PND (9/19/2000) -- United Way President Betty Beene Resigns

Betty Stanley Beene, president of the United Way of America, will be leaving her position as head of the organization early, a casualty, the New York Times reports, of an ongoing struggle between the national organization and several of its large local chapters.

The larger local United Ways, including those in San Francisco, Chicago, Boston, and Washington, operate regional centers that process workplace donations and distribute them to smaller chapters and individual charities.

According to the Times, Beene had proposed a national donation processing center that would have undercut the influence of the regional centers. However, the national center failed its first test last November. Partly as a result of that failure, Beene announced in June that she would step down as president in December 2001. On Monday, she told the United Way executive board that she had changed her plans and would be leaving in January, 11 months early.

Beene had also sought to impose national standards on the local chapters, including a rigorous self-examination of their effectiveness every few years. The move drew intense opposition from several local United Way organizations, which have held back a portion of their dues to the national organization in protest.

Johnston, David Cay. "United Way Faces Crisis as President Plans to Leave." New York Times 9/19/2000.

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