Running head: S.W.O.T.

ANALYSIS UNITED WAY OF DELAWARE 1

S.W.O.T. Analysis, United Way of Delaware

Andréa D. Cox

Wilmington University
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S.W.O.T. Analysis, United Way of Delaware

Introduction

A S.W.O.T. analysis is a tool used to examine an organization. The analysis looks at the

internal and external factors that affect the daily operations. Strengths and Weaknesses are the

internal factors that an organization has the ability to influence or change. Strengths are what the

organization does well, while weaknesses are the challenges the organization faces. The external

factors that affect an organization are opportunities and threats. An organization does not have

control over these factors, but learning about them can increase the organization’s strengths and

minimize its weaknesses.

Strengths

United Way of Delaware is a strong, philanthropic organization. The strengths of the

organization have been developed throughout the history of the organization. Established in

Delaware in 1946, as a subsidiary of United Way Worldwide, United Way of Delaware has a

long history in the state. Its mission focuses on the three key areas of Early Education Success,

College and Career Readiness, and Financial Stability. While there are only three focus areas,

these areas are easily relatable to its mission “to maximize the community's resources to improve

the quality of life for all Delawareans” (UWDE.org, 2019) and may affect everyone in the

United Way of Delaware’s footprint at some point in their lives.

A part of United Way’s success lies in its staff. The organization values education and

that is evident in President and CEO, Michelle Taylor’s pursuit of a Doctorate degree in

Education for Organizational Leadership. While many of the staff have Bachelor’s degrees and

a few also have Master’s degrees, staff members without those qualifications are not

discriminated against. Work experience is also valued at United Way of Delaware. Some staff
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members are experienced, longtime “United Wayers”. “United Wayers” are employees that have

made their careers with United Way, whether with United Way of Delaware or other in United

Way markets. These employees are valuable because as a result of their time, they have a deep

knowledge of the culture and service of the organization, typically resulting in high productivity

and few mistakes (Ferguson, n.d.). Other staff members are valuable not only for their

education, but also for their residence in the communities served by United Way. Several staff

members live in the Wilmington, DE neighborhoods most effected by the organization’s work.

These staff members take pride in their work in their communities and the communities embrace

their presence.

Another commitment to education is represented through its dedication to the State of

Delaware’s students. The organization has a steady stream of interns from Wilmington

University and University of Delaware. By hosting these students, the organization is not only

familiarizing the students with the work of United Way of Delaware, it is also showing support

by helping more community members succeed in their educational pursuits. Interns are

beneficial to any organization as they bring new ideas, energy, and talent, without the cost of

salary. United Way of Delaware also has a summer program for teens, aged sixteen and older.

Every year, United Way is able to give high school students work experience while introducing

them to its mission. This may also garner lifelong support or develop working relationships for

United Way. Destiny Potter started her journey in the summer teen program, and is now an

Administrative Assistant with a bright future at United Way of Delaware.

The organization works in diverse communities and is represented by a diverse staff.

Two of the Philanthropy and Engagement department’s staff members are Latin American and

speak Spanish. This is helpful when in the communities. The United Way is affiliated with the
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Lewis Dual Language Elementary School, and the Aspira Academy. Having Spanish-speaking

employees makes United Way of Delaware relatable to the Latino population. Along with

Latinos, another demographic served greatly by United Way is the African-American

community. The organization also has many staff members, including its President and CEO,

that are African-American. This diversity shows the communities that they can be lifted up by

people like them. The staff is welcomed instead of ostracized by the communities they are trying

to help.

United Way of Delaware is also strong because while it is an affiliate of the larger United

Way Worldwide and has to maintain the standards set by the parent organization, it is still in

control of its business plan and revenue stream. This allows it to partner with over one hundred

organizations of its choice in the community. By partnering with United Way of Delaware,

smaller Human Services agencies are able to leverage the reputation of United Way to amplify

their smaller voices in the community (Cox, April 7, 2019. P. 2). Focusing on three areas that

affect large portions of the population, United Way of Delaware is able to apply for many grants

with various requirements instead of being relegated to only grants for education, financial

stability, or college preparedness. Employing a full-time, dedicated grant writer allows the

organization to consistently apply for suitable grants for the programs supported. Grants focused

on Early Education Success, like those from Wells Fargo, AEG Community Foundation, and the

Laffey-McHugh Foundation support the specific programs of Get Delaware Reading, My Very

Own Library, and Early Grade Literacy (Cox, March 18, 2019).

