United Way Scandal

The United Way is one of the most well-known organizations in the world that has helped touch many people’s lives, but even organizations with a strong reputation that have had a big impact on society can falter when hit with a scandal. Today the organization has raised billions of dollars and has come a long way since it first started. However, a scandal within the organization threatened to undermine its effectiveness and future.
The basis of the United Way of America was founded in 1887 as the Charity Organizations Society in Denver, Colorado. The organization was originally founded by a Denver woman, a priest, two ministers, and a rabbi whose original purpose was to take cooperative action to address their city’s welfare problems. The founders

The controversy came about when the president and CEO of the organization who had been in that position since 1970, William Aramony, resigned amid allegations of money laundering among other things. Aramony was under investigation for fraud and mismanagement of funds. The trial that involved Mr. Aramony and the two codefendants lasted until 1995, when Aramony was convicted. He was convicted on charges of 23 of 27 counts of fraud, filing false tax returns, conspiracy, and money laundering. He and two top officials were also convicted of looting $1.2 million to fund an extravagant and lurid lifestyle. He served seven years in prison and was released in 2001. After his release from prison, he was required to serve three years of supervised release, and he was required to pay a fine of more than

The United Way of the twenty-first century is a dynamic, inspiring organization that holds accountability and trustworthiness as core values (United Way of Snohonish County, 2003). United Way has made some big changes in recent years, including in 2008 when it came up with the slogan LIVE UNITED, which was a call to action for everyone to become part of the change. In 2009, United Way International and United Way of America came together to create United Way Worldwide, which is the largest privately-funded nonprofit in the world.
Scandals appear to have become an unfortunate part of society with some more prominent than others. When an organization like United Way is faced with a scandal, the challenge becomes how to overcome the damage done and the public relations nightmare. The way that organizations choose to respond to problems that scandals create will determine how likely they are to recover from the scandal. The United Way scandal may have taken a toll on the organization, but the changes that were put into place have helped its reputation as the United Way continues as the No. 1 charity in the United