianapolis — is a leader, both in the business world and in the community.
Perhaps no organization knows that better than United Way of Central Indiana.
The two have grown up together. During World War I, J.K. Lilly served as a member of the War Chest, a forerunner of today’s United Way, which in 2015 raised $68.8 million for affiliated nonprofits in Central Indiana. That was slightly more than 2014's funding of $68.7 million. In 2013, the charity raised $64.2 million.
Over the decades, Lilly has raised more that $250 million for United Way agencies, including a record $13.2 million in 2015.
But if United Way is to maintain its powerful position in an increasingly crowded field of charities, it must connect on a more meaningful level with the younger generation, who value deeper engagement and a sense of purpose in their giving decisions, said Una Osili, director of research at the Lilly Family School of Philanthropy at IUPUI.
"Millennials are interested in having a local and also a global impact," Osili said. "The challenge for United Way and other umbrella organizations is to provide those opportunities beyond writing a check."
The leadership at Lilly and United Way recognize that, so the two are strengthening their relationship locally and globally in the areas of education, income and health, with a focus on employee engagement (particularly as it relates to millennials).
Top executives from Lilly, United Way Worldwide and United Way of Central Indiana signed a "strategic partnership agreement" recently that focuses not so much on dollars raised, but on measurable community impact in Central Indiana and in other cities and countries where Lilly maintains a presence.
The agreement includes a commitment to raise $20 million for the Indy Preschool Scholarship Program; advocate for full state funding for early childhood education, starting in the 2017 Indiana legislative session; and coordinate literacy programs for at-risk students to ensure they are on pace to read at grade level by third grade.
Additionally, United Way and Lilly will collaborate on public investment for 2-1-1, a nationwide referral help-line connecting people with health and human services resources; support Jump IN, a community initiative to combat childhood obesity; and match employees with volunteer opportunities at United Way partner agencies.
In 2015, Lilly launched Connecting Hearts at Home, pairing 50 teams of Lilly employees with United Way agencies in Central Indiana. The program will be expanded beyond Indiana to Lilly sites around the world.
Before signing the agreement Feb. 18, in front of community leaders and children at the Edna Martin Community Center, the three CEOs sat down with IndyStar to talk about the evolution of their relationship and how it will serve the community. (Answers have been edited for length.)
Question: What is driving this partnership, and why is it important?
John Lechleiter, president/CEO of Eli Lilly and board chairman for United Way Worldwide:"This agreement greatly expands the notion of how a company like Lilly would partner with United Way for its mission of having a substantial impact in the areas of education, income, employment, health and basic needs in our community. I believe United Way represents the best hope we have of being able to address really big problems and opportunities.
"United Way of 2016 is about achieving measurable outcomes, not just about redistributing monies that people pledge or contribute. An example of that would be the partnership we struck up in early childhood education and the scholarship program for needy kids to give them access to quality day care. Lilly and other corporations have said, 'We think that's important to the extent that we've pledged to find $10 million for the program.' When the (City-County) Council approved the city's portion of the funding, they really looked to United Way to make this program work. The early returns are it's working really well. Fifteen hundred 3- and 4-year-olds are getting a good-quality preschool education with the scholarship money that never would have happened otherwise."
(Those 1,500, however, represent 30 percent of the 5,000 applicants for scholarships in Marion County last fall.)
Ann Murtlow, president and CEO of United Way of Central Indiana: "At United Way, we're all about bringing people together to solve complex problems that improve lives. So when we can combine corporate leadership with active individual engagement, we can create a future that everyone really buys into. It's very difficult for anyone in the philanthropic community to imagine a better partner than Lilly over (the past) 100 years."
Brian Gallagher, president and CEO of United Way Worldwide: "This is really about going back to our roots and saying, 'What's the value besides just an efficient fundraising campaign?' It really is the whole company, all the men and women inside the company that work with us, other nonprofits, government and other businesses to say, 'What's the best way to get all kids ready for school? To make sure that all kids graduate? To make sure that people find their way to a job so they can sustain themselves?'"
Q: Is United Way struggling to maintain relevance with the younger generation?
Murtlow: "United Way has never been more relevant than it is today. When you look at the areas that we focus on — education, income and health — with basic needs as a foundation for stability, I think we have challenges in our communities that really revolve around those three areas.
"And what individuals want, regardless of age, (is) to be actively involved. They don't just want to write a check. I think everyone wants to have a meaningful role in addition to donating to help make a community stronger. I wouldn't say it's an issue of relevance at all. It is an issue of communication."
