SALISBURY — For as long as Rowan County United Way President-elect Bill Burgin can remember, United Way has raised money for specific nonprofit groups, its “member agencies.”

But in light of a years-long downward trend in donations at United Way locations across the country, Burgin said Rowan County United Way and others are shifting their fundraising models to include all nonprofit groups in the community.

“We’re taking what the community says are the greatest needs and then we’re going to take those greatest needs and we’re going to say to our community of nonprofits — any nonprofit — ‘If you have a plan that helps us solve these needs, we want to hear about it,’” Burgin said.

Burgin said donations have been decreasing for a number of reasons.

“It’s getting harder and harder to get in front of people to request donations,” Burgin said. “Corporations are now owned by out-of-towners and not local ownership.”

Burgin said some corporations Rowan County United Way has worked with are moving toward “internet-based giving” that lets employees choose from a number of organizations, some of which may not be local.

“And so what’s been happening is our donations have just inched down. And it’s not unique to us. But we still have the needs in our community, so we’re trying to figure a way that we can emphasize that to the community,” Burgin said.

Burgin and current United Way President Henry Diggs said that after studying what other United Ways with similar issues are doing, the local United Way is adopting a “community impact model” over the course of the next three years.

“In the old model, a lot of times we would be looking at how many people were served. In the new model, we’re looking for the outcome. Not just, ‘Are you serving 50 people?’ but ‘Did the 50 people improve their lives in a special way?’” Burgin said.

Burgin said that based on anecdotal evidence and evidence collected by other United Ways, the Rowan County organization has realized donors want proof that their donations are producing results.

“And so they’d much rather have 10 people who now read on grade level than to have 50 people who have been in a program but you don’t know how that’s helped them,” Burgin said.

Burgin said this year’s campaign will be no different from others and will be for the 16 member agencies.

A needs assessment will help identify the biggest health and human services needs in the county.

In the second year, using the data gathered from the needs assessment, United Way will send out a request for proposals to member agencies to find out what efforts they are making to address the county’s biggest needs.

In the third year, the United Way campaign will be open to all nonprofit groups.

During the transition, Diggs said, member agencies will be given training to ensure they can “position themselves in such a way that will meet the new template of allocation.”

“They’ve been with us through thick and thin, and we want to try to train them to give them an idea of what this might look like,” Burgin said.

Based on a meeting Burgin and others had with member agencies last week, member agencies seem “nervous” but “interested” in the change.

“They recognize the trend is not a direction that we can accept. We have to change,” Burgin said. “So I think they generally were saying, ‘This can be good for us.’ That if this gets United Way out in front of people in a way we can raise the boat, then all of us will benefit.”

For more information about Rowan County United Way, visit rowanunitedway.org.

Contact reporter Jessica Coates at 704-797-4222.