The reputation of United Way of Delaware is strong. Social Media accounts with

Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, Instagram, and YouTube, are utilized to promote the work of United

Way in the communities. The organization works with well-known, ethical community leaders
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on its board and as advisors to ensure it is working the mission of promoting quality of life for all

Delawareans. Together with these leaders, the staff works to maintain a strong, ethical

organization that is a powerhouse in the community with clear, beneficial strategic initiatives.

This reputation has allowed United Way of Delaware to expand its footprint by taking on the

community of Salem County, New Jersey, after United Way of Salem County was dismissed by

United Way Worldwide. This is another opportunity for success as United Way of Delaware has

a long time employee that is a native of Salem County and still familiar with the needs of the

community and the partnering capabilities.

Weaknesses

Many organizations utilize a database to manage and store necessary information. This

information usually consists of pertinent details useful for reporting. Often, donor contact

information is stored along with the history of giving, and any special notations or instructions

on the account. These databases are often one-stop data capturing needs, also housing volunteer

management capabilities. The database will charge a fee for the subscription service which

includes full use of the database, tutorials for ease of use, and access to phone numbers, emails or

live chats when assistance is needed.

United Way of Delaware subscribes to the Andar 360 data management service.

Included with paid subscription to Andar 360 is campaign planning, campaign management,

leadership tracking and information, pledge processing, donor designations, donor and campaign

history and reporting, prospecting, relationship management, volunteer and staff management,

and integrated communication tools (Andar 360, n.d.). Of the many capabilities offered by

Andar, sadly, United Way of Delaware is using only one third of its features at the most. Only

financial records are tracked through Andar 360, although it allows all aspects to be connected to
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one record for ease of use and reporting (Andar 360, n.d.). Reports that are generated through

Andar 360, are engineered further for the benefit of United Way’s President and CEO. To

format the reports for her ease of use, finance staff must spend hours manipulating information

into excel spreadsheets. If staff had more training, this step could be eliminated, but still ensure

that everyone is able to obtain the desired information from the reports without expending extra

effort. At this time, each account manager has access to Andar 360 to record and track activity

for their accounts, but Administrative Assistants have limited access. Granting Administrative

Assistants full use of Andar 360 would free up time for account managers and the finance

department, as the assistants could be taught how to generate and prepare reports.

Andar 360 has the capabilities of consolidating all community and organizational

involvement into one profile and offers tools for better relationship management (Andar 360,

n.d.). Instead of utilizing this database to its fullest capacity, United Way donor and partner

information is housed in a more archaic fashion. Partner information is stored as individual

PowerPoint slides. To review or update any partner information, each individual file must be

opened and the user must be on a network computer or have previously emailed the needed files.

Andar 360 allows authorized users the ability to access the system through the internet. Instead

of using Andar 360, when staff needs to verify when a thank you was sent to a donor, they must

be physically present in the office, and pull the manila folder with the donor’s record inside.

This process is time consuming, inefficient, and a waste of space as records of all

correspondence are housed in each donor file indefinitely.

Another problem Andar 360 can solve for United Way of Delaware can be achieved by

using the included “E-volunteer” software. United Way’s Volunteer Coordinator is currently

keeping track of volunteer’s contact information and volunteer time on an Excel spreadsheet.
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This spreadsheet is a personal record, housed on her computer, and not readily accessible to the

Philanthropy and Engagement department. It is not accessible for other staff members to view or

update, and it only contains the most basic information. Andar 360’s E-volunteer has the

capability of tracking volunteer service and donation activities in one complete profile as often

many volunteers also support organizations with time and money (Andar 360, n.d.). As United

Way partners with many other non-profits, one way it supports these entities is by reaching out

to its volunteer base for support for these organizations as well. E-volunteer is capable of acting

as a broker between United Way volunteers and partner agencies (Andar 360, n.d.). The

Volunteer Coordinator for United Way is part-time employee, working only twenty-five hours

per week. Being part-time is not as much of an issue as not having previous volunteer

management experience or comparable training for the job. Utilizing the database that is already

being paid for would allow her to be more efficient in her volunteer scheduling tasks. Group

emails could be personalized and automated reminders and thank yous could be sent according to

scheduled events.

At this time, only one United Way of Delaware employee is proficient in the many

functions of Andar 360. A previous Philanthropy and Engagement employee was trained to use

E-volunteer. This staff member resigned from United Way of Delaware days before training

remaining staff members and implementing E-volunteer. Whenever a knowledgeable employee

needs to be replaced, the work environment is interrupted until a suitable replacement is hired

and trained (Ferguson, n.d.). Instead of training her replacement immediately to be proficient in

Andar 360 and E-volunteer, sixteen months later, work arounds are still being used. Rather than

mastering Andar 360 and discovering its ease of use, volunteer management is reduced to

containing contact information on an Excel spreadsheet and paying for the “Sign-up Genius”
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program to schedule volunteers. These work arounds are costly, time consuming and generally

much less efficient than the software already accessible to United Way of Delaware.

