Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, March 24, 1992 TAG: 9203240208
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: A-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: MONICA DAVEY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Kenneth Dam, interim president of the charity's national group, warned Sunday that it could collapse if local United Way chapters don't begin paying their dues.
Roanoke's United Way chapter was one of the first - if not the first - in the nation to decide to withhold dues from United Way of America when allegations arose last month about the lavish spending habits of Dam's predecessor, William Aramony.
Many of the nation's 1,400 local chapters followed suit in a wave of protest.
"We're living from payroll to payroll," Dam told a national conference of United Way representatives in Indianapolis. "It is extremely serious."
"I may have to preside over the dismantling of United Way of America," he said.
But Dam's plea wasn't enough for any immediate change at United Way campaigns in Southwest Virginia.
Officials from groups in Roanoke, Lynchburg, Martinsville and Henry County, and Montgomery County and Radford said they will continue waiting for the results of an investigation into Aramony's finances.
United Way of America, which commissioned that investigation, expects a report on it April 2. Aramony reportedly made $463,000 a year, sometimes rode in chauffeured limousines and occasionally flew on the supersonic Concorde - all on the tab of the non-profit charity.
"The board will wait for the report," Linda Holsinger, vice president for marketing and communications at United Way of Roanoke Valley, said Monday. "Then, the board will determine whether the investigation gives them the information they need to reinstate dues."
Local chapters generally send 1 percent of the funds they raise to the Alexandria-based national organization, which provides them training and advertising and has a $29 million budget.
Roanoke's board will meet April 7 and the report - and dues - will probably be discussed then, Holsinger said.
That's not to say local officials aren't encouraged by changes already under way at United Way of America.
Richard Popp, a member of Roanoke's board who attended the Indianapolis meeting over the weekend, said that the national group's cost-cutting so far had impressed him.
The national group has frozen hiring and ordered a 10 percent cut in its annual budget, Dam said at the conference. In addition, it has quit paying club memberships for its officials, banned the use of portable phones, sold all its cars and is using the most economical transportation available, Dam said.
"I can't speak for the board, but my own feeling is that these people are really trying to do the right job," Popp said. "I get a pretty good feeling that I would want to recommit to sending some funds in."
Popp believes United Way of America will survive.
So does William Whelan of Lynchburg's United Way.
"I would be surprised if it collapsed," Whelan said. "People of their caliber certainly can weather this storm."
Montgomery County's executive director Annette Clark is hoping so, too.
"Corporate America has got to step in and keep the United Way of America afloat awhile," she said.
Collapse, she said, would be a "disaster." The national group offers the locals crucial advice, research and advertising, she said.
Amy Whitlow, from Henry County's group, agreed.
"I personally would hate to see the United Way of America fold," Whitlow said. "This is scary."
Popp said the mood of the weekend conference varied from candid discussion of the charity's troubles to a rallying of support.
Members of the national unit's board of governors - which include leaders from IBM, Sears, American Express, the AFL-CIO and the National Football League - were "very humble, very open and very apologetic," Popp said.
"They're very dedicated to trying to correct the mistakes," said Popp, president of FiberCom.
Whether they will be able to do that - without United Way of America collapsing financially first - remains to be seen.
In Indianapolis, Dam did not offer down-to-the-dollar detail of the national group's money shortage, according to those who attended.
And it's not clear exactly how many of the 1,400 local United Way chapters are withholding dues. A representative at United Way of America in Alexandria said no one was available Monday afternoon to supply that number.
But Popp is guessing the figure is high.
In one of the weekend sessions in Indianapolis, he said, people representing groups withholding funds were ask to raise their hands.
"I don't have actual numbers, but there were a lot more hands up than there were down," Popp said.
The Associated Press contributed information to this story.
by CNB