news-record.com

Every United Way organization in the country knows about the $2 million bungling by the United Way of Central Carolinas in Charlotte. That should help them avoid the same mistakes.

UWCC let its former executive director, Gloria Pace King, manipulate her way to a $2.1 million pension plan. When that information went public, the ensuing scandal cost King her job and ruined the agency's credibility. Its recent fundraising campaign fell $20 million short of last year's total -- a much greater drop than the financial troubles of Charlotte's big banks can explain.

To its credit, the UWCC board commissioned a study of how this happened, with recommendations for correcting problems. The 200-page report is so valuable that the United Way of America sent it to all of its affiliates.

King comes across as the main culprit but not the only one. She engineered her huge pension, but compliant executive and compensation committees, small subgroups of a 65-member board of directors, gave her what she wanted. Most members of the full board were unaware.

The report's authors call for a smaller board of directors that limits the authority of its executive committee. Its meetings should follow guidelines similar to the state's Open Meetings Law governing public bodies. Although private meetings are appropriate for consideration of executive compensation, evaluators must engage in "free, robust and candid discussion." Members should be "independent-minded," including individuals who don't work closely with the staff, and they should look at total compensation rather than just base salary.

Reports should be available for public scrutiny; there should be avenues for unsolicited comments; there should be oversight panels of community leaders and stakeholders.

The United Way of Greater Greensboro, governed by a 36-member board, already offers clear windows into financial documents on its Web site, including its most recent audit and IRS 990 form listing compensation for its top five executives.

Furthermore, its board is conducting a self-assessment aimed at improving its effectiveness, Chairman Chuck Flynt said Tuesday. It tries to follow the guideline, he added, that "if anybody wants to see anything, the minutes of meetings or anything we do, it's an open book."

The board recruits members of various talents, including accounting and legal professionals and community leaders, Flynt said, "folks who have been around for a while and aren't afraid to say what they think."

Board members must accept fiduciary and personal responsibilities for the mission of the organization, and make absolutely sure top employees do their jobs properly.

"At the heart of the matter, the hired executive has to be mission-driven and not self-driven," Flynt said.

The cost of losing trust is high, and the ones who pay are the people who most need United Way services.