Another weakness of United Way of Delaware is its volunteer management program.

This organization is only now developing a volunteer orientation and training program. New

volunteers would sign up for events without ever having met the Volunteer Coordinator or any

other staff member from the Philanthropy and Engagement team. There was no protocol to

inform volunteers what they should expect, what requirements are at each type of event, or even

a standard dress code. This lack of organization has reflected poorly on United Way of

Delaware. A group of volunteers were recently greeted in the office with no plan of activities for

the time they had committed. They witnessed staff confrontations and confusion surrounding the

volunteering they were to participate in. The staff looked unprofessional and unprepared. The

volunteers that day had a negative experience instead of a fulfilling one. Practices like these are

damaging to the organization’s reputation as these volunteers will not be likely to volunteer with

United Way of Delaware again, and share the knowledge of their poor experience with their

friends and coworkers.

Having a network of responsible volunteers is beneficial to non-profit organizations, as

they bring their experience and manpower without mandating salary cost. United Way of

Delaware has a small group of repeat volunteers that enjoy the work they do. A weakness with

this situation is volunteers may feel unappreciated or develop burn out if they are asked to

volunteer repeatedly, while feeling obligated to help as they know there are no other volunteers

stepping in to assist. United Way needs to be better prepared with instructions for their

volunteers and interns.

There are also a few Human Resource issues that are detrimental to organizational

efficiency and employee morale. There is no consistent training for new employees. New

employees are to be trained by their department head. While long term employees usually mean

the work environment is stable, is does not mean that all long term employees are good trainers

(Ferguson, n.d.). Not having a clear curriculum for trainees increases the chances of inefficient

work. The current Community Engagement Manager did not receive any official training, nor

did she have experience in Community Engagement. Her experience is in finance, which

represents only a portion of her responsibilities. There are also some employees that are lacking a

formal job description. Without a job description, employees are left wondering which

responsibility belongs to whom. One thing that is clear in the job descriptions that are completed

is that employees are responsible for completing volunteer hours at United Way of Delaware

events on a monthly basis. Like other volunteers, the same staff members are the ones that are

showing up at events routinely. This policy should be enforced as all employees should live the

mission by representing United Way of Delaware at various community events. Many staff

members also complain about excessive meetings. Many meetings are not taken seriously by

some staff members. Often, staff members are disrespectful of other’s time by arriving late for

meetings or having to be called to meetings. There are currently two young ladies, in their early

twenties new to the workforce. These ladies bring an excitement, new energy, knowledge of

technology, and an openness to new ideas with them to work each day. Some may stereotype the

millennial workforce as lazy and entitled, but they are actually extremely adept at using

technology to make their daily activities much more efficient (Ismail, 2017). Their energy must

not be allowed to be hindered by a complacent staff.

Opportunities
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While United Way of Delaware has positioned itself as a leading non-profit in Delaware,

there are always avenues for improvement. There is not a need to restructure the organization,

but some practices should be improved. As an organization that needs volunteers, United Way

needs to utilize the workforce of Delaware as other organizations do. Many large corporations

either require or reward employees to volunteer to local organizations. Already having a

relationship with M&T Bank, and Chemours, United Way should further develop that

relationship to include its volunteer needs in company communications. Other organizations

already practice this volunteer strategy. PAWS for People is a local pet therapy organization.

PAWS’ Community Engagement Director communicates volunteer needs to an employee of

Navient. The Navient employee then shares the need. This is a benefit to both. PAWS gets the

volunteers needed, and Navient employees get their volunteer hours. United Way could easily

cultivate relationships with Delaware businesses like Discover, Citi, and Dupont, by having its

Community Engagement Manager work with these companies.

Another opportunity for volunteers is readily available for United Way of Delaware.

Most sororities and fraternities pride themselves on their dedication to philanthropy. United

Way of Delaware should regularly contact Wilmington University, University of Delaware,

Wesley College, and Delaware State University’s Greek Letter organizations to elicit their

assistance as volunteers. Many high schools now require volunteer hours for graduation. Doing

a volunteer ask in schools will benefit the students in need of service hours and introduce them to

the work of the human services field.

The expansion into Salem County gives United Way of Delaware a chance to bolster its

reputation while helping a struggling community. Since United Way of Salem County failed to

adequately provide financial documents, it was decertified by United Way Worldwide

(www.nj.com, 2018). United Way of Delaware can use this opportunity to uplift and support

this community, in the same ways that it has assisted the State of Delaware for over seventy

years. This is an opportunity to grow into another community, provide programs and services

for more people, all while redeeming the name “United Way”.

