Each fall, United Way focuses on fundraising campaigns. Most people encounter these requests for giving through their workplace. The United Way encourages individuals to donate to a variety of local charitable organizations or to the United Way itself. Each local United Way determines whom they will support through their grant programs and their lists of charitable organizations in the area. While most United Way organizations claim they do not fund programs for abortion services, in truth, some United Way organizations do support Planned Parenthood or other abortion-advocate agencies.
Some areas, such as New York City and Atlanta, provide grants to Planned Parenthood. The Dallas, Houston, and Austin United Ways do not give money directly to Planned Parenthood. However, Austin and Houston Planned Parenthoods do encourage donors to donate money through the United Way’s workplace campaign. Many of the local United Ways also send volunteers to Planned Parenthood.
Nationally, the main United Way website (www.LiveUnited.org) also directs volunteers towards Planned Parenthood. Again, not every state or city agency promotes Planned Parenthood, but several do.
How United Way Funds Charitable Organizations
Charitable organizations can receive funds from the United Way as a “partner agency,” which receives funding through grants from the general “Community Fund.” They can also receive money if a donor has designated that specific organization on their United Way contribution form. Therefore, even if a local United Way does not support Planned Parenthood as a “partner agency,” they would still be required to forward any funds designated to them on a contribution form.
Texas Right to Life opposes volunteering or donating money to United Way agencies that support such groups as Planned Parenthood, America’s largest abortion provider. We have no position concerning United Way agencies that do not support organizations that counsel, promote, refer for, or provide abortions.