Summary

The United Way Watch List is composed of two parts. Part 1 is the list of those United Way organizations that our information indicates have cut off "allocated." or discretionary, funding to the Boy Scouts in their local area. Part 2 is the list of those we have identified that appear to be in the process of cutting off funding but have not done so yet. Following these lists is a brief discussion of how these cut offs or reduction in Scout funding generally happen.  There is also a link to where you can get contact information for your United Way to determine for certain if they continue to fund Scouting.  

Our goal is to make this list as accurate and comprehensive as we can.  If you think there are any omissons or errors, please contact us by e-mail at [email protected] or write us.

IF YOU LIVE IN A LOCAL UNITED WAY SERVICE AREA WHICH HAS CUT OFF OR IS RESTRICTING CONTRIBUTIONS TO YOUR LOCAL SCOUT COUNCIL, WE STRONGLY ENCOURAGE YOU TO MAKE A CONTRIBUTION DIRECTLY.  There is also a link below to the Scouting council "locator" so you can easily get contact information for your local Scout council to make a direct contribution if you wish.

Part 1

LOCAL UNITED WAY ORGANIZATIONS THAT HAVE
WITHDRAWN SUPPORT FOR THE BOY SCOUTS

Part 2

LOCAL UNITED WAY ORGANIZATIONS THAT APPEAR TO BE IN THE PROCESS OF WITHDRAWING SUPPORT FOR THE BOY SCOUTS

Background

According to the information we have, the local United Way organizations on these lists either have cut off "allocated," or discretionary, funding for the Boy Scouts in their local service area or appear to be in the process of doing so. These are the funds donated by contributors with no direction as to where they should go.  The United Way itself decides how to allocate these funds among the various recipeint charities affiliated with the United Way.  Donors generally can designate funds to go to a specific charity, whether it is a United Way agency or not, and the United Way is obligated to pass on the funds.  It will usually deduct an administrative charge for doing so, ranging from 8% to 24% of the contribution.

United Way organizations that have cut off allocated funds going  to the traditional, uniformed Scout program are included in this list even though they might still fund the Scout-sponsored public school program "Learning for Life."

There are a number of reasons United Ways give for why they have cut off allocated funding or are restricting it. We do not list the circumstances for any particular United Way.  Our primary concern is that funding has been cut off or reduced and that the local council(s) affected need help.

Almost always when these funding cuts or restrictions are imposed it is related to the Scouts' position on excluding openly homosexual men from serving as scoutmasters.  The mechanism generally used is a requirement by the local United Way that recipient agencies sign a statement that they do not discriminate based on "sexual orientation" or are implementing such a requirement. Since the Boy Scouts have consistently said that they will continue to exclude openly homosexual men from serving as scoutmasters, most local scout councils  will not sign these kinds of statements.  As a result, the United Way organization claims they are not eligible for allocted funding.  

In some cases where it is clear that their application will be rejected, the local Scout council simply does not apply to avoid adverse publicity for the local United Way. 

Sometimes the local United Way simply does not accept the Scouts' application for funds, claiming that its "focus" or "priorities" have changed.  In some cases where funding is reduced significantly, the Scouts find themselves in an untenable position. Recipient agencies sign an agreement that they will not conduct fundraising activities that compete with the United Way campaign.   These local United Ways continue to list the Scouts as a recipient agency, which reassures donors and helps their own fundraising drive.  But the Scouts receive little benefit and cannot go out and raise funds directly.  As a result, they may volutarily withdraw as a recipient agency.   

This list is as complete and accurate as we can make it. If you see any errors or omissions, please contact us . Neither the national United Way organization ro the Scouts themselves will release their lists of local Untied Ways that have taken action against the Scouts.  However, the natioanl Scout office has verified that as of the summer of 2002 the number of United Ways that they know have taken such action is roughly comparable to the number we list, so we feel that the Watch List is quite comprehensive. Certainly, it is the most comprehensive list available to the public and the media.  

The Watch List is also very controversial.  Click here for a summary of some quite astonishing correspondence between the national United Way and its local chapters, the national Scout office and the Scouting legal Defense Fund.

There are over 1400 United Way independent local organizations around the country and the vast majority of them continue to support their local Scouts. If your local United Way is not among those listed here, it probably continues to support the Scouts in your area. The best way to be sure is to contact your local Scout council and ask them if funding from the United Way has been eliminated or reduced. They should be listed in your local phone book or you can find their address and phone number (and often an e-mail address) for them through the local council locator here .

You can also use this locator to send contributions directly to the local councils, by-passing your local United Way altogether.  This reduces the shrinkage that occurs from the deduction of the administrative fee and puts 100% of your money to work for the Scouts. 

Your local United Way organization should be listed in your phone book. You can also use a national locator here .