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      United Way

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      United Way reviews

      3.3

      46% would recommend to a friend

      (1,848 total reviews)
      avatar

      Angela F. Williams

      75% approve of CEO

      39% positive business outlook

      Ratings by demographic groups

      United Way has an employee rating of 3.3 out of 5 stars, based on 1,848 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have a good working experience there. The United Way employee rating is in line with the average (within 1 standard deviation) for employers within the Nonprofit & NGO industry (3.7 stars).

      Reviews by job title

      2K reviews
      1.0
      Sep 10, 2018

      A sad relic

      Anonymous employee
      Recommend
      CEO approval
      Business Outlook

      Pros

      Free tea and coffee in the break room.

      Cons

      I worked in marketing. Every few months, some marketing fad would be bruited about the office as the thing that was going to save United Way. Middle management would fly to DC for meetings with absurd names like "Tiger Team." We would have meetings and a half-assed implementation and then little would happen to change the sense of encroaching irrelevance, and then onward to the next big strategy. Someone was hired to fill the long-vacant position above me (he was a hilariously inept writer with very strange interpersonal skills) and when I asked for direction, because he was my supervisor, I was told "I'm not doing your job for you." I expressed my distress to someone a rung higher who eliminated my position as an end-run against our union defending me, then dumped my work on a colleague who already had her own responsibilities. It was, oh but truly, a shitshow.

      avatar
      United Way Response
      7y
      In today's disrupted business world, the organization that doesn't change, doesn't survive. That brutal fact is nowhere better understood than in the resource-constrained world of nonprofits. We're sorry that our ongoing efforts to build a resilient, responsive organization were so uncomfortable for you. Given our 85% employee retention rate and an average staff tenure of 13 years (2018) , we often hear from other companies and nonprofits about how much they envy our stability. We know that building a positive workplace culture is never-ending work, but we are proud that our efforts to do so result in already high--and improving--scores for job "enjoyability" on our annual, anonymous climate survey. We're even more pleased to see that survey show that optimism about the future of UWBA is one of the most improved scores this year. With our 100 year anniversary coming up, we are working hard to ensure that United Way Bay Area will be here to serve the region for another hundred years.
      3.0
      Jun 25, 2017

      United Way Worldwide - lots of promise but a little crazy to work there

      Anonymous employee
      Recommend
      CEO approval
      Business Outlook

      Pros

      Mission, opportunity, scale, great people, heart in the right place, tons of potential, brand, position in the sector, relationship with corporate partners.

      Cons

      There are 1,800 local United Ways with their own CEOs and Boards vs. UWW which is not a headquarters but is instead something between a member service hub and a leadership organization for the network. It also happens to have one of the lowest membership fees of any similar non-profit, i.e. UWW has a very thin budget compared to American Red Cross, Catholic Charities, etc. Between the skimpy budget and the conflicting roles of member service vs. network leadership, UWW has a bit of a split personality. This results in elusive priorities, high turnover, institutional knowledge that keeps having to rebuild, multiple re-organizations over the years, and a set of fits and starts for implementing strategies that can move the network. They made a good move in 2016 by bringing in a Chief Culture Officer and that could help them. There's a ton of promise for UWW and the UW network but they've got to bring that promise to the forefront. I wish them the best!

      2.0
      Jan 16, 2016

      Director

      Director
      Recommend
      CEO approval
      Business Outlook

      Pros

      People are very smart and passionate. Made some lifelong friends. Learned a great deal, had fun, and made an impact.

      Cons

      CEO needs to go. Lacks passion, is vindictive, petty and egotistical. Expects Senior management to duke it out. No consensus decision making. The emperor has no clothes, but is surrounded by yes men and women.

      Viewing 16 - 18 of 1,848 Reviews
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