Gallagher: "I think the world is coming back to us. The millennials are cause-related. They care about homelessness and the environment and education. Lilly raised a lot of money for United Way this year, a record amount, but 700 Lilly employees were first-time givers. That, to me, is most exciting."
Lechleiter: "We have made United Way more relevant by creating more opportunities for individual engagement. Those of us of a certain age were used to being talked to as a group; we participated in United Way because it was the right thing to do. The current generation — I have three children in that group — they want us to speak to them as individuals. They want to be connected in a different way, and that's why implicit in this agreement is an understanding that our employees will find ways to connect with United Way on their own terms.
"The people we're hiring today, particularly millennials, want to know they're coming to work for a company where they can get involved, a company that has a track record of supporting important activities within the community. Today, people want to know when they walk in the door: What is this company's commitment to things that I care about? Why would I be proud to work for this company beyond the work that you do?"
Q: What do you expect this agreement to mean for United Way of Central Indiana?
Murtlow: "The question is really what can it mean for our community. We can accomplish things that we haven't been able to accomplish in 30 years. And I think early childhood education is the perfect example of that. Who would have thought a year and a half ago that we could get to the point that we have $50 million over five years committed to get low-income kids into quality early education and be able to create capacity from almost zero in terms of high-quality seats.
"That's not the endgame though. The endgame ultimately is for us to be able to get public funding, sustainable public funding so that all of our kids have the opportunity to be successful in school. We know that's just absolutely critical. So when you bring together the education around the issues, the volunteer army to help educate but also to help create change, to get people and companies to lift their voices in unison to change public policy that stands in the way of self-sufficiency, and you get funders to come together to create enough resources and enough momentum to actually pull it all together, you can make amazing things happen. And I think we've just seen the beginning."
Gallagher: "You create public will for change. Big change happens when normative change happens. (He cites Mothers Against Drunk Driving, civil rights and smoking in public places as examples.) Political leaders will fund it when 51 percent say, 'We want it funded.' The norm right now in America is that education starts at age 6. And the norm has to change to education starts at birth, maybe prenatal. This is a funding discussion. What do we care about, what's important to us?
"And what's important to us is that all kids get the same start. If that happens, then all kids have a better chance to read at grade level in third grade. If that happens, then they're much more likely to stay in school during that middle school transition. If there's a job at the other end, and you've got a way and a path to get me there, that's how you deal with this. It starts with normative change. When the public says it, the leaders will fund it."
Lechleiter: "Part of what we want to do today is to say to local businesses, not just big companies, 'What is your contract with United Way? How does this play out in terms of your thinking? What's the level of commitment you have to the community and how you engage your employees?'"
Gallagher: "This is bigger than us. What's the social contract in our community? What's the role of the marketplace and employers. What's the role of one of the largest nonprofits that has a community vision? What's the role of government? That's what this is trying to get to.
"The relevancy of the United Way in the future will be a reflection of its community and its ability to be in this kind of relationship. It's about values. It's not about Lilly or United Way.
"What should the contract be? In some ways, we've lost our way, because the world has become so disrupted. That's what this is designed to try to change. We're establishing partnerships around the world. This conversation is happening in other locations. There are 100 global (Fortune) 500 companies based in the U.S. that represent 25 percent of all giving to United Way. That's a billion dollars in giving. We can use this (agreement) as a benchmark and a template for other conversations."
Lechleiter: “No other organization is positioned like United Way to bring together government, the private sector and social service organizations to make meaningful and lasting impact. We hope other businesses will follow our lead and prioritize United Way in their community-based work.”
Millennial giving
While a 2008 study by the IU School of Philanthropy shows that millennial giving on the whole is less than older generations, it's more likely a factor of relative wealth, marital status and religious affiliation than a lack of charity. Millennials are motivated by a desire to make the world a better place, rather than having been raised to tithe to a church or temple, for example.
"Millennials express a strong interest in making a difference with their consumption decisions and giving decisions," said Dr. Una Osili of the Lilly Family School of Philanthropy. "Their values are driving a lot of their decisions. They are seeking alignment with the causes and the things they believe in."
That presents an opportunity for United Way and other nonprofits to adapt the traditional giving model. "How do you create opportunities for donors to get involved?" Osili said.
Because they are just getting established in careers and may be dealing with student debt, their ability to give is less than the boomer generation, but making the connection with them now will be important down the road, Osili said.
There is "lots of opportunity for nonprofits. Donors will give where they are engaged meaningfully and get fulfillment."