Overview
Many UC campuses heavily promote the annual United Way Campaign by asking staff and faculty to make donations. The United Way funds the Boy Scouts of America, which discriminates against gay boys and men. Despite the inclusion of sexual orientation in the UC nondiscrimination statement, UC campuses continue to promote United Way Campaigns.
Actions
- Sample education letter (*pdf format) on the United Way Campaign
- Screen the film "Scout's Honor" to raise awarenss of the Boy Scouts of America's discriminatory policies.
- Educate the campus on how the United Way supports a discriminatory organization.
- Educate staff and faculty on how they may choose to direct their donation toward organizations other than the Boy Scouts of America. Explain that a general donation will support the BSA.
- Suggest staff and faculty donate to organizations that directly support LGBT people, including the campus LGBT resource center. The United Way must direct funds to any nonprofit organization identified by the donor.
- Ask all staff and faculty allies to return donation packets to the campus administration with an explanation of why they will not support discrimination.
- Ask the campus Faculty Senate to address this discriminatory campaign.
United Way is a system of 1,400 separately incorporated, independent organizations. Each raises money in an annual fund-raising campaign and allocates funds to local health and human service agencies.
Action taken by the volunteer board of any local United Way has no bearing on any other United Way or Boy Scout Council across the country. United Way of America as the national membership service and training organization for local United Way organizations, does not dictate policy or funding decisions to local United Ways except to the extent that funding decisions must be consistent with applicable laws. Withdrawing donor support for a United Way in any one community has no bearing upon the policy set by another local United Way.
Over the years, there have been several legal challenges to Boy Scout policies concerning atheists, homosexuals and girls who have been denied participation in various Boy Scout programs. The most recent decision addressed the issue of whether the Boy Scouts, a private membership organization, can exclude homosexuals from serving as troop leaders. The Court ruled that the First Amendment freedom of expression and association allowed the Boy Scouts to exclude homosexuals from serving as troop leaders.
From 1992 through June 2000, only the eight independent local United Ways in San Francisco, Santa Clara and Santa Cruz, CA; New Haven, CT; Branford, CT; Santa Fe, NM; Portland, ME; and Somerset County New Jersey adopted anti-discrimination policies affected their funding relationship with the Boy Scouts. These local United Way organizations have funding policies that require agencies wishing to receive funds over which the United Way has discretion to agree to provide services without discriminating on the basis of age, gender, race, religion, sexual orientation, ethnicity, national origin, or disability. In all cases, agencies may continue to receive designations. These actions were taken independently by each United Way after extensive study and review of their local situations and conditions.
Since the Boy Scouts v Dale decision by the U.S. Supreme Court, United Way member organizations in Fall River, MA; and Providence, RI also have taken similar steps.