The United Way of Delaware has several opportunities to positively affect its community

fundraising. It is currently possible to donate via the United Way of Delaware’s website, but

more donations could be garnered if additional options were known to the public. For example,

millennials may be likely to donate if a quicker way was established. Donation by text is another

beneficial use of technology that United Way of Delaware has, but does not promote as it should.

Another fundraising opportunity that could be improved is a recent partnership with Penn

Cinema. United Way of Delaware hosted an “early” showing of Avengers: Endgame. Tickets

were sold in advance, for $20 each. A ticket for the same showing could have been purchased

through Penn Cinema for $13.50. United Way also offered a tailgate at the theater for an

additional cost. While a fundraiser for a movie that is sure to be a blockbuster is a wonderful

idea, it was challenging to sell the tickets at the $20 cost when they were also attainable for the

exact same show for less money. The organization should have worked to get the tickets

donated by the theater. This would have made selling out the allotted tickets more possible,

gotten the donation back to the organization, and a tax deduction to the theater.

United Way of Delaware has a long history of helping Delawareans. This history of care

and support should be used to influence public policy. The board of United Way is comprised of

community leaders. These leaders can and should effect public policy. Wilmington Mayor,

Mike Purzycki, is in attendance at many United Way of Delaware events. His support for the
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organization should be leveraged to sway public policy whenever possible. In a state as small as

Delaware, a few people can make many changes.

Threats

Threats to an organization are external. United Way of Delaware’s threats heavily affect

its funding and revenue stream. When donating to United Way, donors have the ability to

specify how their funds will be used. Because United Way supports other organization’s

programs and not the entire organization, donating through the United Way may give donors

more control over the use of their donations. However, some donors may still choose to donate

directly to another organization rather than through United Way. United Way of Delaware is

also competing with other agencies for funds for similar programs. A donor that is committed to

Early Education Success may choose to support PAWS for People’s PAWS for Reading

Program instead of United Way of Delaware’s Reading Angels because PAWS for Reading does

not have an age limit for its readers, while Reading Angels is completed at the end of third grade.

United Way of Delaware may also have its funding threatened by changes in the

economy, tax laws, and the environment. Economic changes like recessions and unemployment

rates will always have an effect on donations. People that lose some financial security are less

likely to give. Many people donate not just to help social causes, but for the tax deductions.

Changes in tax laws always effects who is donating and how much. Lastly, natural disasters can

affect the revenue for the United Way of Delaware. Natural disaster relief is always a competitor

for local organizations. Even people that do not usually donate to non-profit organizations will

donate to the Red Cross after a hurricane, earthquake, forest fire, or tornado decimates an area of

the United States or even the world. In those times people are charged with deciding whether or

not to keep their donation local or donating to a national or worldwide organization.

An enormous threat to any organization, including United Way of Delaware, is other

organizations. Everyday new talent is flooding the job market. To remain a constant in

Delaware, United Way has to compete with the staff of other organizations. At times, an

experienced, long-term staff may be considered a strength, but this staff may be threatened by

another organization’s motivated, tech-savvy, less-experienced staff. These staff members may

work harder, earn more pay, track analytics more efficiently and be willing to go the extra mile.

A staff that is fresh and excited may achieve more than a complacent staff comprised of long-

term employees. To alleviate this particular threat, United Way of Delaware has to offer

competitive wages and benefits, and bring in new talent, while also maintaining a balance with

experienced staff.

Conclusion

Utilizing S.W.O.T. analysis can shape an organization for the better. The analysis is a

user friendly report designed to highlight achievements and spotlight flaws. Often, organizations

are too focused on themselves, but the S.W.O.T. analysis allows the organization to focus on the

external factors that are often overlooked. Acknowledging all internal and external factors is the

key to organizational improvement.

References

Andar 360. (n.d.). Retrieved May 2, 2019, from http://www.andarsoftware.com/

Cox, A. (2019, March 18). Revenue at United Way of Delaware.

Cox, A. (2019, April 7). Community Position of United Way of Delaware.

Ferguson, G. (n.d.). Why Are Long-Term Employees Important? Retrieved May 1, 2019, from
https://smallbusiness.chron.com/longterm-employees-important-40711.html

In Salem County, solve United Way funds mystery. (2018, October 30). Retrieved May 2, 2019,
from nj.com

Ismail, N. (2017, June 29). Are millennials to thank for workplace innovation? Retrieved May 2,
2019, from https://www.information-age.com/millennials-thank-workplace-innovation-
123467036/

United Way of Delaware (n.d.). Retrieved May 2, 2019, from UWDE.org